For many centuries it was subjected to raids by different tribes. Naturally, they all left their mark on genetic diversity. It is thanks to the mixing of different races that the inhabitants of India have a distinctive appearance and culture. The Aryan tribes came here first. They mixed with the Tibeto-Burmese peoples who penetrated into the territory of modern India from behind the Himalayas.
Such different people of India
What helped the Indians to maintain ethnic diversity? The answer is simple. It's all about the caste system. That is why on the Indian streets you can meet a variety of people, even the Caucasoid type. That is, the inhabitants of India are ethnically heterogeneous. For example, representatives of the Aryan type are distinguished by a coffee shade of skin. It is noteworthy that in the higher castes, skin color is usually lighter.
Indians are usually distinguished by a beautiful oval face, straight hair (less thick than those of northern and central Europe), and a slightly curved nose. Their height, as a rule, does not exceed 185 cm. Using the example of the Dards, it is best to draw a conclusion about the physical data of the Aryan tribes. They are a simple-minded, open race with brown eyes and straight black hair.
How is a native Indian different?
Like any nation, the Indians are not without their own charm. The people of India have a peculiar mentality. Perhaps this is due to the ancient traditions that are still strong in India, or perhaps due to the fact that this territory has been subjected to raids by various conquerors for many centuries. The inhabitants of India are emotional, but skillfully hide their feelings, they are sometimes overly polite, unreliable. The strengths of this race are diligence, openness, cleanliness, moderation, respect for the sciences, goodwill. Indians always know how to create an atmosphere of relaxed communication, they can show the interlocutor what is interesting with him.
Like the inhabitants, modern Indians live according to the ancient scriptures - the Vedas. According to these texts, a person should express his love and devotion to God through his daily activities, and not just through rituals. Even cleaning can be a means of serving one of the gods, of which there are a huge number in India. Worship to them can be expressed in creativity, and in everyday affairs, and in raising children, and in communicating with other people. All classes should be a stage of self-improvement.
Don't call Indians Indians!
Equally important is the question of how the inhabitants of India are called. Contrary to popular belief, they should be called Indians, not Hindus. Hindus are followers of Hinduism, the dominant religion in India. Don't confuse Indians with Indians.
Columbus mistakenly called the natives of North America Indians, because he thought he had sailed to a distant and mysterious India.
Civil rights movement in India
Indians are a very active nation. Processes are now taking place in society aimed at the abolition of caste system and the improvement of the status of women. All this is closely interconnected with reforms in the social sphere. They are mainly concerned with the advancement of women. Indians are in favor of legalizing civil marriage and raising the marriageable age for both girls and boys. An equally important issue is the expansion of educational opportunities for women, as well as the improvement of the situation of Indian widows.
As a result of these processes, several changes were introduced. Thus, the marriageable age for girls was set at 14 years old, for boys - 18 years old. If one of the spouses has not reached the age of 21, written parental consent is required. They also banned consanguineous marriages and polygamy. But the advantages of this law, unfortunately, did not become public. Only a small part could use its benefits. The fact is that even now the practice is widespread when a girl formally marries at the age of 10 years. Of course, the actual ceremony is postponed until the bride is more mature - up to 12-14 years old at most. Such early marriages have a bad effect not only on the mental and physical health of women, but also on the well-being of the Indian race as a whole.
The position of widows in India
The point is also that if a married girl-woman becomes a widow, she will no longer be able to marry. Moreover, in the family of her husband, she will be doomed to do the hardest work until the end of her days, she will not have to wear new beautiful clothes. Also, the unfortunate widow not only receives the worst food from the table, but also must observe a multi-day fast. In order to somehow improve the position of widows in society (including many children), it is necessary to ensure that remarriage is not considered something shameful and shameful. At present, a widow's remarriage is possible only if she belongs to a lower caste. To top it all off, a woman whose husband has died cannot, in Indian society, earn her livelihood on her own.
