Map of South Asia (see note)

This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia. For geopolitical treatments, see South Asia.

The Indian subcontinent is a large section of the Asian continent consisting of countries lying substantially on the Indian tectonic plate. This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia For geopolitical treatments see South Asia. A continent is one of several large Landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by Convention rather than any strict criteria with seven regions The India or Indian Plate is a Tectonic plate that was originally a part of the ancient continent of Gondwanaland from which it split off eventually These include countries on the continental crust (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan), an island country on the continental shelf (Sri Lanka), and an island country rising above the oceanic crust (the Maldives). The continental crust is the layer of granitic, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic rocks which form the Continents and the areas of shallow seabed India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Pakistan () officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia, Southwest Asia, Middle East and ( Bengali: বাংলাদেশ inc-Latn Bangladesh) officially Nepal (नेपाल) is a Landlocked country in South Asia. The Kingdom of Bhutan (buːˈtɑːn is a Landlocked nation in South Asia. An island (ˈaɪlənd or isle (/ˈaɪl/ is any piece of land that is completely surrounded by water in two dimensions above high tide and isolated from other significant The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each Continent and associated Coastal plain, which is covered during interglacial periods such Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island An island (ˈaɪlənd or isle (/ˈaɪl/ is any piece of land that is completely surrounded by water in two dimensions above high tide and isolated from other significant Oceanic crust is the part of Earth's Lithosphere that surfaces in the Ocean basins The Maldives ( or, or Maldive Islands) officially the Republic of Maldives, is an Island nation consisting of a group of atolls stretching The term subcontinent signifies "having a certain geographical or political independence" from the rest of the continent,^[1] or "a vast and more or less self-contained subdivision of a continent. This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia For geopolitical treatments see South Asia. "^[2]

Nomenclature and usage

Although the term Indian subcontinent is often used geographically, it is not entirely a geographical term. The approximately equivalent but more geopolitical term is, South Asia or Southern Asia, however, sometimes includes territories found external (but proximal) to the Indian Plate—including Afghanistan, Tibet and Myanmar (formerly Burma). Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, Definitions of Tibet See also Definitions of Tibet Name In English The English word Tibet, like the word for Tibet in most European Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar ( pjìdàunzṵ mjàmmà nàinŋàndɔ̀ is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia. Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar ( pjìdàunzṵ mjàmmà nàinŋàndɔ̀ is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia. The subcontinent is surrounded by three water bodies: the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. The Bay of Bengal is a bay that forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's Oceanic divisions covering about 20% of the water on the Earth 's surface The Arabian Sea ( Arabic: بحر العرب transliterated: Baḥr al-'Arab Sanskrit: सिन्धु सागर transliterated:

Geography

See also: Geography of India, Geography of Pakistan, and Geography of Bangladesh

The Indian and Eurasian land plates run through Pakistan and Kashmir and often cause earthquakes in the region such as the October 2005 Kashmir Quake. The geography of India is diverse with landscape ranging from snow-capped mountain ranges to deserts plains rainforests hills and plateaus The geography of Pakistan is profoundly a mixture of landscapes varying from mostly plains to deserts forests hills and plateaus ranging from the coastal areas of the Bangladesh is a low-lying Riverine country located in South Asia with a largely marshy jungle coastline of 710 kilometers (440 mi on the northern Littoral The 2005 Kashmir Earthquake (also known as the South Asian earthquake or the Great Pakistan earthquake) was a major earthquake centred in Azad Kashmir

Geographically, the Indian subcontinent is a peninsular region south of the Himalayas and Kuen Lun mountain ranges and east of the Hindu Kush mountain range and Balochistan region, extending southward into the Indian Ocean between the Arabian Sea (to the southwest) and the Bay of Bengal (to the southeast). A peninsula is a piece of land that is nearly surrounded by Water but connected to Mainland via an Isthmus. The Kunlun Mountains ( Mongolian: Хөндлөн Уулс is one of the longest Mountain chains in Asia, extending more than 3000 Km. The Hindu Kush is a Mountain range located between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Balochistan or Baluchistan is an arid Region located in the Iranian Plateau in Southwest The Arabian Sea ( Arabic: بحر العرب transliterated: Baḥr al-'Arab Sanskrit: सिन्धु सागर transliterated: The Bay of Bengal is a bay that forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It covers about 4,480,000 km² (1,729,738 mi²) or 10 percent of the Asian continent; however, it accounts for about 40 percent of Asia's population.

