The collision with the Eurasian Plate along the modern border between India and Nepal formed the orogenic belt that created the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas. In 2007, German geologists determined that the Indian Plate was able to move so quickly because it is only half as thick as the other plates which formerly constituted Gondwanaland. About 50 to 55 million years ago, in the Eocene Epoch of the Cenozoic Era, the plate collided with Asia after covering a distance of 2,000 to 3,000В km (1,243 to 1,864В mi), having moved faster than any other known plate. About 90 million years ago, during the late Cretaceous Period, the Indian Plate began moving north at about 15В cm/year (6 in/yr). The Indo-Australian plate is subdivided into the Indian and Australian plates.

India is situated entirely on the Indian Plate, a major tectonic plate that was formed when it split off from the ancient continent Gondwanaland (ancient landmass, consisting of the southern part of the supercontinent of Pangea). Geologically, India lies on the Indian Plate, the northern part of the Indo-Australian Plate.

The climate across India ranges from equatorial in the far south, to alpine and tundra in the upper regions of the Himalayas. Kangchenjunga, in the Indian state of Sikkim, is the highest point in India at 8,586В m (28,169В ft) and the world's third highest peak. The GangesвЂ“ Brahmaputra system occupies most of northern, central, and eastern India, while the Deccan Plateau occupies most of southern India. The Ganges is the longest river originating in India. On the east, its border with Bangladesh is largely defined by the Khasi Hills and Mizo Hills, and the watershed region of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. In the far northeast, the Chin Hills and Kachin Hills, deeply forested mountainous regions, separate India from Burma. Its western border with Pakistan lies in the Karakoram and Western Himalayan ranges, Punjab Plains, the Thar Desert and the Rann of Kutch salt marshes. The northern frontiers of India are defined largely by the Himalayan mountain range, where the country borders China, Bhutan, and Nepal. India has the 18th largest Exclusive Economic Zone of 2,305,143В km 2 (890,021В sqВ mi). India's territorial waters extend into the sea to a distance of 12 nautical miles (13.8В mi 22.2В km) from the coast baseline. The northernmost point which is under Indian administration is Indira Col, Siachen Glacier. The southernmost tip of the Indian mainland (8в„вЂІ38вЂіN, 77вѓ1вЂІ56вЂіE) is just south of Kanyakumari, while the southernmost point in India is Indira Point on Great Nicobar Island. India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands, some 1,200 kilometres (750В mi) southeast of the mainland, share maritime borders with Myanmar, Thailand and Indonesia. The Palk Strait and Gulf of Mannar separate India from Sri Lanka to its immediate southeast, and the Maldives are some 125 kilometres (78В mi) to the south of India's Lakshadweep Islands across the Eight Degree Channel. On the south, India projects into and is bounded by the Indian Ocean-in particular, by the Arabian Sea on the west, the Lakshadweep Sea to the southwest, the Bay of Bengal on the east, and the Indian Ocean proper to the south. India measures 3,214В km (1,997В mi) from north to south and 2,933В km (1,822В mi) from east to west. It is the seventh-largest country in the world, with a total area of 3,287,263 square kilometres (1,269,219В sqВ mi). India is situated north of the equator between 8в„' north (the mainland) to 37в†' north latitude and 68в‡' east to 97в‚5' east longitude.

Indian boundary