Question

Name the water bodies that make India a peninsula?

Answer 1

Indian sub-continent has the following relief features:----
1. The Himalayas
2. The Indo-Gangetic Plain
3. The Peninsular Plateau
4. The Coastal Plains
5. The Thar Desert
6. The Islands
7. The Bay of Bengal
8. The Indian Ocean

Out of the above, The Bay of Bengal, The Indian Ocean & The Arabian Sea contribute significantly in making a long coastline. A huge coastline of about 7500 km has several advantages:-
1. It acts as a natural boundary
2. More water area is available for marine trade
3. Coastal patrolling is not tough as it is easy to demarcate boundary
4. More availability of natural resources like oil rigs, petroleum, thorium etc.
5. It acts as a strategic route for overseas trade
6. More wind power can be generated nearby coastal areas.
7. Enhanced scope for tourism
8. Boosts the natural ecosystem and marine biodiversity

Answer 2

Indian Ocean, The Arabian Sea and The Bay of Bengal are the three water bodies that make India a peninsula. Brief description of all these three are as follows.

Indian Ocean :-
The Indian ocean is the third largest of the world's oceans, covering about 70,560,000 Sq km (27,240,000 sq miles) (approximately 20 % of the water on the Earth's surface). It is bounded by Asia on the North, Africa on the West, Australia on the East, and on the South by Southern Ocean. It is named after India. It has an average depth of 3,741 meters (12274 ft) and a maximum depth of 7906 meters (25938 ft).

Arabian Sea :-
The Arabian Sea is a region of the Northern Indian Ocean bounded on the North by Pakistan and Iran, on the West by North-Eastern Somalia and the Arabian Peninsula, and on the East by India. Historically, the Sea has been known by other names including the Erythraean Sea and the Persian Sea. Its total area is 3,862,000 sq km (1,491,000 sq miles) and maximum depth is 4,652 meters (15262 ft).

Bay Of Bengal :-
Bay Of Bengal is the largest bay in the world forms the North-Eastern part of the Indian Ocean. Roughly triangular, it is bordered mostly by India and Sri Lanka to the West, Bangladesh to the North, and Myanmar (Burma) and Andaman and Nicobar Islands (India) to the East. The Bay of Bengal occupies an area of 2,172,000 sq km (839,000 sq miles). A number of large rivers - the Ganges and its tributaries such as Padma and Hooghly, the Brahmaputra and its tributaries such as the Jamuna and Meghna, other rivers such as Irrawaddy, Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna and Kaveri flow into the Bay of Bengal. It has an average depth of 2600 meters (8500 ft) and a maximum depth of 4694 meters (15400 ft).