India Size and Location Class 9 Notes Social Science Geography Chapter 1 SST Pdf free download is part of Class 9 Social Science Notes for Quick Revision. Here we have given India Size and Location Class 9 Geography Chapter 1 Notes.

Location

• If you look at the above map, you would find that India lies to the north of the 00 latitude, i.e. Equator. She thus entirely lie in the northern hemisphere. Its mainland extends from latitude 8°4′N to latitude 37°6′N. Its longitudinal extent is from 68°7′E to 97°25′E.
• India also lies to the east of the 00 longitude, the Prime Meridian. She thus lies in the eastern hemisphere.

• India is divided into almost two equal parts by the Tropic of Cancer. It passes through eight Indian states—Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram.
• India is a part of the Asian continent. It is the seventh largest country in the world and the third largest country in Asia.

• It has two main groups of islands—the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal and the Lakshadweep Islands in the Arabian Sea.
• India occupies about 2.4% of the total geographical area of the world.
• The young fold Himalayan Mountains forms the boundary of India in the northwest, north and northeast.
• India is a peninsula which tapers to the south dividing the Indian Ocean into the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.

Size

• The land mass of India has an area of 3.28 million square km.
• India’s total area accounts for about 2.4 per cent of the total geographical area of the world.
• India is the seventh largest country of the world.
• India has a land boundary of about 15,200 km and the total length of the coast line of the mainland including Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep is 7,516.6 km.

• India is bounded by the young fold mountains in the northwest, north and north east.
• South of about 22° north latitude, it begins to taper, and extends towards the Indian Ocean, dividing it into two seas, the Arabian Sea on the west and the Bay of Bengal on its east.

Look at Figure and note that the latitudinal and longitudinal extent of the mainland is about 30°. Despite this fact the east-west extent appears to be smaller than the north-south extent.

• From Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh there is a time lag of two hours.
• Hence, time along the Standard Meridian of India (82°30’E) passing through Mirzapur (in Uttar Pradesh) is taken as the standard time for the whole country.
• The latitudinal extent influences the duration of the day and night, as one move from south to north.

India and the World

• The Indian landmass has a central location between the East and the West Asia.
• India is a southward extension of the Asian Continent.
• The Trans Indian Ocean routes which connect the countries of Europe in the West and the countries of East Asia provide a strategic central location to India.
• Note that the Deccan Peninsula protrudes into the Indian Ocean, thus helping India to establish close contact with West Asia, Africa and Europe from the western coast and with Southeast and East Asia from the eastern coast.

• No other country has a long coastline on the Indian Ocean as India has and indeed, it is India’s eminent position in the Indian Ocean which justifies the naming of an Ocean after it.
• India’s contacts with the World have continued through the ages but her relationships through the land routes are much older than her maritime contacts. The various passes across the mountains in the north have provided passages to the ancient travelers, while the oceans restricted such interaction for a long time.
• These routes have contributed in the exchange of ideas and commodities since ancient times.
• The ideas of the Upanishads and the Ramayana, the stories of Panchtantra, the Indian numerals and the decimal system thus could reach many parts of the world.
• The spices, muslin and other merchandise were taken from India to different countries. On the other hand, the influence of Greek sculpture, and the architectural styles of dome and minarets from West Asia can be seen in different parts of our country.
• The land and sea routes made the existence of trade and cultural exchanges of India possible with the other countries. While the Indian decimal number system travelled far and wide, India was influenced by Greek architecture and sculpture during the ancient period and the West Asian style of architecture since the early mediaeval period.

India’s Neighbors’

India occupies an important strategic position in South Asia. India has 29 states and 8 Union Territories.

• India has 29 states and 8 Union Territories. Area wise, Rajasthan is the largest and Goa is the smallest state.
• India is strategically located in the south of Asia. It is divided into 29 states and eight union territories. While Rajasthan is the largest state, Goa is the smallest state.

• India shares its boundaries with Afghanistan and Pakistan in the northwest, China, Nepal and Bhutan in the north and Myanmar and Bangladesh in the east. In the south, Sri Lanka and Maldives are its neighbours.

While Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrow channel of sea formed by the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar, the islands of Maldives are located to the south of the Lakshadweep Islands   .

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