Indian education
Separately, it is worth noting the Indian education system, as it is considered one of the largest in the world. Interestingly, in order to enter a university, you do not need to pass any exams. In addition to regular universities, India also has specialized educational institutions, such as the Women's Institute in Bombay. Despite the fact that technical specialties are considered the leading ones in the field of education, the number of graduates from humanitarian universities is about 40%. In fact, technical professions play a very important role in the development of human resources, and related to the education system is also the question of how many people there are in India. According to the latest data, about 1 million
Indian occupations
The main occupations of the inhabitants of India are traditionally agriculture and cattle breeding. Many are involved in the field of light and which is currently developing dynamically. Despite this, most of the Indian population lives almost below the poverty line. The fact is that until relatively recently this country was therefore the colonial past cannot but affect the life of the Indians.
Religion: "Shiva without Shakti is Shava"
More than 80% of the population professes Hinduism - the most massive and ancient religion in Asia. Therefore, it is not surprising that culture is closely related to it. The basic provisions of Hinduism were established in 6 Art. BC. After that, the whole culture began to line up around this system.
Hinduism is a mythological religion. It is noteworthy that the pantheon consists of a great variety of gods. But the most revered is the trinmurti - Vishnu-Brahma-Shiva. And if Vishnu is the keeper of the world, Brahma is the creator, then Shiva is the destroyer. But he is not just a destroyer, he is also the beginning of all things. The gods have several hands as a symbol of their divine functions and are necessarily depicted with their attributes. For example, Vishnu - with a disk, Shiva - with a trident, Brahma - with the Vedas. In addition, Shiva is always depicted with three eyes as symbols of his wisdom. In parallel with the Trinmurti, goddesses - "Shakti" are also revered. These are not just female deities. They harmoniously complement the spouses, making up one whole with them. There is even such an expression: "Shiva without Shakti is a shava (corpse)." The oldest in India, in parallel with the veneration of the Trinmurti, is the cult of animals. For example, for a Hindu, neither killing a cow nor eating beef is unthinkable. Many animals in India are sacred.
The wealth of Indian nature is in its diversity. 3/4 of the country's territory is occupied by plains and plateaus. India resembles a huge triangle, directed by its apex at. Along the base of the Indian triangle stretched the Karakorum, Gin-dukush and Himalayas mountain systems.
South of the Himalayas lies the vast, fertile Indo-Gangetic plain. To the west of the Indo-Gangetic Plain lies the barren Thar Desert.
Further south is the Deccan Plateau, which occupies most of the central and southern. On both sides, the plateau is bordered by the mountains of the Eastern and Western Ghats, their foothills are occupied by tropical forests.
The climate of India in most of its territory is subequatorial, monsoonal. In the north and northwest - tropical, where precipitation is about 100 mm / year. On the windward slopes of the Himalayas, 5000-6000 mm of precipitation falls annually, and in the center of the peninsula - 300-500 mm. In summer, up to 80% of all precipitation falls.
The largest rivers of India - the Ganges, the Indus, the Brahmaputra, originate in the mountains and are fed by snow-glacier and rain. The rivers of the Deccan plateau are fed by rain. During the winter monsoon, the rivers of the plateau dry up.
In the north of the country, brown-red and red-brown savannah soils predominate, in the center - black and gray tropical and red-earth laterinth soils. In the south - yellow earth and red earth, developed on lava covers. Coastal lowlands and river valleys are covered with rich alluvial soils.
The natural vegetation of India has been greatly altered by man. Monsoon forests have survived only 10-15% of the original area. Every year, the area of forests in India is reduced by 1.5 million hectares. Acacias and palm trees grow in the savannahs. In subtropical forests - sandalwood, teak, bamboo, coconut palms. In the mountains, altitudinal zonality is clearly expressed.
In India, the animal world is rich and diverse: deer, antelopes, elephants, tigers, Himalayan bears, rhinos, panthers, monkeys, wild boars, many snakes, birds, fish.
The recreational resources of India are of world importance: coastal, historical, cultural, architectural, etc.
