Question

Why does most of south asia's population live on the northern plains?

Answer 1

Just to the south of the Outer Mountain Wall is the Northern Plain. The Northern Plain can also be mapped as an upside down "U" or "V" shape area. The plains exist in this location due to the meltwater coming down from the mountains. The Northern Plain was actually formed by the numerous rivers flowing through the region. The waters of these rivers come mainly from melting snow in the Outer Mountain Wall area. Rivers of the Northern Plain include the Indus River, the Ganges River, The Brahmaputra River and the Jumna (Yamuna) River. The famed Taj Mahal is located along the Jumna River.

Just like the river plains of the Middle East, the floodplains of this area provide excellent soil for agriculture and the rivers themselves provide the necessary water for irrigation and survival. Therefore, you would expect to find higher concentrations of people in and around these river plains.

In fact, that is absolutely true. The majority of South Asia's population today (i.e., >50%) lives in the Northern Plain. There is good soil in the floodplains, therefore good agriculture and the best potential for a good food supply.

Early civilizations sprang up around these river plains. The Indus River Valley (in present-day Pakistan) and the Ganges-Brahmaputra River Delta (in present-day Bangladesh) were two areas where early civilizations came about. We will discuss these civilizations more in the human geography section.