Gujarat in the west to the coal-rich Chota Nagpur Plateau in Jharkhand in the ea

st.[132] To the south, the remaining peninsular landmass, the Deccan Plateau, is
flanked on the west and east by coastal ranges known as the Western and Eastern
Ghats;[133] the plateau contains the country's oldest rock formations, some ove
r one billion years old. Constituted in such fashion, India lies to the north of
the equator between 6 44' and 35 30' north latitude[e] and 68 7' and 97 25' east lo
ngitude.[134]
A shining white snow-clad range, framed against a turquoise sky. In the middle g
round, a ridge descends from the right to form a saddle in the centre of the pho
tograph, partly in shadow. In the near foreground, a loop of a road is seen.
The Kedar Range of the Greater Himalayas rises behind Kedarnath Temple (Indian s
tate of Uttarakhand), which is one of the twelve jyotirlinga shrines.
India's coastline measures 7,517 kilometres (4,700 mi) in length; of this distan
ce, 5,423 kilometres (3,400 mi) belong to peninsular India and 2,094 kilometres
(1,300 mi) to the Andaman, Nicobar, and Lakshadweep island chains.[135] Accordin
g to the Indian naval hydrographic charts, the mainland coastline consists of th
e following: 43% sandy beaches; 11% rocky shores, including cliffs; and 46% mudf
lats or marshy shores.[135]
Major Himalayan-origin rivers that substantially flow through India include the
Ganges and the Brahmaputra, both of which drain into the Bay of Bengal.[136] Imp
ortant tributaries of the Ganges include the Yamuna and the Kosi; the latter's e
xtremely low gradient often leads to severe floods and course changes.[137] Majo
r peninsular rivers, whose steeper gradients prevent their waters from flooding,
include the Godavari, the Mahanadi, the Kaveri, and the Krishna, which also dra
in into the Bay of Bengal;[138] and the Narmada and the Tapti, which drain into
the Arabian Sea.[139] Coastal features include the marshy Rann of Kutch of weste
rn India and the alluvial Sundarbans delta of eastern India; the latter is share
d with Bangladesh.[140] India has two archipelagos: the Lakshadweep, coral atoll
s off India's south-western coast; and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a volcan
ic chain in the Andaman Sea.[141]
The Indian climate is strongly influenced by the Himalayas and the Thar Desert,
both of which drive the economically and culturally pivotal summer and winter mo
nsoons.[142] The Himalayas prevent cold Central Asian katabatic winds from blowi
ng in, keeping the bulk of the Indian subcontinent warmer than most locations at
similar latitudes.[143][144] The Thar Desert plays a crucial role in attracting
the moisture-laden south-west summer monsoon winds that, between June and Octob
er, provide the majority of India's rainfall.[142] Four major climatic groupings
predominate in India: tropical wet, tropical dry, subtropical humid, and montan
e.[145]
Biodiversity
Main article: Wildlife of India
The brahminy kite (Haliastur indus) is identified with Garuda, the mythical moun
t of Vishnu. It hunts for fish and other prey near the coasts and around inland
wetlands.
India lies within the Indomalaya ecozone and contains three biodiversity hotspot
s.[146] One of 17 megadiverse countries, it hosts 8.6% of all mammalian, 13.7% o
f all avian, 7.9% of all reptilian, 6% of all amphibian, 12.2% of all piscine, a
nd 6.0% of all flowering plant species.[147][148] About 21.2% of the country's l
andmass is covered by forests (tree canopy density >10%), of which 12.2% compris
es moderately or very dense forests (tree canopy density >40%).[149] Endemism is
high among plants, 33%, and among ecoregions such as the shola forests.[150] Ha
bitat ranges from the tropical rainforest of the Andaman Islands, Western Ghats,
and North-East India to the coniferous forest of the Himalaya. Between these ex
tremes lie