Major Physiographic Divisions

Physiographic divisions are identified by relief, formation and location. Exam tip: remember clues, not only names.

The Himalayas are relatively young mountains while the plateau is an old rocky part. Exam tip: compare by age and structure.

Northern Plains are formed by alluvial deposits of Ganga, Indus and Brahmaputra systems. Exam tip: choose plains for river deposition clues.

Old hard rocky base identifies the Peninsular Plateau. Exam tip: connect southern rocky land with the plateau.

The dry region west of Aravalli is linked with the Indian Desert. Exam tip: connect west of Aravalli with Thar.

Eastern Coastal Plains are linked with Bay of Bengal and Western Coastal Plains with Arabian Sea. Exam tip: do not reverse coast and water body.

Both are island groups but their water regions differ. Exam tip: connect Lakshadweep with Arabian Sea and Andaman Nicobar with Bay of Bengal.

Northern Plains are formed by river deposits while Peninsular Plateau is old rocky landmass. Exam tip: differentiate by formation process.

The Himalayas form a high mountain division in the north. Exam tip: connect northern mountain boundary with Himalayas.

Northern Plains are formed by alluvial deposits and Coastal Plains lie along the sea. Exam tip: check both location and formation.

The direct answer is A: the Peninsular Plateau is made of ancient hard rocks. The Peninsular Plateau is one of India’s oldest geological landmasses. It contains very old crystalline, igneous, and metamorphic rocks that have remained comparatively stable for a long period. Reasoning step by step: a stable landform should not be made mainly of newly deposited loose material; examine its geological foundation; the plateau consists of old, compact, resistant rocks; therefore option A explains its stability. Option A is correct because hard ancient rocks resist major deformation and give the plateau a stable character, although erosion and smaller changes still occur. Option B, new alluvium, describes recently deposited river sediments of the plains, which are not the basic material of the plateau. Option C, covered with ice, is false because most of the plateau has a warm tropical climate and is not an ice-covered region. Option D, floating in the sea, is scientifically wrong; land does not float as an island in that sense, and the plateau is part of the Indian mainland. Memory cue: “old hard rock means stable plateau.”

Lakshadweep is an island group of the Arabian Sea. Exam tip: remember Andaman Nicobar for Bay of Bengal clue.

Andaman and Nicobar are island groups in the Bay of Bengal. Exam tip: correctly match island and water region.

The Indian Desert is identified by low rainfall and dryness. Exam tip: do not link desert with high rainfall.

Relief arrangement means placing landforms in their geographical order, often from north to south. In India, the Himalayas stand in the far north. Immediately to their south lie the Northern Plains, formed mainly by the deposits brought by rivers such as the Indus, Ganga, and Brahmaputra. Thus, the Himalayas come first in the north and the Northern Plains follow south of them.

To answer, use India’s physical map and trace the landforms downward from the northern boundary. The sequence in option A follows the actual arrangement: Himalayas in the north, then Northern Plains to their south. The other options mix islands, deserts, coasts, or unrelated ranges and do not show the north-to-south relief order. Therefore, A is correct.

India has six major divisions showing different relief forms. Exam tip: connect diversity with all divisions.

Eastern Coastal Plain is generally wider than the western coast. Exam tip: connect eastern coast with Bay of Bengal and wider plain.

Western Coastal Plain is relatively narrow along the Arabian Sea. Exam tip: connect western coast with narrow plain.

The Indian Desert is dry sandy while the plateau is hard rocky land. Exam tip: distinguish sandy and rocky clues.

Northern Plains are new alluvial deposits while plateau is old rocky landmass. Exam tip: remember the contrast of new deposits and old rocks.

Coastal plains should be remembered with their related water bodies. Exam tip: keep west-Arabian and east-Bengal formula.

All three clues point to the Northern Plains. Exam tip: identify answers through combined clues.

The direct answer is A, the Himalayan Mountains. High peaks, young fold structure and northern location are three strong identifying clues. The Himalayas formed relatively recently in geological terms through the collision of the Indian Plate with the Eurasian Plate, which compressed and folded rock layers. Option A is correct because the Himalayas are India’s northern young fold mountain system and contain very high peaks. Option B, the Peninsular Plateau, is an ancient, more stable landmass with broad plateaus and old rocks, not the young folded northern range. Option C, Coastal Plains, are narrow lowlands beside the sea, so they do not fit high peaks or young folding. Option D, the Indian Desert, is a dry western region with sandy surfaces, not a high folded mountain system. Solve by matching all clues, not just one: north + high + young fold = Himalayas. Memory cue: young high folds in the north mean Himalaya.

Coastal Plains are divided into Western and Eastern Coastal Plains. Exam tip: link level land along sea with coastal plains.

Islands are land surrounded by water and India's major groups are Andaman Nicobar and Lakshadweep. Exam tip: choose islands for surrounded by water clues.