Punjab Region - Physical Geography

Physical Geography

At the time of the Sikh Empire the Punjab covered a large territory – the entire Indus basin and the watershed between the Indus and Gangetic plains. It could be divided into four natural areas:

• the eastern mountainous region including Jammu and Kashmir;
• the central plain with its five rivers;
• the north-western region, separated from the central plain by the Salt Range between the Jhelum and the Indus rivers;
• the semi-desert to the south of the Sutlej river.

The formation of the Himalayan Range of mountains to the east and north-east of the Punjab is the result of a collision between the north-moving Indo-Australian Plate and the Eurasian Plate and the subduction of the Indian tectonic plate under the Eurasian plate. The plates are still moving together, and the Himalayas are rising by about 5mm per year.

The upper regions are snow covered the whole year. Lower ranges of hills run parallel to the mountains. The Lower Himalayan Range runs from north of Rawalpindi though Jammu and Kashmir, Himachel Pradesh and further south. The mountains are relatively young, and are eroding rapidly. The Indus and the five rivers of the Punjab have their sources in the mountain range and carry loam, minerals and silt down to the rich alluvial plains, which consequently are very fertile.