A. Location-

National Boundary with four Indian states –

North- Jammu & Kashmir

East- Himachal Pradesh

South & South East-Haryana

South & South West-, Rajasthan

One International Boundary-

• West- Pakistan

On the map, it is triangular in shape. Pathankot district is at the top of the triangle; Fazilka and Patiala are respectively at the bottom left and right corners of this triangular shape.

River Satluj and Ravi flow along most parts of this international border.

Local Time-

The local time of Punjab is same as the time in other states of India. It is 5:30 hours ahead of GMT.

The area of Punjab can be divided into:

1. Malwa Region: The region of Punjab south to river Sutlej. The Malwa area makes up majority of the Punjab region consisting 11 districts with Ludhiana, Rupnagar, Patiala, Sangrur, Bathinda, Mansa, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Rajpura, Moga and Ajitgarh as main cities. This Region is famous for cotton farming.
2. Majha Region: This is a historical region of the Punjab comprising the modern districts of Amritsar, Pathankot, Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran. The region lies between rivers Ravi, Beas and the Sutlej. This region is called the heartland of Punjab and is celebrated as being the 'Cradle of Sikhism.
3. Doaba Region: This region lies between the rivers Beas and Sutlej. The name "Doaba" literally translates to "land between two rivers" It is one of the most fertile regions of the world and was the centre of the Green Revolution in India. To this day, it remains one of the largest per capita producers of wheat in the world. The main cities in of the region are Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Rupnagar, Nawanshahr and Kapurthala.

B. Physiography of Punjab

The whole state is not a flattish alluvial plain.

The plain rises to form hills towards the east and north-east and it becomes uneven towards south- west due to the presence of large number of sand dunes and sand flats.

Punjab region can be mainly divided into following types-

1. The Shiwalik Hills
2. The Kandi
3. The Alluvial Plains
4. The Dunes Studded Plain

The Siwalik Hills

• Runs like a wall from North- West to South- east, separating the Himalaya from the plains
• Extends between river Ravi in the north and river Ghagghar near Chandigarh, in the south for about 280 Km
• Gentle towards the Punjab plain than the side that faces the Himachal Pradesh
• Between Ravi and Ghagghar rivers the continuity of the Siwalik is broken by river Beas and river Satluj
• This sub-division covers only 2.6% of the total area of the state. Its width ranges from 5 km to 12 in various parts.
• Districts covered- Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr and Rupnagar
• The Siwalik Hills rise abruptly along the western flanks from the 400 metres. Contour line to about 600 metres.
• Heights in the central ridge of the range.
• The Shiwalik of Punjab is in the form of two ranges separated from each other by river Satluj in district Ropar.

The Kandi

• The Siwalik Hills, on their west and to their east in Nurpur Bedi block of Ropar district, degrade into a dissected, rolling and porous and coarse grained material formed upland plain called the Kandi.
• Area covered- east of Pathankot, Hoshiarpur, Ropar, Gurdaspur, Nawanshahr
• Coarse grained, dissected material found; elevation 300-400 above sea level
• It extends in the form of a narrow and long belt along the entire length of the Siwalik Hills under different names, such as Kandi, Ghar and Changar.
• On the whole this dissected upland plain lies roughly to the east of Pathankot-Hoshiarpur-Ropar –Chandigarh road, with gaps formed by the flood plains (bet) of river Beas and Satluj upto the Siwalik Hills proper.
• The average width of this sub-region is 10 to 15 km and it comprises parts of Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr and Ropar districts. This unit occupies about 8.5% of the total area of the state.
• The region slopes primarily south-westwards and numerous choes, on the average one choe per kilometre distance pass through the region from the Shiwalik towards the alluvial plains of Punjab. Many of the choes disappear in the area without joining the major stream or river. As a result, the region is badly dissected with numerous choes (seasonal and ephemeral streams) and khads (sandy beds of streams) devasting this region with sand and pebbles and shifting courses. The region is akin to Bhabbar, a piedmont plain resulting from coalescence of several alluvial fans at the foot of the hills (Shiwalik).
• The deposits in the alluvial fans and in choe beds are coarse textured, mainly sand mixed with gravels and or pebbles at places and relatively finer (clay or sandy clay) in other areas. The deposits are young and highly stratified. Because of rough, porous or coarse nature of deposits, various choes disappear in this sandy tract.
• The plain has convex slope towards the Punjab plains. It is a dry upland region. The settlements lie on the outer margins of the fans where underground water is relatively nearer and better soils help cultivation.
• known with different names in different areas like Changar- Anandpur Sahib block of Ropar District, Ghar- West of Shiwaliks in Ropar district and to the south of Sirsa Nadi

The Alluvial Plains

• Part of Indo- Gangetic plains; synclinal basin formed by the elevations of Himalayas
• To the west of Punjab Kandi, the terrain becomes subdued, almost monotonous and flattish over an extensive area including the western parts of Ropar, Nawanshahr and Hoshiarpur districts, most of Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib and Patiala districts, large parts of Sangrur and Moga districts and northern parts of Faridkot and Ferozepur districts.
• It is intercepted by the flood plains of Satluj, Beas and Ravi rivers and ultimately joins the sand dunes ridden region of South-West Punjab.
• The greater monotony of the flattish nature of the region gives an all-encompassing name of Punjab Plains to the entire state of Punjab. The region covers nearly 70% of the total area of the state.

