India is a country of great geographical extent. Explain
Answers
India is a country of great geographical extent:
Spanning over an area of "32,87,263 Sq. Km" India is the "seventh largest country" in the world. It has a Latitude of 8o 4' N to 37o 6' N and Longitude of 68o 7' E to 97o 25' E. The latitudinal and longitudinal extent of 30 degrees, it has a time difference of two hours, thus, the standard meridian 82°30E was chosen.
Its distance from north to south is 3,214 km and 2,993 km from east to west and has a total coastline of about 7,516 km. The Tropic of Cancer passing through 23.43 degree north to the equator is chosen as the midpoint. Occupying the southern central Peninsula with Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean on three sides and Himalayas on the mainland, it holds a strategic importance as the "trans-Indian ocean routes" connect the west with the east and eases trade with Australia, Africa etc.
It is covered with fertile plains like the Indo-Gangetic plain, multitude of rivers Godavari, Krishna etc and also islands of Arabian Sea, Lakshadweep and "Bay of Bengal- Andaman and Nicobar islands". Hence, India is called as a country of great geographical extent.