Major Physiographic Divisions

The Northern Plains lie south of the Himalayas. Exam tip: remember the location of the Himalayas and Northern Plains together.

The Peninsular Plateau is made of very old hard rocks. Exam tip: remember it as an ancient landmass of India.

The Thar region is the main part of the Indian Desert. Exam tip: connect Thar with the desert of western India.

Plains spread along sea coasts are called Coastal Plains. Exam tip: connect coastal plains with sea coasts.

Andaman and Nicobar are included in India’s island groups. Exam tip: connect them with the Bay of Bengal.

Himadri is the highest and northernmost range of the Himalayas. Exam tip: also remember Himadri as the Great Himalayas.

The Shiwalik, or Outer Himalaya, is the southernmost and outermost Himalayan range. It consists largely of unconsolidated sediments and lies south of the Himadri and Himachal ranges. Himadri is the Great or Inner Himalaya, Deccan is a peninsular plateau region, and Aravalli is an older range of northwestern India. Thus, option A is correct.

The Himachal range lies between Himadri and Shiwalik. Exam tip: remember the order of the three Himalayan ranges.

The Northern Plains are formed by deposits of the Indus Ganga and Brahmaputra river systems. Exam tip: connect plains with river deposits.

The direct answer is D, the Northern Plains. Alluvial soil is material such as sand, silt and clay carried and deposited by rivers. Large rivers lose speed on flatter land, so they spread these sediments over wide areas. This process created the Northern Plains, especially along the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra systems. Option A, the Himalayas, are the source region for many rivers, but the broad alluvial deposits are mainly spread in the plains at their foot. Option B, the Indian Desert, is mainly dry and sandy; it does not represent India’s chief river-built alluvial plain. Option C, island groups, are separated by sea and are not the extensive river-deposit region intended here. Option D is correct because the Northern Plains are made largely of thick alluvial deposits and are fertile. Memory cue: river-brought soil plus broad flat land means Northern Plains.

The Deccan Plateau is the large southern part of the Peninsular Plateau. Exam tip: connect Deccan with the plateau of southern India.

The Western Ghats lie along the western edge of the Peninsular Plateau. Exam tip: connect the Western Ghats with the western coast.

The Eastern Ghats lie along the eastern edge of the Peninsular Plateau. Exam tip: connect the Eastern Ghats with the eastern coast.

The direct answer is option D: the Indian Desert is spread largely in Rajasthan. This desert is commonly known as the Thar Desert and occupies much of western Rajasthan, extending into nearby areas of Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab. Its important features include low rainfall, dry conditions, sandy surfaces and wind-made dunes. Option D is correct because Rajasthan is the state most strongly associated with the Indian Desert. Option A is wrong because the Northern Plains are mainly the level alluvial region of the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra systems, not the desert region of western Rajasthan. Option B is wrong because island groups are in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, not spread across Rajasthan. Option C is wrong because Coastal Plains lie beside the eastern and western seas, whereas Rajasthan is largely inland. Therefore D is the only suitable division. Memory cue: western Rajasthan equals Thar, and Thar is the Indian Desert.

The Western Coastal Plain extends along the Arabian Sea. Exam tip: remember the Arabian Sea for the western coast.

The Eastern Coastal Plain extends along the Bay of Bengal. Exam tip: remember the Bay of Bengal for the eastern coast.

The vast flat region of North India is called the Northern Plains. Exam tip: also remember it as a fertile plain.

The word physical feature refers to a natural form of the Earth’s surface. The Himalayas are a very high and extensive system of mountain ranges in northern India. Their landform includes great peaks, deep valleys, and steep slopes. For this reason, they are classified as mountains, not plains, deserts, or islands.

The question asks for the type of feature represented by the Himalayas, so the name and form of the landform are enough to decide. A plain is broadly level, a desert is mainly dry, and an island is land surrounded by water. None of these describes the Himalayas. Option D, mountain, correctly identifies their physical feature.

The Peninsular Plateau is a major physiographic division of India. Exam tip: distinguish physical divisions from administrative places.

Bhabar is a part of the Northern Plains found below the Shiwalik. Exam tip: connect Bhabar with the belt of the Northern Plains.

The Terai region lies immediately south of the Bhabar belt. In Bhabar, river water often disappears into the porous layer of pebbles and boulders; farther south, in the wet and marshy Terai region, it may re-emerge near the surface. The Shiwalik Range lies north of Bhabar, so it is a close but incorrect option. Exam tip: remember the north-to-south order—Shiwaliks, Bhabar, Terai, Northern Plains.

Khadar is the low-lying, flood-prone part of the Northern Plains where rivers deposit fresh alluvium every year. Therefore, it is called newer alluvium. In contrast, Bhangar is a relatively higher area formed of older alluvium. Exam tip: remember Khadar = new alluvium and Bhangar = old alluvium.

Bhangar is the relatively elevated part of the Northern Plains formed by older alluvial deposits. It often contains calcareous concretions called kankar. Khadar is the floodplain area made of newer alluvium, so it is not correct. Exam tip: Bhangar means old alluvium; Khadar means new alluvium.

The direct answer is B, the Peninsular Plateau. To understand this, India is divided into large physical divisions according to landform. A plateau is a broad, raised area of land with a fairly level surface. The Peninsular Plateau is one major division, and the Central Highlands form its northern part, mainly north of the Narmada valley. Therefore, the chain is: Central Highlands → subdivision of the Peninsular Plateau → not a separate major division. Option A, the Himalayas, is a young fold mountain system in the north, so it is not the larger division containing the Central Highlands. Option B is correct because the Central Highlands are a recognised part of the Peninsular Plateau. Option C, the Coastal Plains, are narrow lowlands beside the seas and are different in origin and position. Option D, the Island Groups, are islands in the sea, not inland highlands. Memory cue: remember that the Peninsular Plateau includes the Central Highlands and the Deccan Plateau.

The direct answer is C, triangle. The Deccan Plateau occupies a large part of peninsular India and is broadly triangular, with its wider side toward the north and its narrower part toward the south. “Roughly” is important because natural landforms do not have perfectly exact geometric boundaries. Option A, long strip, better describes a narrow elongated feature, not the general outline of the Deccan Plateau. Option B, round island, is wrong because the Deccan is a mainland plateau, not an island. Option C is correct because maps and school geography describe its broad shape as triangular. Option D, staircase, is not its plan shape; some plateau edges may have step-like relief, but that does not define the whole outline. Memory cue: Deccan = peninsular triangle.