India has significant reserves. Manganese deposits are concentrated in central and eastern India. The bowels of India are rich in chromites, uranium, thorium, copper, bauxites, gold, magnesites, mica, diamonds, precious and semi-precious stones.
Coal reserves in the country amount to 120 billion tons (Bihar state and West Bengal). India's oil and gas are concentrated in the Asamu valley and on the plains of Gujaratu, as well as on the shelf of the Arabian Sea in the Bombay region.
Adverse natural phenomena in India are droughts, earthquakes, floods (8 million hectares), fires, snowfall in the mountains, soil erosion (6 billion tons lost by the country), desertification in western India, deforestation.
Each tourist, when choosing a country for the next visit, takes into account its climatic features and the best time to visit. Choosing India for your trip, you should study the weather conditions of this country and opt for the ideal ones for yourself.
Nature and climate of India
India is located in the subequatorial zone with a tropical climate. The country is dominated by hot weather with a monsoon rainy season, when several dry months are replaced by a succession of rainy ones. In connection with this feature, the nature here is extremely diverse. The snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas, the desert plains of central India and the jungle with an abundance of flora and fauna - a riot of bright colors, a variety of exotic flowers and. A huge number of different species of animals live here, including those listed in the Red Book, such as the Asian elephant, Bengal tiger, clouded leopard. The northern part of India, as well as part of the central one, repeat in their cycles the winter and summer periods close to us. For example, in the Himalayas, the coldest season lasts from early December to mid-April, at which time the temperature drops to minus levels, and there is a huge amount of snow in the mountains. In New Delhi, in mid-January, the temperature drops to plus five degrees at night, while during the day it can rise to plus twenty-five. And this means that you should take care of your clothes and think carefully about your wardrobe, and it is better if things are made from natural fabrics.
The central part of India, located on a plateau, has a fairly mild climate for these latitudes, due to the fact that the territory is located high above sea level. The summer-autumn period of rains is replaced by a dry winter-spring period. In winter, due to sharp changes in daily temperature, fogs are very frequent, so driving becomes unsafe. In the winter months, the temperatures are the lowest, during the day the temperature does not exceed plus twenty-five degrees. The best time to visit central India is from November to March.
Climate of ancient India
In ancient times, the territory of India was much larger, the climate was more humid, as in modern times, it was determined by the position of the country relative to the Himalayas - the highest mountain peaks in the world. The areas that were not part of the mountainous part were everywhere covered with impenetrable jungle and swampy areas. But in a very long time, several hundred million years ago, Hindustan drifted, separating from Africa, to Asia.
Climate Goa
The greatest interest among tourists visiting India has always been the state of Goa. This is a popular resort among foreigners and locals, a kind of Indian Sochi, where wealthy Indians from all over the country come together. In the southern parts of India, and in particular in Goa, the temperature is stable at around plus twenty-five to thirty-five degrees, with nighttime temperatures dropping to plus fifteen during the winter months. The climate of Goa is more humid, the proximity of the ocean greatly affects the feeling of comfort - strong humidity, especially during the period when it rains, causes a lot of inconvenience to people with respiratory diseases.
At this time, you should not be surprised by damp linen and mold on the walls in inexpensive hotels. In the period from November to April, there is almost no precipitation at all, daytime temperatures are stable, and nighttime temperatures sometimes rise to daytime ones. From May to October, it rains almost daily, sometimes leading the state to extensive flooding.
Weather averages in Goa
The best time to visit Goa is from December to February (January-February is the season for delicious avocados). The temperature and humidity during this period are optimal, although it is cool at night on the coast. In the high season, there is the largest number of foreign tourists in Goa, all kinds of events are regularly held in Goa and neighboring states.
Starting from March, it becomes hotter and more humid, followed by the rainy season in May-June. It lasts here until the end of October. Moreover, the main part of the precipitation falls on the summer period. In late spring and early autumn, rains are short-lived and quickly replaced by a scorching sun. Prices for services, tickets and accommodation increase during the high season, so those who like to save money should consider visiting Goa in April or October. The weather in Goa at this time is quite comfortable, the number of tourists is noticeably less.
