<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (January 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (January 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> The Indo - Gangetic Plain, also known as the Indus - Ganga Plain and the North Indian River Plain, is a 630 million acres (2.5 million km) fertile plain encompassing Northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, including most of northern and eastern India, the eastern parts of Pakistan, virtually all of Bangladesh and southern plains of Nepal . In India, the plains extend from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Punjab on the west to West Bengal on the east . The region is named after the Indus and the Ganges rivers and encompasses a number of large urban areas . The plain is bound on the north by the Himalayas, which feed its numerous rivers and are the source of the fertile alluvium deposited across the region by the two river systems . The southern edge of the plain is marked by the Chota Nagpur Plateau . On the west rises the Iranian Plateau . </P> <P> The region is known for the Indus Valley Civilization, which was responsible for the birth of ancient culture of the Indian subcontinent . The flat and fertile terrain has facilitated the repeated rise and expansion of various empires, including the Gupta empire, Kanauj, Magadha, the Maurya Empire, the Pala Empire, the Mughal Empire and the Sultanate of Delhi--all of which had their demographic and political centers in the Indo - Gangetic plain . During the Vedic and Epic eras of Indian history, this region was referred to as "Aryavarta" (Land of the Aryans). According to Manusmṛti (2.22),' Aryavarta' is "the tract between the Himalaya and the Vindhya ranges, from the Eastern Sea (Bay of Bengal) to the Western Sea (Arabian Sea)". The region is referred to as "Hindustan" (Land of the Indus, Hind being Persian word for the Indus), deriving from the Persian term for the Indus River . This term was later used to refer to the whole of the Indian Subcontinent . The language spoken in this area is called Hindustani, Urdu and Hindi being the two standardized registers of Hindustani . The term Hindustani is also used to refer to the people, music, and culture of the region . </P>

The belt of river lowlands that extends across northern south asia lies between