Mountains in India on the map. India. Geography, description and characteristics of the country. Natural Resources and Minerals of India

India is a huge country in southern Asia, located on the Hindustan Peninsula between the headwaters of the Indus river system in Punjab in the West and the Ganges river system in the East. It borders Pakistan to the northwest, China, Nepal and Bhutan to the north, and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. From the south, India is washed by the Indian Ocean, and north coast The island of Sri Lanka is located in India.

The relief of India is very diverse - from the plains in the South of India, to glaciers in the North, in the Himalayas, and from the desert regions of the West, to tropical forests in the East. The length of India from north to south is about 3220 km, and from east to west – 2930 km. India's land border is 15,200 km and its sea border is 6,083 km. The altitude varies from 0 to 8598 meters. The highest point is Mount Kapchspyupga. India covers an area of ​​3287263 sq. km, although this figure is not entirely accurate, because some parts of the border are disputed by China and Pakistan. India is the seventh largest country in the world by area.

There are seven natural regions in India: the Northern Mountain Range (consisting of the Himalayas and the Karakoram), the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the Great Indian Desert, the Southern Plateau (Deccan Plateau), the East Coast, the West Coast and the Adaman, Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands.

There are seven major mountain ranges in India: the Himalayas, Patkai (Eastern Highlands), Aravali, Vindhya, Satpura, Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats.

The Himalayas stretch from east to west (from the Brahmaputra River to the Indus River) for 2500 km with a width of 150 to 400 km. The Himalayas consist of three main mountain ranges: the Siwalik Mountains in the south (altitudes 800-1200 m), then the Lesser Himalayas (2500-3000 m) and the Greater Himalayas (5500-6000 m). The Himalayas are the source of three of the world's most big rivers India: The Ganges (2510 km), Indus (2879 km) and Brahmaputra flow into the Bay of Bengal (Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Pennara, Cauvery). Several rivers flow into the Gulf of Cambay (Tapti, Narbad, Mahi and Sabarmati). Apart from the Ganges, Indus and Brahmaputra, all other rivers in India are not navigable. During the summer monsoon season, accompanied by the melting of snow in the Himalayas, flooding has become a common occurrence in North India. Once every five to ten years, almost the entire Jamno-Gangetic plain is under water. Then from Delhi to Patna (the capital of Bihar), i.e. You can travel a distance of more than 1000 km by boat. In India, it is believed that the legend of the global flood was born here.

India Statistics
(as of 2012)

The inland waters of India are represented by numerous rivers, which, depending on the nature of their feeding, are divided into “Himalayan”, full-flowing throughout the year, with mixed snow-glacial and rain feeding, and “Deccan”, predominantly with rain, monsoon feeding, large fluctuations in flow, flood from June to October. For everyone large rivers In summer there is a sharp rise in level, often accompanied by floods. The Indus River, which gave the country its name after the partition of British India, ended up mostly in Pakistan.

There are no significant lakes in India. Most often, oxbow lakes are found in the valleys of large rivers; there are also glacial-tectonic lakes in the Himalayas. The most large lake Sambhar, located in arid Rajasthan, is used to evaporate salt. India's population is over 1.21 billion people, which is one sixth of the world's population. India is the most populous country on Earth after China. India is a multinational country.

The largest nations: Hindustani, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannar, Punjabi. About 80% of the population is Hindu. Muslims make up 14% of the population, Christians 2.4%, Sikhs 2%, Buddhists 0.7%. Most Indians are rural residents. Average life expectancy: about 55 years.

Relief of India

Across the territory of India, the Himalayas stretch in an arc from the north to the northeast of the country, being a natural border with China in three sections, interrupted by Nepal and Bhutan, between which, in the state of Sikkim, the highest peak of India, Mount Kanchenjunga, is located. Karakoram is located on far north of India in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, mainly in the part of Kashmir held by Pakistan. In the northeastern appendix of India are the mid-altitude Assam-Burma Mountains and the Shillong Plateau.

The main centers of glaciation are concentrated in the Karakoram and southern slopes Zaskar Range in the Himalayas. The glaciers are fed by snowfalls during the summer monsoons and snowstorm transport of snow from the slopes. The average height of the snow line decreases from 5300 m in the west to 4500 m in the east. Due to global warming, glaciers are retreating.