It is worth noting that in late April - early May, delicious local mangoes appear on the shelves of local fruit stalls, unlike large yellow-red fruits imported here from other Indian states, local fruits are small in size and have a greenish-yellow color. After the rainy season in October - early November, ocean waters are far from ideal. Downpours wash fallen trees and household waste into the ocean. From mid-April until the beginning of the new rainy season, the ocean is choppy, with big waves dangerous, especially on rocky beaches such as Vagator and Anjuna. And also at this time there are water snakes.
In the ancient India did not have its own. Manetho or. Berossus, no one wrote its history in antiquity. This should not be surprising, because, as noted. L. S. Vasiliev, "in a society previously preoccupied with religious and spiritual problems, there is practically no place for socio-historical memory in any other form than religious-epic, mythological-cultural" The absence of historical tradition and dated written monuments excludes the compilation of a reliable chronology, which thus remains a "blank spot" in Indology. At best, it is possible to establish the sequence of historical events. In a word, the creators of these ancient Indian civilization seemed to take special care to ensure that future students of history were not overloaded with memorizing dates for dates.
history. Ancient. India is divided into four periods:
Indian (Harappan, Dovedic), which accounts for existence in the river valley. Indus ancient civilization. It dates from the XXIII-XVIII centuries BC;
Vedic, during which they settled in. North. India Aryan tribes and civilization was born in the basin of the river. Ganges (XIII-VII centuries BC);
Buddhist (it is also called. Magadhi-Mauriys by anyone), during which the Buddhist religion arose and spread in the country, played a colossal role in the social and spiritual life of the Indians, and economic prosperity took place. India and great powers appeared in it. Dated to VI-III centuries BC e.;
Classical (or. Kushano-Guptsky) - the time of the highest socio-economic rise of ancient Indian society and the formation of the caste system (II century BC-V centuries AD)
Natural and climatic conditions in ancient India
Geographic area. Ancient. India is all. Hindustan, that is, the territory of modern states -. Republic. India,. Pakistan,. Nepal,. Bangladesh and. Sri Lanka. Ancient. India framed. The Himalayas, the majestic beauty of which was conveyed on their canvases by artists. Nikolai i. Svyatoslav. The Roerichs washed it with water. Bay of Bengal,. Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea. Therefore, geographically, the country belonged to the number of the most isolated in antiquity.
On such a vast territory, natural and climatic conditions, of course, could not be the same. There are three geographic areas: Northwestern,. Northeast and. South
Northwestern. India covered a wide valley of the river. Indus and its many tributaries with adjacent mountainous areas. In ancient times. The Indus had seven main tributaries, but subsequently two of them dried up, so this territory of Thorium was called "Country of Five Years" -. Punjab. The edge of the lower theca. Indus was named. Sind. Here, the western bank of the river is mountainous, and a dead desert stretches to the east. Tar, completely isolated the basins of both our years. Inda and. Ganges, to a large extent led to the dissimilarity of historical destinies. Northwestern and Northeast. India. Spills. Indus, flowed from. The Himalayas depended on the melting of snow in the mountains and were therefore unstable. Wet monsoons did not reach the valley. Indus, there was very little rain, in summer the hot winds of the desert raged, so the earth was covered with greenery only in winter, when. The Indus was overflowing.
