India: A Regional Geography

India, formally called the Republic of India, is the country that occupies most of the Indian subcontinent in southern Asia. In terms of its population, India is one of the most populous nations in the world and falls slightly behind China. India has a long history and is considered the world’s largest democracy and one of the most successful in Asia. It is a developing nation and has only recently opened its economy to outside trade and influences. As such, its economy is currently growing and when combined with its population growth, India is one of the world’s most significant countries. India is entirely contained on the Indian Plate, a major tectonic plate that was formed when it split off from the ancient continent Gondwanaland (ancient landmass, consisting of the southern part of the supercontinent of Pangea). About 90 million years ago, during the late Cretaceous Period, the Indian Plate began moving north at about 15 cm/year (6 in/yr). About 50 to 55 million years ago, in the Eocene Epoch of the Cenozoic Era, the plate collided with Asia after covering a distance of 2,000 to 3,000 km (1,243 to 1,864 mi), having moved faster than any other known plate. This textbook will be of indispensable help to students of this course both at the undergraduate and postgraduate level.