Hydrology of India

The inland waters of India are represented by numerous rivers, which, depending on the nature of their feeding, are divided into “Himalayan”, full-flowing throughout the year, with mixed snow-glacial and rain feeding, and “Deccan”, predominantly with rain, monsoon feeding, large fluctuations in flow, flood from June to October. All major rivers experience a sharp rise in level in summer, often accompanied by floods. The Indus River, which gave the country its name after the partition of British India, ended up mostly in Pakistan.

The largest rivers, originating in the Himalayas and mostly flowing through the territory of India, are the Ganga and the Brahmaputra; both of them flow into the Bay of Bengal. The main tributaries of the Ganga are the Yamuna and the Koshi. Their low banks cause catastrophic floods every year. Other important rivers of Hindustan are the Godavari, Mahanadi, Kaveri and Krishna, which also flow into the Bay of Bengal, and the Narmada and Tapti, which flow into the Arabian Sea - the steep banks of these rivers prevent their waters from overflowing. Many of them are important as sources of irrigation.

There are no significant lakes in India. Most often, oxbow lakes are found in the valleys of large rivers; there are also glacial-tectonic lakes in the Himalayas. The largest lake, Sambhar, located in arid Rajasthan, is used to evaporate salt.

Coast of India

Length coastline is 7,517 km, of which 5,423 km belongs to mainland India, and 2,094 km to the Andaman, Nicobar, and Laccadive Islands. The coastline of continental India has the following character: 43% - sandy beaches, 11% rocky and rocky shore, and 46% wattle or marshy shore. Weakly dissected, low, sandy shores have almost no convenient natural harbors, so major ports located either at the mouths of rivers (Kolkata) or artificially constructed (Chennai). The south of the western coast of Hindustan is called the Malabar coast, south east coast- Coromandel coast.

The most remarkable coastal regions of India are the Great Rann of Kutch in Western India and the Sundarbans - the marshy lower reaches of the Ganges and Brahmaputra delta in India and Bangladesh. Two archipelagos are part of India: the coral atolls of Lakshadweep to the west of the Malabar coast; and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, is a chain of volcanic islands in the Andaman Sea.

Natural Resources and Minerals of India

India's mineral resources are varied and their reserves are significant. The main deposits are located in the northeast of the country. On the border of the states of Orisa and Bihar there are iron ore basins that are among the most important in the world (the largest is Singhbhum on the Chhota Nagpur plateau). Iron ores have high quality. General geological reserves amount to over 19 billion tons. India also has significant reserves of manganese ores.

Somewhat north of the iron ore fields there are the main coal basins (in the states of Bihar and West Bengal), but these coals are of low quality. The country's proven coal reserves amount to about 23 billion tons (total coal reserves in India, according to various sources, are estimated at 140 billion tons). In the northeast of the country, there is a concentration of minerals that is particularly favorable for the development of heavy industry. The state of Bihar is the most mineral-rich region in India.

The mineral resources of South India are varied. These are bauxite, chromite, magnesite, brown coal, graphite, mica, diamonds, gold, monazite sands. In Central India ( East End Madhya Pradesh) also has significant deposits of ferrous metals and coal.

Radioactive thorium contained in monocyte sands may become an important source of energy. Uranium ores have been discovered in the state of Rajasthan.

Climate of India

The climate of India is strongly influenced by the Himalayas and the Thar Desert, causing the monsoons. The Himalayas serve as a barrier to the cold Central Asian winds, thus making the climate in most of Hindustan warmer than at the same latitudes in other regions of the planet. The Thar Desert plays a key role in attracting the humid southwesterly winds of the summer monsoon, which provide rain to much of India between June and October. India is dominated by four main climates: tropical humid, tropical dry, subtropical monsoon and alpine.

Most of India has three seasons: hot and humid with the dominance of the southwest monsoon (June - October); relatively cool and dry with a predominance of northeast trade winds (November - February); very hot and dry transitional (March - May). During the wet season, over 80% of the annual precipitation falls.

