Asia: Geography

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide Major river of India and Bangladesh; length 2,510 km/1,560 mi. It drains a fertile and densely populated basin, approximately a quarter of the total area of India, and is the most sacred river for Hindus.

Great Asian mountain system, extending c.1,500 mi (2,410 km) E from the Indus River in Pakistan through India, the Tibet region of China, Nepal, E India, and Bhutan.

Third largest ocean, c.28,350,000 sq mi (73,427,000 sq km), extending from S Asia to Antarctica and from E Africa to SE Australia; it is c.4,000 mi (6,400 km) wide at the equator. It constitutes about 20% of the world's total ocean area.

The principal waterway of Pakistan and source of the word “India,” is one of the world's great rivers and the source of ancient civilizations. Its flooding has created both fertile farmland and great loss of life and land.

State in east central India; area 276,814 sq km/106,878 sq mi; population (2001 est) 75,727,500.

State (2001 provisional pop. 26,638,407), c.30,000 sq mi (77,700 sq km), extreme NE India. Dispur is the capital.

State of India, in the Himalayas on the borders of Tibet and Myanmar; area 83,578 sq km/33,270 sq mi; population (2001 est) 1,091,100 (including over 80 ethnic groups).

Region, 77,442 sq mi (200,575 sq km), E India and Bangladesh, on the Bay of Bengal.

State of northeast India; area 99,199 sq km/38,301 sq mi; population (2001 est) 82,878,800. The capital is Patna.

State on the west coast of India, lying 400 km/250 mi south of Mumbai (formerly Bombay); area 3,702 sq km/1,429 sq mi; population (2001 est) 1,344,000.

State of west India, formed from north and west Bombay state in 1960; bordered to the north by Pakistan and Rajasthan, with Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra to the east and southeast.

State of northwest India, to the south of Kashmir and west of Tibet; area 55,673 sq km/21,495 sq mi; population (2001 est) 6,077,248 (mainly Hindu; some Buddhists).

State in southwest India; area 191,773 sq km/74,044 sq mi; population (2001 est) 52,734,000, of which the majority is Hindu.

Disputed area on the border of India and Pakistan in the northwest of the former state of Kashmir, now Jammu and Kashmir; area 78,900 sq km/30,445 sq mi.

State of southwest India; area 38,864 sq km/15,006 sq mi; population (2001 est) 31,838,600. The capital is Thiruvananthapuram.

State (2001 provisional pop. 60,385,118), 119,010 sq mi (308,240 sq km), central India, between the Deccan and the Ganges plain.

State in west central India; area 307,762 sq km/118,828 sq mi; population (2001 est) 96,752,200. The capital is Mumbai (formerly Bombay).

State of northeast India, bordering Myanmar on the east, and the Indian states of Manipur to the south, and Assam to the north and west.

State of northeast India; area 155,782 sq km/60,148 sq mi; population (2001 est) 36,706,900. The capital is Bhubaneshwar.

Historic region in the NW of the Indian subcontinent. Since 1947 it has been separated into an Indian state and a Pakistani province bearing the same name.

State (2001 provisional pop. 540,493), 2,745 sq mi (7,110 sq km), India. It is located in the E Himalayas and bordered by Nepal (W), by the Tibet region of China (N).

State of southeast India, bounded on the north by Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, on the west by Kerala, and on the east and south by the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean.

State of north India, bordered by Nepal and Uttarakhand to the northeast, with Madhya Pradesh to the south, Haryana, Delhi, and Rajasthan to the west.

State of northeast India; area 87,853 sq km/33,920 sq mi; population (2001 est) 80,221,200. The capital is Kolkata (formerly Calcutta).

City (1991 pop. 2,651,000; metropolitan area 4,130,288), capital of Karnataka state, S central India, 3,000 ft (914 m) above sea level. A major industrial and transportation area of S India, Bangalore is the economically vibrant center of India's high-technology sector.

Formerly Madras, city (1991 pop. 5,421,985), capital of Tamil Nadu state, SE India, on the Bay of Bengal.

Union territory and city, N central India. The union territory, officially the National Capital Territory of Delhi (2001 provisional pop. 13,782,976), 573 sq mi (1,484 sq km). New Delhi, the capital of India, and Delhi (or Old Delhi) are the chief urban centers.

Capital city of the southern central Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, on the River Musi; population (2001 est) 3,449,900.

Capital of West Bengal state in India, on the River Hooghly, the westernmost mouth of the River Ganges, some 130 km/80 mi north of the Bay of Bengal; population (2001 est) 4,580,500; metropolitan area (2001 est) 13,216,500. It is chiefly a commercial and industrial centre.

Indian city, industrial port, and commercial centre; population (2001 est) 11,914,400; metropolitan area (2001 est) 16,368,100. Previously known as Bombay, the city was once the capital of Bombay Presidency and Bombay State.