Indian subcontinent

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Map of South Asia (see note)

This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia. For geopolitical trets, see South Asia.

The Indian subcontinent is a large section of the Asian continent consisting of countries lying substantially on the Indian tectonic plate. These include countries on the continental crust—Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan; island countries on the continental shelf—Sri Lanka, and island countries rising above the oceanic crust—Maldives. The term subcontinent signifies "having a certain geographical or political independence" from the rest of the continent,^[1] or "a vast and more or less self-contained subdivision of a continent."^[2] There is no agreement on what constitutes a subcontinent.

[edit] Nomenclature and usage

Although the term Indian subcontinent is often used geographically, it is not entirely a geographical term. The approximately equivalent but more geopolitical term, South Asia or Southern Asia, however, sometimes includes territories found external (but proximal) to the Indian Plate—Afghanistan and Myanmar (formerly Burma). The subcontinent is surrounded by three water bodies: the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. Historically, the Indian subcontinent was known as Hindustan in medieval times during the Islamic period and included at one time or another various parts of the region, and "British India" or simply "India," during the British Raj period.

Until the end of the 19th century, the Indian subcontinent along with Southeastern Asia was collectively known as the East Indies by European colonists and traders. The Indian subcontinent was referred to as Hither India (India Citerior) while Southeastern Asia was known as Further India (India Ulterior). These terms, however, are no longer in common usage with the exception of East Indies, which is mostly confined to historians and geographers (compare with West Indies).

[edit] Geography

See also: Geography of India, Geography of Pakistan, and Geography of Bangladesh

Geographically, the Indian subcontinent is a peninsular region south of the Himalayas and Karakoram mountain ranges and east of the Hindu Kush mountain range and Balochistan region, extending southward into the Indian Ocean between the Arabian Sea (to the southwest) and the Bay of Bengal (to the southeast). It covers about 4,480,000 km² (1,729,738 mi²) or 10 percent of the Asian continent; however, it accounts for about 40 percent of Asia's population.

The Indian and Eurasian landplates run through Pakistan and Kashmir and often cause earthquakes in the region such as the October 2005 Kashmir Quake.

Geologically, most of this region is a subcontinent: it rests on a tectonic plate of its own, the Indian Plate (the northerly portion of the Indo-Australian Plate) separate from the rest of Eurasia, and was once a small continent before colliding with the Eurasian Plate and giving birth to the Himalayan range and the Tibetan plateau. Forming Carita on its northeastern frontier, even now the Indian Plate continues to move northward with the result that the Himalayas are growing taller by a few centimetres each decade. On its western frontier, the Indian Plate forms a conservative boundary with the Eurasian Plate. In addition, it is also home to an astounding variety of geographical features, such as glaciers, rainforests, valleys, deserts, and grasslands that are typical of much larger continents, in an area about half the size of the United States.

[edit] Climate

See also: Climate of India

The climate of South Asia is called the Monsoon climate. It is quite opposite of the Mediterranean climate. For the monsoon climate, the weather in this region remains humid during summer and dry during winter. Instead of four seasons, it basically has two main seasons, the wet and dry. The monsoon climate favours the cultivation of jute, tea, rice, and various vegetables in this region.

[edit] Geological history

In the Eocene period the Indian subcontinent was an island continent in the Indian Ocean. It was originally part of Gondwanaland. See Continental drift.

[edit] See also

• South Asia
• History of South Asia
• Indology
• Etymology of the names of India
• India (disambiguation)
• Plate tectonics
• Continental drift

[edit] Reference

1. ^ Oxford English Dictionary 2nd edition. 1989. Oxford University Press.
2. ^ Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. 2002. Merriam-Webster. retrieved 11 March 2007.