Northeast. India was located in the tropical zone, its climate was determined by the monsoons. Indian Ocean. There, the vegetation continued for a whole year, and the seasons were, as in. Ancient. Egypt, three. In October - November, immediately after harvesting, winter set in, which was reminiscent of our "velvet season". Crimea. It was colder in January - February, when the air temperature dropped to 5 °. C, the fog hung and the morning dew fell. Then came the tropical summer, when it was hellishly hot. Unlike. Egypt, where the nights are always cool, in the valley. Ganges in March - May, the night air temperature, for May, its absolute humidity, did not fall below 30 35 °. C, and during the day?? at times it rose to 50 °. S. In such heat, the grass burned out, the trees shed their leaves, the reservoirs dried up, the earth seemed devastated and neglected. It is characteristic that it was at that time that the Indian peasants prepared the fields for sowing. In June-August, a two-month rainy season began. Tropical showers brought the desired coolness, returned beauty to the earth, so the population met them as a great holiday. However, the rainy season often dragged on, then the rivers overflowed their banks and flooded the fields and villages, when he was late - a terrible dry dry came.
“When in unbearable heat and stuffiness,” a Czech journalist shares his impressions, “black clouds pile up in the sky that promise a heavy downpour, and you wait for hours in vain for it to finally spill, and meanwhile the clouds in the sky begin to dissipate and, together with hope for a saving soul disappears with them - you yourself are ready to fall on your knees and beg one of the powerful Hindu gods to look at everything and finally open his own. Vajra "gateways of heavenly ponds.
Fertile alluvium, the thickness of which in some places reaches hundreds of meters, hothouse climate have turned the valley. Ganges to the real kingdom. Flora. slopes. The Himalayas were covered with eternal forests. Valley terrain - ba. Ambukov thickets and mango groves, in the lower reaches. The Ganges abounded with reeds, papyrus, and lotus. Fabulously rich was the animal world of this corner of the planet. Royal tigers, rhinoceroses, lions, elephants and without the lich of another beast roamed in the jungle, so this region was a real paradise for ancient hunters-archers.
Rika. Ganges, which also flowed from. Himalayas and 500 km from the confluence with. The Bay of Bengal formed the world's largest delta (silty and unsuitable for navigation), had many tributaries, the largest of which is Boulevard. Jumna. Both sacred rivers merged into one channel near the modern one. Ilahabad - peculiar. Mecca of the Hindus, and before that for 1000 km flowed in parallel.
Nadra pools. Inda and. The Ganges were rich in raw materials, especially in copper and iron ores, with rich deposits of metal ores, which, moreover, lay almost on the surface of the earth, the southeast was famous for. Bihar (in the east of the basin. Ganges).
Thus, the natural and climatic conditions in. North. India, where the most ancient Indian civilizations appeared, were generally favorable for human economic activity. However, they cannot be called ideal. Both terrible droughts and no less destructive floods affected, irrigation was necessary, although the artificial irrigation of fields played a much more modest role in the agricultural development of the country than in. Egypt or. Mesopotamia was damaged by birds and rodents, people did not know how to save themselves from the poisonous viper that teemed with the jungle. By the way, even now Indian cobras sting hundreds of thousands of people every year, and every tenth of those stung by them dies. However, the Indians were most harassed by the relentless struggle against the wild jungle and weeds, which were able in a matter of days to turn the land plots mastered by hard work into impenetrable thickets of the irrigation character of agriculture and the need to win back land in the jungle were those factors that contributed to the rallying of the peasants into a labor collective, did the peasants about the community are surprised by strong kimіtsnimi.
It is characteristic that the ancient Indians treated wildlife very carefully, tried not to harm it, and even raised this wise principle to the rank of a religious law, so their economic activity turned out to be less destructive for the ecological situation than other ancient peoples, primarily the Chinese.
Otherwise, there were natural and climatic conditions in. South. India, cut off from. Northern continuous chain of mountain ranges. In the central part of the mainland (this is the largest plateau on the planet called. Where Ekan) only terraced agriculture was possible. Riki Dean is full-flowing, the sands are the largest of them. Godavari and. Kistani (Krishnu), rich in gold and diamonds, touches the extreme south of the mainland, then its full-flowing and rivers with steep banks and rapid currents did not play an important economic role, so civilization in this region arose later.
