Peninsular Plateau in India

Peninsular Plateau in India

The extent and importance:

The Peninsular Plateau lies south of the Northern Great Plains. The Central Highlands and the Deccan Plateau are the two divisions of the Peninsular Plateau. The rivers that drain in the Peninsular India may be classified as west flowing rivers and east flowing rivers. The plateau is made up of crystalline rocks. The plateau is also a treasure of minerals and granites. The black cotton soil that is found in some parts of the plateau has significantly improved the living conditions of the people of the region.

1. The Central Highland:

The Central Highland is made up of hard igneous and metamorphic rocks. The Aravalli ranges and the Vindhya mountains are the important mountains that lie in the central highlands. Aravalli Mountains which lie in the north¬western part of the Central Highlands, extend from north to south for about 800 kins. Gurushikar on Mount Abu is the highest peak in the Aravallis. The Malwa Plateau and the Chotanagpur Plateau are the two important plateaus found in the Central Highlands. The two plateaus are located in the north of the Vindhya Mountains.

(a) The Malwa Plateau: The Malwa Plateau is composed of extensive lava and is covered with black cotton soil. Numerous north flowing rivers drain the Malwa Plateau, and the Chambal river is one such river. The Bhagelkhand and the Bundelkhand plateaus are located to the east of this plateau.

(b) The Chotanagpur Plateau: The Chotanagpur Plateau extends from Bhagelkand plateau located in the east of the Malwa plateau. The Chotanagpur Plateau covers the southern part of Bihar, eastern parts of Madhya Pradesh and Purulia district of West Bengal. The continuity of the plateau ends in the Rajmahai hills in the east. The average height of the plateau is about 700 mts. The Chotanagpur Plateau has large number of mines such as iron mines, coal mines and bauxite mines.

2. The Deccan Plateau:

The Deccan Plateau is the largest among the plateaus found in the Peninsular India. It is bound by Satpura, the Mahadev and the Maikala ranges in the north, the Western Ghats in the west and the Eastern Ghats in the east. The plateau is triangular in shape. The north-western part of the Deccan Plateau is made up of basalt.

(a) The Deccan Trap: The lava flows or the igneous rocks found in the north¬western part of the Deccan Plateau is called Basalt. Basalt is also called the Deccan Trap. The rocks or the Deccan trap is spread over the entire state of Maharashtra, parts of Madhya Pradesh and parts of Gujarat. The lava flow was a result of volcanic activities that occurred in the region millions of years ago. Numerous rivers that originate in the mountains of the Deccan flow from west to east. These rivers either join major rivers or flow into the Bay of Bengal. This shows that the plateau slopes towards the east. The south-eastern side of the Deccan plateau is called the Telengana Plateau, and the south¬western side is called Karnataka plateau.

(b) The Western Ghats: The Western Ghats run parallel to the West Coastal line from the south of the Tapti valley to Kanyakumari. The Ghats is composed of numerous hills, which are called in different names in different locales. The Ghats act as climatic barrier to the south-west monsoon winds and give copious rainfall in its western slopes. The Evergreen forests that are found in the Western Ghats are the habitats for wildlife. The trees found in these forests have great commercial value. The Western Ghats meet the Eastern Ghats at Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu. Anai Mudi is the highest peak found in the Western Ghats.

(c) The Eastern Ghats: The Eastern Ghats is a series of discontinuous hills dissected by numerous rivers in regular intervals. The Ghats rarely exceeds 900mts of height. The  Eastern Ghats have different names in different locales such as Sherveroy hills in Salem and Biligiri Rangan Hills in Coimbatore. The Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna, the Cativery are the major rivers that dissect the Eastern Ghats in different locales.