India Map

Today in class, you were given a blank map of India (if you were not in class, please print a blank India map or draw it, based on any up-to-date map online). Please complete the following tasks on the map:

1. Add India’s largest cities:  Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad.
2. Draw in the Ganges River.
3. Draw in the Eastern and Western Ghats.
4. Mark out the Great Indian Desert
5. Mark out the Deccan Plateau.
6. What is the country immediately to the north west of India? Sketch an outline of its shape in the proper place.
7. India has a gap in its shape, off to the right. What country goes there? Sketch that in and label it.
8. Sketch in the Himalayas.
9. Identify the Hindu Kush and the Khyber Pass (hint—these aren’t part of India any more. You’ll learn why.)

Here are some hints that will help you with this activity:

• You can use symbols to represent parts of the map, like rivers and mountains. Just be sure to include a key/legend on your map to explain what the symbols represent.
• There’s more than one map in the atlas that includes India. You will need to use ALL of the India maps for this assignment.
• Some questions involve other sections of the atlas—for example, check Population Density.
• It can be hard to find things on highly detailed maps.
• The map legend is on page 51.
• Sketch everything in pencil first. Then, make sure it is correct. Then use colored pencils or markers in an organized fashion. You will lose points if it does not have color.

Written Response

Look at the World Population Density map on page 60-61 to answer this question in 3 or 4 sentences, on the back of your map:

For most of its history, India (which included both Pakistan and Bangladesh) had very little contact with the rest of Asia, to the east, and was constantly invaded from the West. How does India’s geography help explain this?