India Geography
A compact guide to India’s physical regions, major rivers, climate patterns, and the full list of States and Union Territories with their capitals.
The Northern Mountains
Himalayas — highest mountain chain; subdivided into Himadri, Himachal and Shiwaliks. Major river sources.
The Northern Plains
Formed by alluvium from the Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra system; agricultural heartland.
Peninsular Plateau
Old crystalline rocks, Deccan Plateau, Eastern & Western Ghats — older landscape than the Himalaya.
Coasts & Islands
Western and Eastern coastal plains; Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep as island groups.
| River | Origin | Major States | Empties Into |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ganga | Gangotri Glacier (Uttarakhand) | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal | Bay of Bengal |
| Yamuna | Yamunotri Glacier (Uttarakhand) | Uttarakhand, Haryana, Delhi, U.P. | Joins Ganga at Prayagraj |
| Brahmaputra | Tibet (as Tsangpo) | Arunachal Pradesh, Assam | Bay of Bengal |
| Godavari | Trimbakeshwar/Nashik (Maharashtra) | Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh | Bay of Bengal |
| Narmada | Amarkantak (Madhya Pradesh) | M.P., Gujarat | Arabian Sea |
- Winter (Dec–Feb): Cool and dry in the north; milder in the south.
- Summer (Mar–May): Rising temperatures across the subcontinent.
- Monsoon (Jun–Sep): Southwest monsoon brings majority of annual rainfall.
- Post-monsoon (Oct–Nov): Transition period; retreating monsoon.
India has 28 states. Below is an up-to-date list of states with their administrative capitals (2025). Sources: national/state listings. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}
| # | State | Capital |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andhra Pradesh | Amaravati |
| 2 | Arunachal Pradesh | Itanagar |
| 3 | Assam | Dispur |
| 4 | Bihar | Patna |
| 5 | Chhattisgarh | Raipur |
| 6 | Goa | Panaji |
| 7 | Gujarat | Gandhinagar |
| 8 | Haryana | Chandigarh |
| 9 | Himachal Pradesh | Shimla |
| 10 | Jharkhand | Ranchi |
| 11 | Karnataka | Bengaluru |
| 12 | Kerala | Thiruvananthapuram |
| 13 | Madhya Pradesh | Bhopal |
| 14 | Maharashtra | Mumbai |
| 15 | Manipur | Imphal |
| 16 | Meghalaya | Shillong |
| 17 | Mizoram | Aizawl |
| 18 | Nagaland | Kohima |
| 19 | Odisha | Bhubaneswar |
| 20 | Punjab | Chandigarh |
| 21 | Rajasthan | Jaipur |
| 22 | Sikkim | Gangtok |
| 23 | Tamil Nadu | Chennai |
| 24 | Telangana | Hyderabad |
| 25 | Tripura | Agartala |
| 26 | Uttar Pradesh | Lucknow |
| 27 | Uttarakhand | Dehradun |
| 28 | West Bengal | Kolkata |
India has 8 Union Territories. Capitals listed below (where multiple seasonal capitals apply these are noted). :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}
| # | Union Territory | Capital / Admin Centre |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | Port Blair |
| 2 | Chandigarh | Chandigarh |
| 3 | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | Daman (Admin HQ) |
| 4 | Delhi (National Capital Territory) | New Delhi |
| 5 | Jammu & Kashmir | Srinagar (Summer) / Jammu (Winter) |
| 6 | Ladakh | Leh (administrative centre) — Kargil (important town) |
| 7 | Lakshadweep | Kavaratti |
| 8 | Puducherry | Puducherry |
- India spans roughly from 8°4'N to 37°6'N latitude and 68°7'E to 97°25'E longitude.
- The Tropic of Cancer (23°30'N) crosses eight Indian states.
- India’s coastline (mainland + island territories) is approximately 7,516 km.