The windward slopes of the Western Ghats and Himalayas are the most humid (up to 6000 mm per year), and on the slopes of the Shillong plateau there is the most rainy place on Earth - Cherrapunji (about 12,000 mm). The driest areas are West Side Indo-Gangetic plain (less than 100 mm in the Thar desert, dry period 9-10 months) and the central part of Hindustan (300-500 mm, dry period 8-9 months). Precipitation varies greatly between different years. On the plains average temperature January increases from north to south from 15 to 27 °C, in May everywhere 28-35 °C, sometimes reaching 45-48 °C. During the wet season, temperatures in most parts of the country reach 28 °C. In the mountains at an altitude of 1500 m in January -1 °C, in July 23 °C, at an altitude of 3500 m -8 °C and 18 °C, respectively.

Flora and fauna of India

Due to India's location and diversity climatic conditions Everything grows in this country. Or almost everything: from drought-resistant thorny shrubs to tropical rainforest evergreens. There are plants and trees such as palm trees (more than 20 species), ficus trees, giant trees - batangor (up to 40 m high), sal (about 37 m), cotton tree (35 m). The Indian banyan tree amazes with its unusual appearance - a tree with hundreds of aerial roots. According to the Botanical Service, in total there are about 45 thousand different plant species in India, of which more than 5 thousand are found only in India. On the territory of India there are tropical humid evergreen forests, monsoon (deciduous) forests, savannas, woodlands and shrubs, semi-deserts and deserts. In the Himalayas, the vertical zonation of vegetation cover is clearly visible - from tropical and subtropical forests to alpine meadows. As a result of long-term human impact, the natural vegetation cover of India has been greatly altered and, in many areas, almost destroyed. Once covered with dense forests, India is now one of the least forested areas in the world. Forests have been preserved mainly in the Himalayas and in the highest mountain ranges of the peninsula. Coniferous forests The Himalayas consist of Himalayan cedar, fir, spruce and pine. Since they are located in hard-to-reach areas, their economic importance is limited.

India is home to more than 350 species of mammals. The main representatives of the fauna here are: elephants, rhinoceroses, lions, tigers, leopards, panthers, great amount various species of deer, bison, antelope, bison and striped hyenas, bears, wild pigs, jackals, monkeys and wild Indian dogs. The Barasinga deer lives only in India - there are only about 4 thousand individuals. Common reptiles here include king cobras, pythons, crocodiles, large freshwater turtles and lizards. The world of wild birds in India is also diverse. It has about 1,200 species and 2,100 subspecies of birds: from hornbills and eagles to the symbol of the nation - the peacock.

There are river dolphins in the Ganges delta. The dugong lives in the seas surrounding India - one of the rarest animals in the world, a representative of a small order of sirenids, or sea cows.

As part of the government’s special programs for the protection of wild animals, a network has been created in the country national parks and reserves, the largest and most famous of which are Kanha in Madhya Pradesh, Kaziranga in Assam, Corbett in Uttar Pradesh and Periyar in Kerala. On this moment There are only 350 national parks and reserves.

While the Taj Mahal shines with majestic marble brilliance, the Meenakshi Amman Temple is bursting with vibrant colors. It is located in the South-Eastern Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the city of Madurai, which is considered one of the oldest continuously settlements in the world that has been functioning for more than two thousand years.

Photo: Pabloneco on Flickr


Photo: Bryce Edwards on Flickr

It is based on something extraordinary - the temple of the Hindu goddess Parvati, wife of the god Shiva. All temple complex guarded by towers known as gopuras. The tallest of these is the south tower, which was erected in 1559 and is over 170 feet high. And the oldest tower is considered to be the eastern tower, founded in 1216, that is, it was built several centuries before Columbus set off to discover distant lands.

Jantar Mantar


Photo: Guy Incognito on Flickr

The remarkable complex of structures looks like a set for a planet distant from Earth from a science-fiction blockbuster. But in fact, these are instruments developed and used in Jaipur for observing celestial bodies. They were built by order of the Maharaja in the first decades of the 18th century and are still in use today.


Photo: McKay Savage on Flickr


Photo: Philip Cope on Flickr

Jai Singh II was born in 1688 and became Maharaja at the age of eleven, but inherited a kingdom that was on the verge of impoverishment. The Kingdom of Amber (later Jaipur) was in dire straits, with cavalry numbering less than a thousand men. But on his thirtieth birthday, the ruler built Jantar Mantar.