Geologically, most of this region is a subcontinent: it rests on a tectonic plate of its own, the Indian Plate (the northerly portion of the Indo-Australian Plate) separate from the rest of Eurasia, and was once a small continent before colliding with the Eurasian Plate and giving birth to the Himalayan range and the Tibetan plateau. This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia For geopolitical treatments see South Asia. Plate tectonics (from Greek τέκτων tektōn "builder" or "mason" describes the large scale motions of Earth 's Lithosphere The India or Indian Plate is a Tectonic plate that was originally a part of the ancient continent of Gondwanaland from which it split off eventually The Indo-Australian Plate is a major Tectonic plate that includes the continent of Australia and surrounding Ocean, and extends northwest to include the For the superstate in George Orwell 's novel see Nations of Nineteen Eighty-Four. A continent is one of several large Landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by Convention rather than any strict criteria with seven regions The Eurasian Plate is a Tectonic plate which includes most of the continent of Eurasia (a landmass consisting of the traditional Continents of Europe The Tibetan Plateau, also known as the Qinghai-Tibetan (Qingzang Plateau is a vast elevated Plateau in Central Asia covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Even now the Indian Plate continues to move northward resulting in increase in height of the Himalayas by a few centimeters each decade. On its western frontier, the Indian Plate forms a conservative boundary with the Eurasian Plate. A transform fault is a fault which runs along the boundary of a Tectonic plate. In addition, it is also home to an astounding variety of geographical features, such as glaciers, rainforests, valleys, deserts, and grasslands that are typical of much larger continents. "Glacial" and "Glaciation" redirect here For the geological periods see Glacial period. Rainforests are Forests characterized by high Rainfall with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750–2000 mm (68-78 inches In Geology, a valley (also called a vale, dale, glen or strath and near or in Appalachia, a draw) is A desert is a Landscape or region that receives very little precipitation. Grasslands (also called greenswards) are areas where the Vegetation is dominated by Grasses ( Poaceae) and other Herbaceous (non-woody

Climate

See also: Climate of India

The climate of the subcontinent is called the Monsoon climate. The climate of India defies easy generalisation comprising a wide range of weather conditions across a large geographic scale and varied topography A monsoon is a seasonal prevailing wind which lasts for several months It is quite opposite of the Mediterranean climate. For the monsoon climate, the weather in this region remains humid during summer and dry during winter. Instead of four seasons, it basically has two main seasons, the wet and dry. The monsoon climate favors the cultivation of jute, tea, rice, and various vegetables in this region. Jute is a long soft shiny Vegetable fiber that can be spun into coarse strong threads Tea refers to the cured agricultural product of the leaves leaf buds and internodes of Camellia sinensis, which have been prepared and cured for the market Rice is a Cereal foodstuff which forms an important part of the diet of many people worldwide and as such it is a staple food for many South Asia's climate varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north.

Geological history

Natural vegetation in India:

Tropical thorny vegetation	Alpine & sub-alpine
Himalayan dry temperate	Himalayan moist temperate
Sub-tropical coniferous	Tropical moist deciduous
Tropical wet evergreen	Tropical semi evergreen
Tropical dry deciduous

In the Eocene period the Indian subcontinent was an island continent in the Indian Ocean. The Tropics are centered on the Equator and limited in Latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately 23°26' (23 The Tropics are centered on the Equator and limited in Latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately 23°26' (23 The Tropics are centered on the Equator and limited in Latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately 23°26' (23 Botany Autumn leaf color. See --> In Botany and Horticulture, deciduous Plants, including The Tropics are centered on the Equator and limited in Latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately 23°26' (23 In Botany, an Evergreen plant is a plant having leaves all year round The Tropics are centered on the Equator and limited in Latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately 23°26' (23 In Botany, an Evergreen plant is a plant having leaves all year round The Tropics are centered on the Equator and limited in Latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately 23°26' (23 Botany Autumn leaf color. See --> In Botany and Horticulture, deciduous Plants, including The Eocene epoch (558 ± 02 - 339 ± 01 Ma) is a major division of the Geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Palaeogene period in It was originally part of Gondwanaland. Gondwana (ɡɒnˈdwɑːnə originally Gondwanaland) was a southern Supercontinent that existed about 500 to 200 Ma ago See Continental drift. Continental drift is the movement of the Earth 's Continents relative to each other

Politics

India is the dominant political power in the region. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country ^[3] It is by far the largest country in the covering around three-fourths the land area of the subcontinent. ^[4] It also has the largest population of around three times the combined population of the 6 other countries in the subcontinent. ^[5] India is also the largest democracy in the world^[6] and is a nuclear power. Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system Nations that are known or believed to possess Nuclear weapons are sometimes referred to as the nuclear club. Pakistan is the second largest country in the subcontinent with the second largest population, which is also a nuclear power. Pakistan () officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia, Southwest Asia, Middle East and

See also

• South Asia
• History of South Asia
• History of India
• Indology
• Etymology of the names of India
• India (disambiguation)
• Plate tectonics
• Continental drift

References