India’s GeographyMs. Carmelitano

Geography of IndiaThe Indian Subcontinent is made up of India,

Pakistan, and BangladeshMountains

The Hindu Kush, Karakorum, and Himalayan mountain ranges separate India from the rest of Asia

They protect India from invasion

Rivers, Mountains, PlainsIndia is a peninsula that juts out into the Indian OceanNorth: World’s largest mountainsWest: Thar DesertSouth West: Arabian Sea

The result of the geography is isolationThis is may be why there is little evidence of an advanced

military in the Harappa River Valley civilizationRivers: Indus and GangesPlains:

Indo-Gangetic Plain is located in Northern IndiaThe high central plateau is called the Deccan Plateau

Eastern and Western Ghats mountains make the plateau a dry region

Along southern India is lush tropical land

Climate of IndiaMonsoons: Seasonal winds dominate the

climateFrom October to February winter monsoons

come from the northeast and blow dry air eastward

Mid-June through October the winds shift, summer monsoons blow air westward from the south west carrying moist air from the ocean Brings massive amounts of rain Drought will occur without the summer monsoons

This cycle allowed farming along the Indus and Ganges

Review of River ValleyIndus River Valley (Harappa River Valley)Major Cities: Mohenjo Daro and Harappa

Evidence of planned cities dating back to 2500 BCE

Rivers: Indus and GangesReligion: Culture may have been a theocracy

Links to modern Hinduism Archaeologists have found figures representing an

early Shiva god

Language: There was a written language, but it has not been translated

Populating IndiaAryan Migration: 1500 BCE Aryan people

migrated through the Khyber Pass in the Hindu Kush Mountains

They migrated throughout the peninsula to populate India

Few archeological remainsThe Vedas: Their sacred literature

Collection of prayers, magical spells, and ritualsRig Veda was the most important – 1,028

prayers to Aryan gods