Kumbalgarh - Great Wall of India


This is the second largest continuous wall on our planet. Some call it after the fort it surrounds - Kumbulgarh, while others call it the Great Wall of India. Surprisingly, such an outstanding building is little known outside its region.


Photo: Lamentables on Flickr


Photo: Beth on Flickr

The wall extends for 36 kilometers. In many images you can mistake her for the Great Chinese wall. However, many centuries and cultural differences lay between them. Work on the creation of Kumbalgarh began only in 1443 - just fifty years before Columbus sailed Atlantic Ocean to make amazing discoveries on the other side.

Karni Mata Temple


Photo: alschim on Flickr

From the outside, the Karni Mata Hindu temple, located in the small town of Deshnok in the Indian province of Rajasthan, looks like any other. But the beautifully and ornately decorated shrine with a constant stream of devotees holds a surprise for unsuspecting visitors. The temple is inhabited by thousands of rats.


Photo: owenstache on Flickr


Photo: micbaun on Flickr

Rodents are not random inhabitants of the temple. The parishioners especially take care of food for the rats, as they are here in memory of the legendary woman - Karni Mata.

Jodhpur - blue city of India


Photo: bodoluy on Flickr

Travelers brave the arid landscape of the Thar Desert in the Indian state of Rajasthan to reach this place. It seems that here the sky fell to the ground and everything became the same color - blue. Jodhpur stretches out before you like blue treasures in the middle of the desert.


Photo: Christopher Walker on Flickr


Photo: Il Fatto on Flickr

According to one version, the population Blue City paints their houses various shades of blue due to the prevailing caste system in India. Brahmins are among the highest Indian caste, and the blue color makes their homes stand out from other people.

Lech Palace


Photo: watchsmart on Flickr

In the early years of the seventeenth century, the king of the Ladakh kingdom, Sange Namgyal, ordered the construction of this huge palace. It is located at the top of the Himalayas in the city of Leh, now in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The building served as the home of a dynasty of rulers until their overthrow and expulsion in 1834. Since then, the high Lech Palace has been abandoned. However, it stands majestically in this region of India, often called Little Tibet.


Photo: teseum on Flickr


Photo: Matt Werner on Flickr

Presumably it was created on the model of more famous palace Potala in neighboring Tibet, which served as the residence of the Dalai Lama until 1959, when he left the country. Leh Palace is smaller than the Potala Palace, but its nine-story structure is still impressive. The upper floors were occupied by King Namgyal, his family and crowds of courtiers. The lower floors housed servants, storage rooms and stables.

Living Bridges Meghalaya


Photo: Ashwin Mudigonda on Flickr

Our understanding of India, with its population of more than a billion people, is often limited by statistics. However, there are places in this subcontinent that remain virtually inaccessible. The state of Meghalaya in the northeast of the country is rich in subtropical forests. To move around this area, local residents resorted to an ingenious form of natural engineering - living bridges from roots.


Photo: Rajkumar1220 on Flickr


Photo: ARshiya Bose on Flickr

With every rain, river fording becomes very dangerous, and this is one of the wettest places on the planet. Steady rainfall combined with rugged topography, steep slopes and dense deciduous forests turn many areas of Meghalaya into impenetrable jungles. But the inventive and resourceful local population created a unique system of natural suspension bridges.

Ajanta Caves


Photo: Ashok66 on Flickr

Two thousand two hundred years ago, work began on an extensive series of cave monuments in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Over the course of hundreds of years, thirty-one monuments were carved out of rock here. Around 1000 AD, the monks gradually abandoned cave complex, and it fell into disrepair. The overgrown dense jungle hid the caves from human eyes.

Ladakh is a place located in India and is the highest point as it is located high in the mountains. In order to visit it, you can choose only 5 months, since that is exactly how long it is open to visitors and nothing more.

At all, Ladakh, this is a place where a lot of holy places are collected, especially those places that are made of stone are noticeable. They were made in the shape of pagodas and have no windows or doors. This place can safely be called a place of peace and warmth, which it gives to people. Ladakh is located between several mountain systems. The population here is quite diverse, that is, you can meet Indo-European people, Tibetan and many others.