In ancient times. They called India. AryaVarte - "country of the Aryans" Later, a toponym also appeared. Bharat, who came from the name of a legendary hero. Bharata (he was, according to one version, the son of the king. Dushyanta and the heavenly beauty-apsara, according to another, the progenitor of the human race). In the Middle Ages, there was another name. India -. Hindustan (Hindustan), the European version of which became the toponym. India. Toponym. Hindustan means "country. Hind" and comes from the Persian name of the rivers and. Hind (Indians called this river. Sindh). Right now in. Republic. India both names -. Bharat and. Hindustan - equal, although the first is used more often.
India is a huge country in southern Asia, located on the Hindustan peninsula between the headwaters of the rivers of the Indus system in the Punjab in the West and the river system of the Ganges in the East. It borders Pakistan to the northwest, China, Nepal and Bhutan to the north, and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. From the south, India is washed by the Indian Ocean, and off the northern coast of India is the island of Sri Lanka.
The relief of India is very diverse - from the plains in the South of India, to the glaciers in the North, in the Himalayas, and from the desert regions of the West, to the tropical forests in the East. The length of India from north to south is about 3220 km, and from east to west - 2930 km. The land border of India is 15,200 km, and the sea border is 6,083 km. The height above sea level varies from 0 to 8598 meters. The highest point is Mount Kapchspyupga. India covers an area of 3,287,263 sq. km, although this figure is not entirely accurate, because. some sections of the border are disputed by China and Pakistan. India is the seventh largest country in the world.
There are seven natural regions on the territory of India: the Northern mountain range (consisting of the Himalayas and the Karakoram), the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the Great Indian Desert, the Southern Plateau (Dean Plateau), the East Coast, the West Coast and the Adaman, Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands.
Seven large mountain ranges rise in India: the Himalayas, Patkai (Eastern Highlands), Aravali, Vindhya, Satpura, Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats.
The Himalayas stretched from east to west (from the Brahmaputra River to the Indus River) for 2500 km with a width of 150 to 400 km. The Himalayas consist of three main mountain ranges: the Sivalik mountains in the south (altitudes 800-1200 m), then the Lesser Himalayas (2500-3000 m) and the Greater Himalayas (5500-6000 m). In the Himalayas are the sources of the three largest rivers in India: the Ganges (2510 km), the Indus (2879 km) and the Brahmaputra flow into the Bay of Bengal (Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Pennaru, Kaveri). Several rivers flow into the Gulf of Cambay (Tapti, Narbad, Mahi and Sabarmati). Except for the Ganges, the Indus and the Brahmaputra, all the other rivers of India are not navigable. During the summer rainy season, accompanied by snowmelt in the Himalayas, flooding in North India became a common occurrence. Once every five to ten years, almost the entire Jamno-Gangetic plain is under water. Then from Delhi to Patna (the capital of Bihar), i.e. a distance of more than 1000 km can be traveled by boat. In India, they believe that the legend of the Flood was born here.
Statistical indicators of India
(as of 2012)
The internal waters of India are represented by numerous rivers, which, depending on the nature of the food, are divided into "Himalayan", full-flowing throughout the year, with mixed snow-glacier and rain food, and "Dean", mainly with rain, monsoon food, large fluctuations in runoff, flood from June to October. On all large rivers, a sharp rise in the level is observed in summer, often accompanied by floods. The Indus River, which gave the name to the country, after the partition of British India, was mostly in Pakistan.
There are no significant lakes in India. Most often there are oxbow lakes in the valleys of large rivers; there are also glacial-tectonic lakes in the Himalayas. The largest lake, Sambhar, located in arid Rajasthan, is used to evaporate salt. The population of India is over 1.21 billion people, which is one-sixth of the world's population. India is the most populated country on Earth after China. India is a multinational country.
Largest nations: Hindustanis, Telugu, Marathas, Bengalis, Tamils, Gujaratis, Kannars, Punjabis. About 80% of the population are adherents of Hinduism. Muslims make up 14% of the population, Christians - 2.4%, Sikhs - 2%, Buddhists - 0.7%. Most Indians are rural people. Average life expectancy: about 55 years.
