Size of India – Physical Environment of India

The Indian Subcontinent is the southern part of Asian continent and is bordered to the north and northeast by the Tibetan Plateau. The boundary is formed by the Himalayas and the cultivated plains of the Punjab and Rajasthan. Indian subcontinent includes the countries — Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and India.

The Himalayas, together with other ranges, have acted as a formidable physical barrier in the past. Except for a few mountain passes such as the Khyber, the Bolan, the Shipkila, the Nathula, the Bomdila, etc. it was difficult to cross it.

Peninsular part of India extends towards the Indian Ocean. Provided the country with a coastline of6,100 km in the mainland and 7,517 km in the entire geographical coast of the mainland plus the island groups. Andaman and Nicobar located in the Bay of Bengal and the Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea.

The east-west stretch of India and the north-south stretch of India approximately measure the same i.e 3000km. But east-west stretch is smaller than the north-south stretch. It is this huge distance between the eastern and western ends of the country that cause a lag in the local time of the country.

The difference of time between Gujarat and Arunachal Pradesh is 2 hours. But both their clocks show the same timing. Because India follows a standard time. Indian Standard Time is along longitude 82.30° E. It passes through the city of Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh.