Indian Natures Glory

 PHYSICAL FEATURES

Longest Beach 🏖 :                         

 Marina beach, Chennai, 13 km along. (world's second-longest                                                             after Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Largest Cave ⽳  :                        

Amarnath, Jammu & Kashmir (50m wide and 25m high)                                                                      popular pilgrimage, remarkable stalactite is worshiped as                                                                    shivering

                                                                  

Largest Coastline 🎢 :                  

Gujarat-1,600 kms (25% of india's 6,100 km coastline)

Cold desert (only)  🏔 :                 

 Ladakh, jammu & kashmir

Largest Crater ䷜ :                         

Lunar meteorite crater in buldana district, Maharashtra now a salt-water lake (1,00 m wide, 170m and rim rises to a height of 20m

Largest Delta Δ :                            

The Ganga and brahmaputra (75,000 sq. kms)*

Desert Biggest 🏜 :                        

 Thar (1,00,000 km. x 44,600 km.)

Longest Glacier ☱ :                       

Siachen, Jammu & Kashmir (75.6 km. long and 2-8 km. wide)

Inland Waterways 🤽 :                 

Kerala (chain of navigable inland waterways 1,920 km long)

Islands, Largest 🏝 :                      

Freshwater-Majuli, in river Brahmaputra (area0.15 m hectares population-150,000) Ocean- Middle Andaman Island Largest group- Andaman's (324 islands, 204 named) and only 20 are inhabited.

 

Limestone cave, Largest ⽳ :            

Siju cave, Garo Hills, Meghalaya ( 60.98 m long and 30.49 broad)

Lake, Largest (freshwater) ䷹ :       

 Kolleru, Andhra Pradesh (900 sq. km )  (brackish water):       Chilika lake, Odisha (916 sq. km)

Mountain range, Greatest 🗻 :        

Himalaya - karakoram (2,00 km longand 500 km wide)

Plateau, Largest 🌄 :                         

Deccan Plateau (~1 million sq. km)

River, Longest ⼮   :                          

Ganga 2,640 km long (Subterranean 2000 km long watercourse flowing from Shivalik ranges). Basin, largest- sediment yield, highest.- Ganga basin (26% of India's geographical area)

 Teesta river (98 cm of silt/hectare of it's catchment area)*

  Annual flow Largest (brahmaputra river basin (5,90,714 mcm)

   Least  (Mahi-sabarmati river basin (14,712 mcm)

Surface salinity, Highest :                  

Gulf of Kachchi, 37 parts per thousand

Volcano, Active (only) :                     

Barren Island, Andaman islands

Waterfall, Highest :                        

Jog falls (253 m), Karnataka  

               

                                          

                        FLORA

Tree, Longest-lived species oldest :

Banyan (Ficus bengalensis), (lives over 250 years) Shahtoot tree at Joshimath (Uttarakhand)- believed to be 1,200 years old.

Tallest tree :

Fir (Abies pindrow) and Deodar ( Cedrus deodara ) - average height 76.2 m

Largest Teak tree :

at Kuttanpuzha range of the Malayattur forest division (Kerala) - girth of 7.18 m and height over 55 m.*

Largest tree canopy :

Banayan tree at thimmamma Marrimanu, Anantapur district (Andhra Pradesh) - covers 2.1 hectares and ~1,00 prop roots.

Biggest tree trunk :

Deodar (Cedrus deodara) - circumference 12 m or more.

High altitude plant :

Stellaria decumbens in himalayas (at altitudes 20,000 ft)*

Smallest plant :

Wolffia arrhiza, a duckweed with 1 mm leaves, flowers invisible to naked eye*

Smallest bloom :

Pilea microphylla blooms diameter only 1/72 of an inch*

Largest leaf :

Victoria amazonica (1.5 m in diameter) even a six-year-old child can sit on this water plant leaf

Longest flower :

Himalayan Rhubarb grows 3-4 ft. long

Most poisonous flower :

Aconitum Balfour found in Himalayas

  

Longest creeper :

Elephant creeper (Entado pursueth), length up to 1.5 km

Slowest growing plants :

Orchids like Lady's slipper take 17 years to flower

Slowest flowering plant~Dioon (only 2.01 m in thousand years)

Tallest bamboo :

Dendrocalamus giganteus (height 30.4 - 36.5 m, diameter 20 - 25 cm)

FAUNA

Largest land mammal :

Elephant (Elephas m. indices) (avg 2.74 m height and 4.5-ton weight)

Country's only ape :

Hoolock or White-browed Gibbon (Hylobates hoolock) in Assam. it is the only monkey with no tail

Least common lounger :

The Golden Launger of northwestern Assam, but the most endangered species is the Nilagiri Launger

 

Smallest/lightest primates :

Slender Loris, found in South India (280-340 gms & 8-10 inch tall)

Largest deer :

Sambar (Cervus unicolor)

Largest antelope :

Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelous) 

Only flying mammal :

Bats (Chiroptera)

Most carnivorous :

The Indian False Vampire bat

Longest horns :

Indian Water Buffalo (4.24 m)

Birds:-

Largest : 

Sarus Crane (Grus antigone) - 1.52 m tall

Smallest & lightest :

Plain coloured flowerpecker (Dicaeum concolor) - 7cm & 4-5 gms

Heaviest :

Great Indian Bustard (Choriotis nigriceps) - avg weight 11.37 - 13.63 kg)

Swiftest :

Brown Throughted spine tailed swift (chaetura gigantea) - attains speed up to 250 - 300km/hour

Slowest :

Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) - flies under 8 km/hr

Longest legs :

Sarus crane (31-35 cm)

Shortest legs :

Crested Tree Swift (Hemiprocene long-pennis) 7 - 9 mm

Largest egg :

Sarus Crane (Grus antigone) 10.4 cm x 6.4 cm)

Smallest egg :

Scarletbacked Flower (Dicaeum cruentatum) - 14 x 10.3 mm

The only falcon that builds nest :

Redheaded Merlin (Falco chiquera)

  

Snakes:-

Longest :

Reticulated python in Nicobar Islands & Sunderbans ( 10 m long )*

Reticulated python

Most venomous :

Common Indian Krait (15 times more virulent than cobra)

Monst dangerous :

Saw scaled Viper

Fastest :

Rat snakes and Bronzeback Tree snakes (up to 10 km per hr)

Only flying nake :

Golden tree snake (capable of gliding by launching itself from height)

Golden tree snake

At the highest altitude :

Himalayan Pit Viper

Lizard:-

Largest :

Water Monitor (length up to 2.5 m)

Legless :

Snake Lizard or Legless Lizard (Ophisaurus gracilis)

Gliding :

Draco norvilli of Assam and Draco dussumieri of South India

Longest Tongue :

Chameleon, tongue length is three fourth of its body size

Longest tail :

Long-tailed Grassy Lacertid (Measures only 5 cm, in relation to body size but the tail is 35 cm long, a ratio of 1:7) found in Khasi hills, Meghalaya

First and Largest crocodile bank :

Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, 40 km off Chennai (Tamil Nadu)

Note: Marked with * is World Records...........

Puvvukonvict......