Editing Geography of India (section)

==Geological development==
[[Image:Himalaya-formation.gif|left|thumb|The Indian Plate]]
{{Main|Geology of India}}
India is situated entirely on the [[Indian Plate]], a major [[tectonic plate]] that was formed when it split off from the ancient continent [[Gondwanaland]] (ancient landmass, consisting of the southern part of the supercontinent of [[Pangaea|Pangea]]). The [[Indo-Australian Plate|Indo-Australian plate]] is subdivided into the Indian and [[Australian Plate|Australian plates]]. About 90 million years ago, during the late [[Cretaceous|Cretaceous Period]], the Indian Plate began moving north at about 15&nbsp;cm/year (6 in/yr).<ref name="AII">{{cite book|title=Age of Initiation of the India-Asia Collision in the East-Central Himalaya|url=http://geosci.uchicago.edu/~rowley/Rowley/Collision_Age_files/J%20Geol%202005%20Zhu.pdf|author=Zhu, Bin|publisher=Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, [[University at Albany]]|pages=281|access-date=19 November 2008|display-authors=etal|archive-date=17 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217025622/http://geosci.uchicago.edu/~rowley/Rowley/Collision_Age_files/J%20Geol%202005%20Zhu.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> About 50 to 55 million years ago, in the [[Eocene|Eocene Epoch]] of the [[Cenozoic|Cenozoic Era]], the plate collided with Asia after covering a distance of {{convert|2000|to|3000|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}, having moved faster than any other known plate. In 2007, German geologists determined that the Indian Plate was able to move so quickly because it is only half as thick as the other plates which formerly constituted Gondwanaland.<ref name=EUREKA>{{cite journal|title=The Fastest Continent: India's truncated lithospheric roots|author=Kind, Rainer |publisher=Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres|date=September 2007}}</ref> The collision with the [[Eurasian Plate]] along the modern border between India and Nepal formed the [[orogeny|orogenic belt]] that created the [[Tibetan Plateau]] and the [[Himalayas]]. {{As of|2009}}, the Indian Plate is moving northeast at 5&nbsp;cm/yr (2 in/yr), while the [[Eurasian Plate]] is moving north at only 2&nbsp;cm/yr (0.8 in/yr). India is thus referred to as the "fastest continent".<ref name=EUREKA/> This is causing the Eurasian Plate to deform, and the Indian Plate to compress at a rate of 4&nbsp;cm/yr (1.6 in/yr).