THE NORTHERN PLAINS OF INDIA

2. THE NORTHERN PLAINS :

Here green highlighted portion shows the northern plain expansion over India 

The Northern Plains have been formed by the interplay of the three major river systems. these are the names :

1. Indus river
2. Ganga river 
3. Brahmaputra river

• Northern plain is formed of alluvial soil. The deposition of alluvial soil in a vast basin lying at the foothills of himalaya over millions of years formed this fertile plain.
• Northern Plain area is about 7 lakh square km.
• Northern Plain has length of 2400 km and breadth of 240 km to 320 km.
• It is densely populated division of physiographic divisions of India.
• Best for the agriculture due to the fertile land of river.
• Riverine islands are formed due to the velocity decrease of river water in the lower course. *Majuli, in Brahmaputra river is the largest inhabited riverine islands in the world.

NORTHERN PLAIN DIVISIONS:

The Northern Plain can be divided into three types of plains :

1. Punjab Plain :The Western part of the Northern plain is known as the Punjab plain. The plain is formed by the deposition of alluvial soil drained by the Indus and its tributaries, such as, the Sutlej, Beas and Ravi. Only a part of the Indus basin lies in India. The plain slopes gently down towards the south-west; hence the rivers follow the slope of the land. The plain is mostly made of silts. The soil is porous. The plain that is formed by the deposition of new alluvium near the river banks is called Bet.
   Large boulder, gravel, sand and clay cover the foot-hill regions of the Punjab plain and they are known as ‘Bhabar’ plain or bhabar soil. This soil cannot hold water. The new alluvium deposited near the river banks of these rivers forms a plain called Bet.
2. The Ganga Plain : The ganga plain extends between Ghaggar and Teesta rivers. It is spread over the states of North India, Haryana, Delhi, U.P., Bihar, partly Jharkhand and West Bengal.
3. Brahmaputra Plain : It lies in the north-eastern part of the country and is hemmed between the Arunachal Himalayas on the north and the Meghalaya Plateau on the south.The valley presents a flat plain. It is formed by the debris brought down by river Brahmaputra and its innumerable tributaries. The plain seldom rises above 100 meters above the sea-level and slopes gently towards the west. Ranges of hills are found standing on both sides of the river.Innumerable Sandbars and islets are found on the Brahmaputra and the river flows out in different channels avoiding obstacles of sandbar. Majuli Island is by far the largest sandbar ever formed on any other river bed in the world. The green Brahmaputra valley is noted for tea plantation.

*Note: 

• Literally PUNJAB is made up of two words PUNJ meaning FIVE and AB means WATER. SO the punjab is the land which is situated on the land merging five rivers. 
•  DOAB can also be seen similarly situated on the land merging two rivers (here, DO= TWO). 

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FURTHER DIVISION OF NORTHERN PLAINS:

According to the variations in Northern Plains, relief features,  can be divided into four parts :

1. BHABAR: The rivers, after descending from the mountains deposit pebbles in a narrow belt of about 8 to 16 km in width lying parallel to the slopes of the Shiwaliks. It is known as bhabar.
2. TERAI : South of the belt, the streams and rivers re-emerge and create a wet ,swampy and marshy region known as terai. This was a thickly forested region full of wildlife. The forests have been cleared to create agricultural land and a settle migrants from pakistan after partition. Locate dudhwa national park in this region.
3. BHANGAR :The largest part of the northern plain is formed of older alluvium. They lie above the flood plains of the and present terrace like feature. This part is known as bhangar.
4. KHADAR : The soil in this region contains calcareous deposits locally known as kankar. The newer younger deposits of the flood plains are called khadar. They are renewed almost every year and so are fertile , thus ideal for intensive agriculture.

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