Last reviewed 1 Oct 2026 · Facts as of 1 Oct 2026 · 5 min read
Remember. After 1966, Punjab is a small, landlocked, almost entirely plain state in the north-west of India. Exams love the three regions (Majha, Doaba, Malwa) and the doab names.
1. Location and extent
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Latitude / longitude | About 29°30′ N – 32°32′ N and 73°55′ E – 76°50′ E |
| Area | 50,362 sq km (about 1.53 % of India) |
| Capital | Chandigarh (shared with Haryana; a Union Territory) |
| Neighbours | Pakistan (west, international border of about 553 km), Jammu & Kashmir (north), Himachal Pradesh (northeast), Haryana (south and east), Rajasthan (southwest), Chandigarh (a UT, enclave) |
| Landlocked? | Yes — no coastline |
Exam note: Punjab ranks among the smaller states by area, but it is among the leaders in agricultural productivity.
2. Physiographic divisions
Punjab is traditionally divided into three broad natural zones:
a) The Shiwalik foothills and Kandi belt (northeast)
- A narrow belt along the border with Himachal Pradesh, covering parts of Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Rupnagar (Ropar) and SAS Nagar (Mohali) districts.
- Elevation up to roughly 500–700 m (figures vary by source; the highest points are in the Shiwalik range).
- Known as the Kandi area (sub-mountain tract) — undulating terrain with coarse, gravelly soil, many seasonal streams called choes which cause erosion and flash floods; water scarcity for irrigation.
- Important choes: Sukhna Choe and Patiali Rao.
b) The central alluvial plains (Doabs)
- The heart of Punjab, built by silt carried by the Sutlej, Beas and Ravi.
- Fertile, flat, intensively irrigated; highest density of canals and tubewells.
- Subdivided by rivers into doabs (see below).
- Along the rivers are two types of alluvial deposits: Bet (low, younger floodplain; "khadar") and Dhaia (older, higher terrace; "bangar").
- Bet land: along the river bed, flooded often; fertile.
- Dhaia: the high bank (the slope between the old and new floodplain), often seen in the Sutlej valley.
c) The southwestern semi-arid region (Malwa)
- South of the Sutlej: Bathinda, Faridkot, Mansa, Muktsar, Ferozepur, Fazilka etc.
- Sandy, wind-blown (aeolian) soils with sand dunes (locally teebe / tibbas); transitional to the Thar desert of Rajasthan; low rainfall; irrigated heavily by the Sirhind, Bhakhra and Rajasthan canals.
- Lowest elevation in the state: southwest, about 150–200 m above sea level.