PHYSICAL CONFIGURATION OF THE COUNTRY. 89 



be divided into three great sections : the Himalayas, the 

 Indo-Gangetic plain and the Peninsula. 



The Himalayan range stands out like a lofty wall on the 

 north, separating India from the high plateau of Thibet. 

 Commencing in the west it runs first in a south-easterly and 

 then in an easterly direction from one end of India to the 

 other ; both, on the west and the east other ranges run almost 

 due north and south. The space within these three ranges, 

 immediately to the south of the Himalayas, forms a broad 

 belt of low land, commencing in the west at Kurrachi on the 



a. = Thibetan plateau, mean height about 14,000 feet. 

 h. = Himalayas, maximum height 29,000 feet. 



c. = Indo-Gangetic plain, height a few hundred feet above the sea. 



d. = Peninsula, height varying from 2,000 to 8,000 feet. 



e. = The sea. 



* = Points where the clouds coming from the sea must rise, cool and drop their 

 moisture. 



Arabian Sea, including Sind, the Punjab plains, the greater 

 part of Rajputana, the United Provinces, Behar and Lower 

 Bengal down to the Sunderbuns beyond Calcutta on the Bay 

 of Bengal. This belt of mostly alluvial land, not more than 

 a few hundred feet above the level of the sea, is the richest 

 part of India. 



Proceeding across this belt of low land in a southerly 

 direction stiff escarpments are met, indicating the commence- 

 ment of the great highland plateau of the Indian Peninsula 



