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Question

What are the north-south and east-west extents of India?


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Solution

India is located in the northern hemisphere of the world. India occupies an area of about 3.28 million sq. km. India lies to the north of the equator between 6° 44′ and 35° 30′ north latitude and 68° 7′ and 97° 25′ east longitude. India has a land boundary of about 15,200 km. The total length of the coastline, including the two groups of islands that is the Andaman and Nicobar and the Lakshadweep, is 7,516.6 km.

Explanation

  • India is located in the northern hemisphere of the world.
  • The Tropic of Cancer (23°30’N) passes almost halfway through the country of India. It is North of the Equator, which passes through the middle of India. The Tropic of Cancer passes through eight states in India

North-South extends

  • From the extends south to the north, the mainland of India extends between 8°4’N and 37°6’N latitudes.
  • The north-south extent from Kashmir to Kanyakumari is about 3,200 km.

East-West extends

  • From the other extends west to east, India extends between 68°7’E and 97°25’E longitudes.
  • The east-west extent from Arunachal Pradesh to Kuchchh is about 2,900 km.

Why North-South extent longer than the East-West extent?

North-South extent is longer than the East-West extent due to the following reasons:

  • The distance between latitudes remains the same throughout but the distance between the two longitudes reduces as moved toward the poles.
  • The distance between two latitudes is constant that is 111 km but the distance between two longitudes is 111 km at the equator and reduces to 0 at the poles.
  • In other words, we can say that India’s north-south extent and distance remain unaltered
  • The distance between the two longitudes decreases and the east-west extends has a U-shaped bending which actually reduces the actual east-west distance.

Hence, the lines of longitude come nearer and the East-West distance becomes less than the North-South distance.


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