The region includes the three well recognized areas, sub-regions, folk regions or alluvial plains namely Majha (Upper Bari Doab), Doaba (Bist Doab) and Malwa.

1. Plains of Majah- The plains between Ravi and Beas rivers called plains of Majah. It consists of district Amritsar and Batala tehsil of district Gurdaspur.
2. Plains of Doaba- The plains between Beas and Sutlej rivers constitute Doaba Plains. The area included Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur districts.
3. Plains of Malwa- It cover the area of the south and south-west of river Sutlej. The towns of Ludhiana, Patiala, Nabha, Sangrur, Sirhind, Faridkot and Bathinda are located here.

• This plain is a gradational surface and has resulted from the infilling of a fore deep warped down between the peninsular block and the advancing Himalayas.
• It is composed of sediments (massive beds of clay silt and sand) brought down by various rivers during the Pleistocene and recent times and which have completely shrouded the old land surfaces to depths of hundreds of meters.
• The region slopes south-westward. The direction of flow of various streams and rivers and various spot heights indicate it. The slope is very gentle.
• It is about half meter per kilometer. The general elevation ranges from 300 m. near the Siwalik Hills to about 200m above sea level in the southwest.
• Although over greater part of plains, the general relief is without high prominences yet the topography may be defined as slightly undulating. The existing or the former course of the rivers provides somewhat lower areas which are intercepted by the interfluvial regions of slightly higher elevations called upper terraces. 
• At places sand dunes or sand ridges occur in these interfluvial regions.  Therefore, the important elevation or topographical change in relief is the edge or bluff called Dhaiya which separates flood plains (bet) of various streams from raised plains (interfluvial regions).
• While coming from Ludhiana City by road towards Jalandhar side one comes across such a change in the form of Dhaiya as one crosses the river Satluj bridge and enters the town of Phillaur. 
• One can see such a Dhaiya along the right bank of river Satluj extending westward from the neighbourhood of Balachaur town passing through Rahon, Aur, and Phillaur.  The elevation of Dhaiya ranges from one metre to nearly 6 metres from the adjoining flood plain.  The bluffs are badly gullied. 
• The flattish alluvial plains have, therefore, two variations or land-form sub-regions: Bet and Doaba (upper terrace).

Geographically plains of the Punjab can be divided into five Doabs. `Doab’ stands for the land situated between two rivers. Each Doab has been named with the synthesis as the first letter of the rivers, for example, the first letter of the Beas and Settled form of the world `Bist’.

1. Doab Bist Jalandhar- The land between the Beas and the Sutlej is called `Doab Bist Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Phagwara and Kapurthala are also located here.
2. Bari-Doab- The region between the Beas and the Ravi is known as Bari Doab. It is also called `Majha’ since it is in the middle of the Punjab. The famous historical towns of Amritsar and Lahore are situated in this part of the Punjab.
3. Rachna Doab- It is the area between Ravi and Chenab: The Towns of Shekupura and Gujranwala (now in Pakistan) are located in it.
4. Chaj Doab- The famous town of Gujarat, Bhera and Shahpur are located in this region. Chaj Doab is between the Chenab and the Jhelum.
5. Sindh Sagar Doab- It is located between the rivers Indus and Jhelum, it has less rainfall. Thus, it is less fertile as compared to the other Doabs.

South-Western Sand Dune Studded Region

• The south-western districts of Punjab have a semi-arid climate and they border the Thar Desert of Rajasthan where wind action is a prominent feature of topographical variations.
• Thought the whole of this region is plain and it forms part of the Flattish Alluvial Plains, yet the frequent occurrence of sand dunes and sand ridges has necessitated its separate study.  Therefore, it has not been included in the third sub-division (Flattish Alluvial Plains). 
• The larger parts of Bathinda, Faridkot, and Ferozepur districts, whole of Mansa and Muktsar districts and parts (southerns) of Sangrur and Patiala districts are studded with sand dunes.
• They form important topographical feature of the lie of the land of these districts.  They stand out as low or high hills. 
• These are believed to have developed due to the braiding action of the Satluj and Ghagghar rivers and their tributaries or seasonal rivulets and reworking of the fluviatile deposits by constant wind action.  They are locally known as ‘tibbas’.  These have asymmetrical slopes correlating with the dominant wind direction in the dry season.