Also called Ladakh little Tibet, because it is very similar, both in culture and nature, to itself Tibet. In ancient times, Ladakh had an important strategic location as many trade routes passed through it. If you delve into history, you can find out that it was here that the Great Silk Road passed, and Buddhists founded monasteries.

When the western borders were closed, trade unfortunately declined and until 1974, Ladakh was closed to tourists. But now the government India Tourism is also actively developing, since this is the main income. If we talk about living creatures, there are quite a lot of them here; for example, there are about 225 species of birds here. These include finches, robins, redstarts, hoopoes, etc.

Ladakh is also famous for the fact that there are a large number of monasteries that are located on the tops of the mountains. Each of them has signs that symbolize spirits. To know your inner world, you need to come here. You will be immersed in a world where there are no problems and noise, there is no bad mood. There can only be peace, spirituality and self-knowledge here.

India has long been rich country, where Europeans sailed for interesting goods, fragrant spices, bright fabrics, precious metals and stones. The development of trade routes was facilitated by the unique and convenient location with access directly to the ocean. Lack of a competent government policy to preserve unique natural features and ecosystems has led to environmental disasters.

Geographical characteristics

The Republic of India is located in the southern part of Asia on the Hindustan Peninsula. The territory of the state is 3.3 million km. The country ranks seventh in area in the world.

India's neighbors are: Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Afghanistan. Maritime boundaries The countries are adjacent to the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. The country is densely populated. The total population exceeds 1 billion 300 million people.

Nature

Mountains and plains

The country's topography is represented by high mountain ranges, plateaus and a large plain. The main and only mountain ranges of India are the Himalayas, which stretch along the borders of Nepal, Afghanistan and China.

The ranges within India's borders are still high mountains, but their structural complexity differs from the main ranges located in other countries. The most high point in India - this is Mount Kanchenjungu with a height above 8.5 thousand m.

The flat part of the country stretches parallel to the Himalaya ridges. It is absolutely flat and its length is 2,400 km. The remaining territory of the state is fragmented plateaus...

Rivers and lakes

The rivers of India play a large role in the country and are the main source of water and means of irrigating fields and lands. At the same time, they are the cause of natural disasters and catastrophes. The most famous rivers of India: Ganges and Brahmaputra. In general, the territory of the country flows more than a dozen large rivers. For some, the main source of water is rain. Recharge and the risk of flooding in their valleys occurs during the monsoon.

For other rivers, including large ones, the source of water is the glaciers of the Himalayas. The main periods when they overflow and emerge from the naturally low banks are the hot summer months. Many rivers in India flow into the Bay of Bengal.

There are practically no lakes in the country. Only small ones are available. They are concentrated mainly in the Himalayas. Among the large reservoirs of this type, only Lake Sambhar can be noted, which is used by the population for boiling down salt...

Seas surrounding India

The extremely advantageous location of the state, which has access to the ocean, several centuries ago determined the economic prosperity of the country. This location still matters today.

The coasts of India are washed by the waters of the ocean of the same name and the seas that make up its basin. This is the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and its northern waters Indian Ocean. The length of the state's coastline is 7.5 thousand km.

Plants and animals of India

India is one of the few countries that can boast of a variety of animal species and flora. There are endemics here. There are about a third of them. On the territory of the state you can find coconut tree, sandalwood, bamboo, banyan and more. There are pine evergreen forests, monsoon forests, as well as mountain meadows.

In terms of animal diversity, the country has begun to lose ground over the past few decades. But here you can still find the Indian rhinoceros, Asiatic lion, Himalayan bear, and also leopard...

Climate of India

The climate of India is determined by the presence of the Himalayas and the Thar Desert. Mountains are a natural obstacle to cold air flows from Central Asia. It is for this reason that the air temperature in the country differs from the climate of states located in a similar zone.

IN summer period Monsoon winds with significant precipitation are attracted by the desert. It rains actively from mid-summer to mid-autumn. The country has the rainiest place on earth - the city of Cherrapunji, where the annual rainfall is 12,000 mm...