Relief of India
On the territory of India, the Himalayas stretch in an arc from the north to the northeast of the country, being a natural border with China in three sections, interrupted by Nepal and Bhutan, between which, in the state of Sikkim, is the highest peak of India, Mount Kanchenjunga. Karakorum is located in the far north of India in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, mostly in the part of Kashmir held by Pakistan. In the northeastern appendix of India, the mid-altitude Assam-Burma Mountains and the Shillong Plateau are located.
The main centers of glaciation are concentrated in the Karakoram and on the southern slopes of the Zaskar range in the Himalayas. The glaciers are fed by snowfalls during the summer monsoons and snow drifts from the slopes. The average height of the snow line decreases from 5300 m in the west to 4500 m in the east. Due to global warming, glaciers are retreating.
Hydrology of India
The internal waters of India are represented by numerous rivers, which, depending on the nature of the food, are divided into "Himalayan", full-flowing throughout the year, with mixed snow-glacier and rain food, and "Dean", mainly with rain, monsoon food, large fluctuations in runoff, flood from June to October. On all large rivers, a sharp rise in the level is observed in summer, often accompanied by floods. The Indus River, which gave the name to the country, after the partition of British India, turned out to be mostly in Pakistan.
The largest rivers, originating in the Himalayas and for the most part flowing through the territory of India, are the Ganges and the Brahmaputra; both flow into the Bay of Bengal. The main tributaries of the Ganges are the Yamuna and the Koshi. Their low banks cause catastrophic floods every year. Other important rivers of Hindustan are Godavari, Mahanadi, Kaveri and Krishna, also flowing into the Bay of Bengal, and Narmada and Tapti flowing into the Arabian Sea - the steep bank of these rivers does not allow their waters to overflow. Many of them are important as sources of irrigation.
There are no significant lakes in India. Most often there are oxbow lakes in the valleys of large rivers; there are also glacial-tectonic lakes in the Himalayas. The largest lake, Sambhar, located in arid Rajasthan, is used to evaporate salt.
Coast of India
The length of the coastline is 7,517 km, of which 5,423 km belong to mainland India, and 2,094 km to the Andaman, Nicobar, and Laccadive Islands. The coastline of mainland India has the following character: 43% sandy beaches, 11% rocky and rocky coast, and 46% watts or swampy coast. Weakly dissected, low, sandy shores have almost no convenient natural harbors, so large ports are located either at the mouths of rivers (Kolkata) or artificially arranged (Chennai). The south of the western coast of Hindustan is called the Malabar coast, the south of the east coast is called the Coromandel coast.
The most remarkable coastal regions of India are the Great Rann of Kutch in Western India and the Sundarbans, the swampy lower reaches of the Ganges and Brahmaputra deltas in India and Bangladesh. Two archipelagos are part of India: the coral atolls of Lakshadweep to the west of the Malabar coast; and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the Andaman Sea.
Natural Resources and Minerals of India
The mineral resources of India are diverse and their reserves are significant. The main deposits are located in the northeast of the country. On the border of the states of Orisa and Bihar, there are iron ore basins that are among the most important in the world (the largest is Singbhum on the Chhota-Nagpur plateau). Iron ores are of high quality. General geological reserves are over 19 billion tons. India also has significant reserves of manganese ores.
Somewhat to the north of the iron ore are the main coal basins (in the states of Bihar, West Bengal), but these coals are of poor quality. The explored reserves of hard coal in the country are about 23 billion tons (the total coal reserves in India, according to various sources, are estimated at 140 billion tons). In the north-east of the country, there is a particularly favorable concentration of minerals for the development of heavy industries. The state of Bihar is the most mineral-rich region in India.
The minerals of South India are diverse. These are bauxites, chromites, magnesites, brown coal, graphite, mica, diamonds, gold, monazite sands. In Central India (the eastern part of Madhya Pradesh) there are also significant deposits of ferrous metals and coal.
