Occupying the bulk of the Indian subcontinent, India forms a distinct geographical entity separated from the rest of Asia by the imposing mountain ranges of the north. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives, and its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia.
The physical geography is incredibly diverse. The northern frontiers are dominated by the Himalayas, the world's highest mountain range. South of the mountains lie the fertile Indo-Gangetic plains, which are fed by major rivers including the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Yamuna. The western region features the arid Thar Desert, while the southern peninsula is defined by the expansive Deccan Plateau, flanked by coastal plains and the Western and Eastern Ghats.