Resources

Natural Resources of India

Natural resources India is represented by large deposits of mineral resources, the list of which includes: manganese ores, iron ores, aluminum, precious stones and metals.

Forests occupy approximately a quarter of the country's territory and are a source of timber and feed for livestock, but do not fully meet the state's needs. The problem is deforestation in the Himalayas.

The lands in the country are infertile. They require a well-thought-out system of irrigation, processing and fertilization. Because of this, there are few clean pastures in the country and not enough fodder plants for animals.

Wind energy is actively used in India. The country ranks fifth in the world in terms of this method of energy generation...

Industry and Agriculture of India

The leader of the industrial sector in India is mechanical engineering. Basically, local enterprises are engaged in the production of parts and components for cars.

In the list of the main types of industry of the state, it is worth noting ferrous metallurgy and the production of coal. The textile industry is actively developing in the country, with significant investments being made in it.

Agriculture is represented by the production of wheat and rice...

Culture

Peoples of India

India is especially interesting for the mentality of its population. For a long time there was an unusual social order, in which there were different classes, the so-called castes. Residents classified them by profession, income level, place of residence or birth. According to traditions, representatives of different castes were not allowed to marry. Today, at the official level, all this has been canceled, but in practice there are representatives of orthodox views who adhere to the same principles...

One of the attractions of India is its mountains. The mountains attract with few people, untouched flora and fauna, and the incomparable splendor of dazzling snow-white peaks, although not all mountains can boast of this. If you think that India only has , you are mistaken and here I will tell you a little about other Indian mountains.

There are a total of 3 mountain systems and several mountain ranges in India and mountain ranges, which are scattered throughout its territory.

Let me make a reservation right away that this article is not a reminder of a geography lesson, it is of purely practical importance if you are going on a long trip. From the point of view of climbers, mountains begin where the mountain mountain begins, that is, from an altitude of 2.5-3 thousand meters above sea level. But he also considers less high massifs to be mountains, since they are climate-forming, so when going on a trip you need to have an idea of ​​the terrain, since fluctuations in altitude of even 500-700 meters already significantly affect the climate and weather of the region.

So, Himalayas are dominant mountain system peninsula of Hindustan.
The Himalayas arose about 50 million years ago as a result of the collision of tectonic plates that support the continents, the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. Educated Mountain chain became the boundary between two great ecosystems of the Earth - the temperate Palaearctic zone, which covers most of Eurasia, and the tropical and subtropical zones of the Indomalaya, which include the Hindustan Peninsula, Southeast Asia and Indonesia. The climate of all surrounding countries is determined here: the Himalayas act as a kind of natural barrier against the cold winds coming from the poles, great valleys that feed the surrounding valleys are born here...
The Himalayas are known to be the most high mountains, this is where they are located highest peaks world, including Everest (Sagarmatha (Sanskrit), (nep).
The Himalayas stretch across India from Pradesh in the east to Kashmir in the west, forming the natural border of India, separating it from northeast Asia. These mountain ranges cover an area of ​​almost 500,000 square kilometers.

Mountain system Karakoram, which also has a tectonic origin, runs in India through the state of Jammu and Kashmir, the K2 peak located here is the second highest peak in the world. The Karakoram stretches from Pakistan to China, and what is called "Indian Tibet" is actually part of these mountains.

Mountain system Patkai or Purvanchal lies along India's eastern border, sharing it with Myanmar, these mountains were created by a tectonic process similar to the one that created the Himalayas. System includes 3 mountain range, which are part of Patkai Bam, Garo and Lushai. These mountains are characterized by conical peaks, steep slopes and deep valleys, but they are lower than the first two, the highest point being 4578 m.

Western Ghats, also called the Sahyadri Range, run along the western edge of the plateau in South India. The Western Ghats stretch along the coast of the Arabian Sea in the states of Tamil Nadu and Tamil Nadu. The most high peak western ghats of Anaimalai Hills in Kerala at an altitude of 2695 meters.

Eastern Ghats pass through the states of Western, Pradesh and along the coast parallel to the Bay of Bengal. This mountain range is divided into sections by the rivers, Godavari, Cauvery and Mahanadi. The highest peak is 1680 m.

Aravalli Range stretches for 800 km across - from the northeast in the state it ends at about

 

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