An important source of energy can be radioactive thorium contained in monocyte sands. Uranium ores have been discovered in the state of Rajasthan.
Climate of India
The climate of India is strongly influenced by the Himalayas and the Thar desert, causing monsoons. The Himalayas serve as a barrier to the cold Central Asian winds, thus making the climate in most of Hindustan warmer than at the same latitudes in other regions of the planet. The Thar Desert plays a key role in attracting the humid southwesterly winds of the summer monsoon, which provide most of India with rain between June and October. India is dominated by four main climates: humid tropical, dry tropical, subtropical monsoon and highland.
In most of India, there are three seasons: hot and humid with the dominance of the southwest monsoon (June - October); relatively cool and dry with a predominance of the northeast trade wind (November - February); very hot and dry transitional (March - May). During the wet season, more than 80% of the annual precipitation falls.
The windward slopes of the Western Ghats and the Himalayas are the most humid (up to 6000 mm per year), and on the slopes of the Shillong Plateau there is the rainiest place on Earth - Cherrapunji (about 12000 mm). The driest areas are the western part of the Indo-Gangetic Plain (less than 100 mm in the Thar Desert, dry period 9-10 months) and the central part of Hindustan (300-500 mm, dry period 8-9 months). The amount of precipitation varies greatly from year to year. On the plains, the average January temperature increases from north to south from 15 to 27 °C, in May it is 28-35 °C everywhere, sometimes reaching 45-48 °C. During the wet period, temperatures in most parts of the country are 28 °C. In the mountains at an altitude of 1500 m in January -1 ° C, in July 23 ° C, at an altitude of 3500 m, respectively -8 ° C and 18 ° C.
Flora and fauna of India
Due to the peculiarities of the location of India and the diverse climatic conditions, everything grows in this country. Or almost everything from drought-resistant thorny shrubs to tropical rainforest evergreen forest plants. There are such plants and trees as palm trees (more than 20 species), ficuses, giant trees - batangor (up to 40 m high), sal (about 37 m), cotton tree (35 m). The Indian banyan is striking in its unusual appearance - a tree with hundreds of aerial roots. According to the Botanical Service, there are about 45 thousand different plant species in India, of which more than 5 thousand are found only in India. On the territory of India, there are humid tropical evergreen forests, monsoon (deciduous) forests, savannas, woodlands and shrubs, semi-deserts and deserts. In the Himalayas, the vertical zonality of the vegetation cover is clearly manifested - from tropical and subtropical forests to alpine meadows. As a result of long-term human impact, the natural vegetation of India has been greatly altered, and in many areas almost destroyed. Once heavily forested, India is now one of the least forested areas in the world. Forests have been preserved mainly in the Himalayas and in the highest mountain ranges of the peninsula. The coniferous forests of the Himalayas consist of Himalayan cedar, fir, spruce and pine. Since they are located in hard-to-reach areas, their economic value is limited.
More than 350 species of mammals live in India. The main representatives of the fauna here are: elephants, rhinos, lions, tigers, leopards, panthers, a huge number of different species of deer, bison, antelopes, bison and striped hyenas, bears, wild pigs, jackals, monkeys and wild Indian dogs. The barasinga deer lives only in India - there are only about 4 thousand of them. Reptiles include king cobras, pythons, crocodiles, large freshwater turtles and lizards. The world of wild birds in India is also diverse. It has about 1,200 species and 2,100 subspecies of birds, from hornbills and eagles to the symbol of the nation, the peacock.
There are river dolphins in the Ganges Delta. In the seas surrounding India, the dugong lives - one of the rarest animals in the world, a representative of a small detachment of siren, or sea cows.
As part of the government’s special programs for the protection of wild animals, a network of national parks and reserves has been created in the country, the largest and most famous of which are Kanha in Madhya Pradesh, Kaziranga in Assam, Corbett in Uttar Pradesh and Periyar in Kerala. At the moment there are only 350 national parks and reserves.
