Location
Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan
Geographic coordinates
68 - 97° East, 8 - 37° North (average 77 00 E, 20 00 N)
Map references: Asia
Area
total:
3,287,590 km²
land:
2,973,190 km²
water:
314,400 km²
Area - comparative: slightly more than one-third the size of the US
Land boundaries
- total: 14,103 km
- border countries: Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan 605 km, Burma 1,463 km, China 3,380 km, Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912 km
Coastline: 7,000 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone:
24 nautical miles
continental shelf:
200 nautical miles or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone:
200 nautical miles
territorial sea:
12 nautical miles
Climate
varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north
Terrain
upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north
Elevation extremes:
Natural resources
coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone,thorium (world's largest along Kerala shore) arable land
Land use:
arable land: 56%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 4%
forests and woodland: 23%
other: 16% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 480,000 km² (1993 est.)
Natural hazards
droughts, flash floods, severe thunderstorms common; earthquakes
Environment - current issues
deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; desertification; air pollution from industrial effluents and vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage and runoff of agricultural pesticides; tap water is not potable throughout the country; huge and growing population is overstraining natural resources
Environment - international agreements
party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes
See also
External link
- Maps of India (http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/india-political-map.htm)
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