The Northern Plains have been formed due to the interplay of the three major river systems- the Indus, the Ganga, and the Brahmaputra along with their tributaries.

These Plain are made up of the rich alluvial soil. The Northern Plains are agriculturally productive as they have adequate water supply and favourable climate.

The Punjab Plains (Indus), the Ganga Plains and the Brahmaputra Plains together form the Northern Plains.

The Punjab Plains are formed by the Indus and its tributaries.

Ganga Plains are found in the states of Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, parts of Jharkhand and West Bengal.

Brahmaputra Plains are located in Assam.

The Peninsular Plateau lies to the south of the Northern Plains. It has broad and shallow valleys and rounded hills and is made up of black soil called the Deccan Trap. Central Highlands and the Deccan Plateau are two distinct parts of this plateau.

The Malwa Plateau, Bundelkhand, Baghelkhand, and the Chotanagpur Plateau form a part of the Central Highland.

The Deccan Trap, Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats, and the North-East extension form a part of the Deccan Plateau.

Malwa plateau lies in Madhya Pradesh bounded by the Aravalli hills in the north-west and the Vindhyas in the south.

Bundelkhand lies along the borders of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

The Malwa Plateau covers western Madhya Pradesh and south-eastern Rajasthan with Gujarat in the west.

Chotanagpur Plateau covers Jharkhand, parts of Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal. It is the richest mineral producing region of India.

The Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats mark the western and eastern edges of the Deccan Plateau. Western Ghats lie parallel to the western coast and are continuous.

The Sahyadri, the Nilgiri, the Annamalai, the Cardamom Hills, the Annamalai, and the Cadamom Hills form the western edge of the plateau.

Anaimudi peak in Kerala is the highest peak of the Peninsular India, at 2695 metres above the sea level.

The Western Ghats are higher than the Eastern Ghats. The Eastern ghats are also discontinuous and irregular, and crossed by rivers draining into Bay of Bengal.

The Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, and Cauvery rivers of the Deccan Plateau flow from west to east and then merge into the Bay of Bengal.

Narmada and Tapti rivers of the Deccan Plateau, flow from east to west and fall in the Arabian Sea.

The Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats meet in the Nilgiri hills.

The Indian Desert receives very low rainfall, below 150 mm per year. Luni is the only large river in this region. The Thar Desert, also called the Great Indian Desert, covers more than 77,000 square miles.

The Thar Desert is the 18th largest subtropical Desert in the world.

Thar Desert is the most densely populated Desert in the world.

The Thar region of Rajasthan is the biggest wool-producing area in India.

Kharif crops are the chief source of agricultural production, bajra being the main crop. The other crops include corn, jowar, groundnuts, and sesame etc.

The Coastal area in India lies along the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal on the east.

The western coastal plains extend from Gujarat in north to Kanyakumari in south, and are located between Western Ghats and Arabian Sea.

The western coastal plains are Narrower and wetter than the eastern coast.

The western coast is divided into the Konkan (Mumbai-Goa, northern part of the coast), the Kannad plain (central stretch), and the Malabar coast (the southern stretch).

Important ports of the western coasts include Mumbai, Marmagoa, Cochin, Mangalore, Nhava-Sheva, and Kandla.

Western Ghats is marked with Lagoons such as Ashtamudi and Vembanad called Kayals in Kerala.

The northern part of the coastal plains along the Bay of Bengal are called Northern Circar, and the southern part is called the Coromandel Coast.

The eastern coastal plain lies between Eastern Ghats and Bay of Bengal from Gangetic delta in north to Kanyakumari in south.

Rivers such as the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna, and the Kaveri form an extensive delta on the eastern coast. Lake Chilika is an important feature along the eastern coast. The coastal region provide sites for fishing and port activities.

The eastern coastal plains are broader but drier than the western plains.

The Andaman and Nicobar islands in the Bay of Bengal and the Lakshadweep islands in the Arabian Sea are the two group of Islands in India.

The Lakshadweep islands is made up of 27 small coral islands, and lies close to the Malabar cost of Kerala.

The Andaman and Nicobar islands are located in in the Bay of Bengal. The Andaman lie in the north, while the Nicobar in the south.

Andaman is a group of 204 small islands, while the Nicobar islands is a group of 19 islands. Located close to equator, these islands experience equatorial climate and have thick forests.

Tropical Wet Evergreen forests are classified into wet evergreens, semi-evergreen, moist deciduous, littoral and swamp.

These forests remain warm and wet throughout the year.

They receive heavy rainfall, sometimes more than 200 cm. They are also called tropical rain forests.

They are called evergreen, as they appear green all the year round and don’t shed leaves.

These forests are located on the eastern and western slopes of the Western Ghats, covering states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra. Tropical Wet Evergreen forests also found in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, West Bengal, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

The one horned rhinoceros are found in the jungles of Assam, and West Bengal.

Wet evergreen forests are found in the south along the Western Ghats and the Nicobar and Andaman Islands and all along the north-eastern region. Trees common in these forests are jackfruit, betel nut palm, jamun, mango, and hollock.

Moist deciduous forests are found throughout India except in the western and the north-western regions. Trees common in this region include sal and teak, along with mango, bamboo, and rosewood.

Semi-evergreen forests are found in the Western Ghats, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and the Eastern Himalayas. They have a mixture of the wet evergreen trees and the moist deciduous tress.

Tropical deciduous forests also called the monsoon forests, are the most widespread forests of India.

These forests remain warm and wet throughout the year.

They receive rainfall between 200 cms and 70 cms.

Trees in these forests shed their leaves for six to eight weeks during summers.

These forests are classified into tropical moist, the dry deciduous and the thorn forests. This classification is done on the basis of the rainfall they receive every year.

Moist deciduous receive rainfall between 200 cms and 100 cms. They are found along the foothills of the Himalayas, Jharkhand, Odhisha, Chhattisgarh, and the Western Ghats.

The dry deciduous forests receive 100 to 70 cm of rainfall. These forests are located in the peninsular plateau and the plains of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

The Thorn forests and scrubs receive less than 70 cm of rainfall. They are found in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana.

The Montane forests are classified into wet montane, moist montane, dry montane, broad leaved forests, pine montane, and dry ever green. This classification is based on the different altitudes at which they are located in the mountain regions.

The wet montane temperate forests are found between a height of 1000 and 2000 metres. They are found in the regions of Arunachal Pradesh in parts of the Nilgiri Hills.

The moist montane temperate forests are located from the Western Himalayas to the Eastern Himalayas.

The Dry ever green montane forests are found mainly in Lahul, Kinnaur, Sikkim, and other parts of the Himalayas.

Broad leaved forests are located in the Eastern Himalayas and the Western Ghats.

Pine montane forests are located in the Shivalik Hills, Western and Central Himalayas, Khasi, Naga, and Manipur Hills.

Dry ever green forests are found in the Shivalik hills and the Himalayas.

Alpine forests are divided into sub alpine, moist and dry alpines.

Sub alpines are found from Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh.

Moist Alpines are located along the Himalayas.

Dry Alpines are found in Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Kashmir.