Geography (India)
=================


     Total area:
         3,287,590 km2
     Land area:
         2,973,190 km2
     Comparative area:
         slightly more than one-third the size of the US
     Land boundaries:
         14,103 km; Bangladesh 4,053 km, Bhutan 605 km, Burma 1,463 km, China 3,380,
         Nepal 1,690 km, Pakistan 2,912 km
     Coastline:
         7,000 km
     Maritime claims:
       Contiguous zone:
         24 nm
       Continental shelf:
         edge of continental margin or 200 nm
       Exclusive economic zone:
         200 nm
       Territorial sea:
         12 nm
     Disputes:
         boundaries with Bangladesh, China, and Pakistan; water sharing problems with
         downstream riparians, Bangladesh over the Ganges and Pakistan over the Indus
     Climate:
         varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north
     Terrain:
         upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the
         Ganges, deserts in west, Himalayas in north
     Natural resources:
         coal (fourth-largest reserves in the world), iron ore, manganese, mica,
         bauxite, titanium ore, chromite, natural gas, diamonds, crude oil, limestone
     Land use:
         arable land 55%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 4%; forest and
         woodland 23%; other 17%; includes irrigated 13%
     Environment:
         droughts, flash floods, severe thunderstorms common; deforestation; soil
         erosion; overgrazing; air and water pollution; desertification
     Note:
         dominates South Asian subcontinent; near important Indian Ocean trade routes