General Knowledge · Class 4 · Geography and India
Mountains, plains and coasts
India has snow mountains, a sandy desert, flat plains, a high plateau, two coasts and coral islands. Where does each one lie?
Small test at the end: scroll down to the end of this page for five short questions that check what you have learnt. Tap an answer, then press Check answer. Go to the questions ↓
Jump to: Read first · Try it away from the screen · Check it yourself · Check yourself · For teachers
Read first
5 facts. The questions below make you use them, not just remember them.
- The Himalayas run across the north of India. India's highest peak is Kangchenjunga (8,586 m), on the border of Sikkim and Nepal. Mount Everest (8,849 m) is in Nepal, on its border with China.
- Below the Himalayas lie the Northern Plains of the Ganga and the Brahmaputra. Rivers bring fine soil called silt, which makes the land fertile, so many people live and farm there.
- South India is mostly the Deccan plateau, a raised area of fairly flat land, with the Western and Eastern Ghats along its edges.
- The Thar desert lies in the west, mostly in Rajasthan.
- India has two groups of islands: the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal, and Lakshadweep, built by coral, in the Arabian Sea.
Offline
Try it away from the screen
On a physical map of India in an atlas, find the six parts: mountains, plains, desert, plateau, coasts and islands. Which part do you live in? Draw a rough outline of India and colour the six parts.
Make it on paper. Keep it with you. Nothing to upload.
Check it yourself
Mountain heights can change in new surveys: Everest was re-measured in 2020 as 8,849 m. When two sources disagree, check which survey and which year each one uses.
Check yourself
Five questions about what this page teaches. Choose an answer and press Check answer, or open "See the answer and why". Nothing is saved or sent: your choices stay on this screen and disappear when you leave or reload the page.
How do you want to answer? You choose, and you can change at any time.
See the answer and why
- A. Nanda Devi Not this one. Nanda Devi is very high and lies wholly inside India, but Kangchenjunga is higher.
- B. Anamudi Not this one. Anamudi is the highest peak in South India, much lower than the Himalayas.
- C. Kangchenjunga Correct. Yes. Kangchenjunga, 8,586 m, on the Sikkim-Nepal border.
- D. Mount Everest Not this one. Everest is the highest in the world, but it is in Nepal, not India.
See the answer and why
- A. It is full of high mountains that protect the farms Not this one. The plains are flat. The mountains are further north.
- B. It is the coldest part of India Not this one. The plains get hot summers. People settled for the soil and water, not the cold.
- C. The sea is close to every village there Not this one. Most of the plains are far from the sea.
- D. Flat land with fertile river soil and plenty of water Correct. Yes. Rivers bring silt and water, which are good for farming.
See the answer and why
- A. 17,435 m Not this one. That adds the two heights. "How much higher" means subtract.
- B. 263 m Correct. Yes. 8,849 − 8,586 = 263.
- C. 363 m Not this one. Check the hundreds: you borrowed for the tens, so 8 hundreds became 7, and 7 − 5 = 2.
- D. 1,263 m Not this one. The thousands are the same (8 and 8), so the difference is less than 1,000.
See the answer and why
- A. Sri Lanka Not this one. Sri Lanka is a separate country, south of India.
- B. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands Not this one. These lie in the Bay of Bengal, on the other side of India.
- C. Lakshadweep Correct. Yes. Lakshadweep's islands are coral atolls in the Arabian Sea.
- D. Majuli Not this one. Majuli is a river island in the Brahmaputra, in Assam.
See the answer and why
- A. A range of snowy peaks in the north Not this one. Those are the Himalayas.
- B. Low, flat land right beside the sea Not this one. That is a coastal plain. The Deccan is raised land.
- C. A sandy desert in the west of India Not this one. That is the Thar desert in Rajasthan.
- D. A raised area of fairly flat land in south India Correct. Yes. The Deccan is a plateau, edged by the Western and Eastern Ghats.
For teachers and grown-upsWhere the facts come from, and how to use this round.
Sources and notes
- Heights: Everest 8,848.86 m (China-Nepal survey, 2020); Kangchenjunga 8,586 m; Nanda Devi 7,816 m; Anamudi 2,695 m.
- Links: NCERT Class 4-6 geography, physical features of India.