Physical map of India
Mountains, plateaus, plains, desert, coasts, islands and the main rivers — on one map. Green means low land, brown and grey mean high land.
Colours: low plains plateaus and hills high mountains · ━ rivers · ▲ peaks
Relief and rivers: Natural Earth (public domain). Boundaries: DataMeet India community (CC BY 4.0), which follows the official boundary of India as published by the Survey of India. Simplified for school use; not to scale; neighbouring countries are not shown.
The six physical divisions of India
- The Himalayan Mountains — the young fold mountains along the north. They have three main parallel ranges: the Himadri (Great Himalayas), the Himachal (Lesser Himalayas) and the Shiwaliks.
- The Northern Plains — flat, fertile land made by the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra and their tributaries. Many people live here and farming is easy.
- The Peninsular Plateau — an old, hard block of land in the south and centre. It includes the Malwa Plateau, the Deccan Plateau and the Chota Nagpur Plateau, edged by the Western and Eastern Ghats.
- The Indian Desert — the Thar Desert in the west, a dry, sandy land with very little rain.
- The Coastal Plains — narrow strips of land along the coasts: the western coast (Konkan, Kannad and Malabar) and the eastern coast (Northern Circars and Coromandel).
- The Islands — the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal and the Lakshadweep Islands in the Arabian Sea.
High peaks shown on the map
| Peak | Height | Where |
|---|---|---|
| K2 (Godwin-Austen) | 8,611 m | Karakoram Range, in Gilgit-Baltistan (shown in India's official map as part of Ladakh). The highest peak in India's territory. |
| Kangchenjunga | 8,586 m | Himalayas, Sikkim (on the border with Nepal). World's third-highest peak. |
| Nanda Devi | 7,816 m | Himalayas, Uttarakhand. The highest peak that lies entirely inside India. |
| Anamudi | 2,695 m | Western Ghats, Kerala. The highest peak in South India. |
| Doddabetta | 2,637 m | Nilgiri Hills, Tamil Nadu. |
| Guru Shikhar | 1,722 m | Aravalli Range, Mount Abu, Rajasthan. The highest point of the Aravallis. |
Heights are commonly quoted figures, rounded to the metre; different books may differ by a few metres.
Main rivers and where they end
| River | Flows into |
|---|---|
| Ganga | Bay of Bengal (through Bangladesh) |
| Yamuna | Joins the Ganga at Prayagraj |
| Brahmaputra | Bay of Bengal (joins the Ganga system in Bangladesh) |
| Indus | Arabian Sea (through Pakistan) |
| Sutlej | Joins the Indus system in Pakistan |
| Narmada | Arabian Sea — flows west |
| Tapi | Arabian Sea — flows west |
| Mahanadi | Bay of Bengal |
| Godavari | Bay of Bengal |
| Krishna | Bay of Bengal |
| Kaveri | Bay of Bengal |
Most big rivers of the peninsula flow east into the Bay of Bengal. The Narmada and the Tapi are the big ones that flow west into the Arabian Sea.
Physical map quiz
The map prints on one A4 page with its colour key. For a blank map to fill in, use the India outline map.