Class 11 Geo India size and location

- CASE/SOURCE BASED QUESTION

The mainland of India, extends from Kashmir in the north to Kanyakumari in the south and

Arunachal Pradesh in the east to Gujarat in the west. India's territorial limit further extends

towards the sea up to 12 nautical miles (about 21.9 km) from the coast. Our southern boundary

extends up to 6°45' N latitude in the Bay of Bengal. Let us try to analyse the implications of

having such a vast longitudinal and latitudinal extent. If you work out the latitudinal and

longitudinal extent of India, they are roughly about 30 degrees, whereas the actual distance

measured from north to south extremity is 3214 km, and that from east to west is only 2933

km. This difference is based on the fact that the distance between two longitudes decreases

towards the poles whereas the distance between two latitudes remains the same everywhere.

From the values of latitude, it is understood that the southern part of the country lies within the

tropics and the northern part lies in the sub-tropical zone or the warm temperate zone. This

location is responsible for large variations in land forms. Climate, soil types and natural

vegetation in the country. Now, let us observe the longitudinal extent and its implications on the Indian people. From the values of longitude it is quite discernible that there is a variation of

nearly 30 degrees, which causes a time difference of nearly two hours between the easternmost

and the westernmost parts of our country. You are familiar with the concept of Indian Standard

Time (IST). What is the use of the standard meridian? While the sun rises in the north-eastern

states about two hours earlier as compared to Jaisalmer, the watches in Dibrugarh, Imphal in

the east and Jaisalmer, Bhopal or Chennai in the other parts of India show the same time.

1. What is the range of longitudinal extent of India ? 1

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2. What is the main reason behind the difference in time zone in eastern and western states of

India? 1

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3. What is nautical mile? 1

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4. What is full form of IST?