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PLATEAUS OF INDIA, •, , In geology and physical geography, a plateau, also called a high plain or a tableland, is an, area of a highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain, that is raised significantly, above the surrounding area, often with one or more sides with deep hills., , •, , Plateaus occur in every continent and take up a third of the Earths land., , •, , Sometimes, a plateau is so eroded that it is broken up into smaller raised sections called, outlier plateaus, which are composed of very old, dense rock formations. Iron ore and, coal often are found in plateau outliers., , •, , Plateaus are very useful because they are rich in mineral deposits. As a result, many of, the mining areas in the world are located in the plateau areas.
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Peninsular Plateau, •, , The peninsular plateau is a part of the peninsular Indian landmass that is surrounded by, seas., , •, , Most of the peninsular landmass is a plateau. It's an uplifted block called the Horst,, created by two faults in the west and east coasts., , •, , The Narmada - Son - Damodar rift valley runs across the peninsular landmass cutting it, into two parts viz., the Central Highlands in the north, and the Deccan Plateau in the, south., , •, , The peninsular plateau is divided into various regional landmasses based on the local, topography and their geographical location. They include:, •, , Malwa plateau, , •, , Bundelkhand plateau, , •, , Baghelkhand plateau, , •, , Madhya Bharat Pathar
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Malwa plateau, •, , The Malwa Plateau roughly forms a triangle based on the Vindhyan Hills, bounded by the, Aravali Range in the west and Madhya Bharat Pathar to the north and Bundelkhand to, the east, , •, , Narmada Rift Valley is the most prominent structure of this plateau, , •, , It has the drainage systems of the Bay of Bengal (Chambal, Sindh, Betwa, Parbati join the, Yamuna, which in turn joins the Ganga) and the Arabian Sea (Narmada, Tapti, Mahi)., , •, , The average elevation of the plateau is 500m with a gentle slope towards the north., , •, , Geologically, it's among India's most diverse landmasses with Dharwar rocks, Vindhyan, rocks, Gondwana rocks, and Volcanic Basalt being found within it. It is composed of, extensive lava flow and is covered with black soils.
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•, , It has semi-arid to arid type of climate. Short spells of rainfall occur due to convection, which gives rise to temporary streams. In the absence of dense vegetation, these streams, remove the topsoil giving rise to narrow valley type of structures known as Gullies. Gullies, deepen eventually to form Ravines., , •, , Ravine-Gully erosion turns the landform into a Badland, not suitable for agriculture., Chambal's drainage basin is abundant with such Badland topography., , Bundelkhand plateau, •, , Lies to the east of Malwa plateau, and is situated in the states of Madhya Pradesh and, Uttar Pradesh., , •, , Situated over the Ganga basin, made up of granite and gneiss rocks, , •, , The average elevation of the plateau is in the range of 300-600m., , •, , It has a drainage system into the Bay of Bengal., , •, , Along the Betwa floodplains, there are badlands which make the region unfit for, agriculture., , Baghelkhand plateau, •, , It is situated in three States - UP, MP, and Chhattisgarh, , •, , Son river drains the region, on which the Rihand Dam and Govind Vallabh Pant Sagar, reservoir (largest manmade lake in India) were built., , •, , The plateau contains Dharwar and Gondwana rocks., , •, , It separates the Ganga basin from the Mahanadi basin, , Kathiawar plateau, •, , Located in the Kathiawar region of Gujarat, this region has many pipe-like volcanic, openings which gave rise to many hill ranges such as the Girnar range, Junagarh range,, Pavagarh range etc., , •, , Lake Nalsarovar, which is a bird sanctuary, forms the Northeast boundary of the plateau., , •, , Little Rann is situated to the north of Kathiwar plateau., , •, , It has some volcanic rocks in the form of Mandav hills and Balda hills., , •, , Mt.Girnar is the highest point of Kathiawar plateau.
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Chhotanagpur plateau, •, , It is the north–east part of Peninsular plateau., , •, , It Includes Jharkhand, parts of Chhattisgarh and West Bengal., , •, , This plateau consists of series of step like sub-plateaus (locally called patlands – high-level, plateau). It is thus famous as the Patland plateau and known as Ruhr of India., , •, , Rajmahal Hills are the northeastern projection of Chhota Nagpur Plateau., , •, , It is a mineral rich plateau., , Meghalaya plateau, •, , Also known as the Shillong plateau, it's a part of the peninsular plateau but is separated, from it by the Malda trough/Rajmahal-Garo gap., , •, , It is made up of Dharwar and Gondwana rocks. It is rich in coal fields (Bapung coal fields, of Meghalaya) and also in nuclear minerals (Uranium deposits of Domiasiat mines in, Meghalaya), , •, , Garo, Khasi, and Jaintia hills form the southern edges of the plateau., , •, , Its average elevation is about 1500m above the mean sea level., , •, , Brahmaputra's basin is to the north of the plateau. River Surma enters the plateau from, Assam and joins the river Meghna in Bangladesh., , •, , Cherrapunji and Mawsynram, located in the Khasi hills, are the wettest places in India, and are a part of the plateau, , Deccan Plateaus, •, , It extends over eight Indian states and encompasses a wide range of habitats, covering, significant parts of Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh., , •, , The plateau is located between two mountain ranges, the Western Ghats and the Eastern, Ghats, and separated from the Gangetic plain to the north by the Satpura and Vindhya, Ranges, which form its northern boundary., , •, , Roughly triangular in shape with its base coinciding with the southern edge of the great, plain of North India. Apex of the triangular plateau is at Kanniyakumari., , •, , On the western edge of the plateau lie the Sahyadri, the Nilgiri, the Anaimalai and the, Elamalai Hills, commonly known as Western Ghats. The eastern Deccan plateau,, called Telangana and Rayalaseema, is made of vast sheets of massive granite rock, which
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effectively traps rainwater. Under the thin surface layer of soil is the impervious gray, granite bedrock., •, , It covers a total area of about 16 lakh sq km (India as a whole is 32 lakh sq km)., , •, , The average height of the plateau is 600-900 m above sea level., , •, , Most of the peninsular rivers flow west to east indicating its general slope., , •, , Narmada-Tapti are the exceptions which flow from east to west in a rift (rift is caused by, divergent boundary (Go back to Interaction of plates)., , •, , The Peninsular Plateau is a one of the oldest landforms of earth. The Deccan produced, some of the major dynasties in Indian, history including Pallavas, Satavahana, Vakataka, Chalukya, and Rashtrakuta dynasties,, the Western Chalukya, the Kadamba Dynasty, Kakatiya Empire, Kamma, Nayakas, Vijayanagara and Maratha empires and the Muslim Bahmani Sultanate, Deccan, Sultanate, and the Nizam of Hyderabad., , •, , The southern extensions of Deccan plateau are known by their regional names such as, the Telangana plateau and Karnataka plateau
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Telangana plateau, •, , It is made up of Dharwar rocks. Gondwana rocks are also found in the Godavari valley,, famous for its coal fields., , •, , Godavari, Krishna, and Penna are the major rivers flowing through the plateau., , •, , Because of the Dharwar rock strata, the plateau is rich in mineral resources., , •, , The plateau receives good rainfall (average of 100mm/year), similar to the CNP., , •, , It's considered to be a peneplain i.e., a vast featureless, undulating plain., , •, , The average elevation of the plateau is in the range of 500-600m above the mean sea, level, , Karnataka plateau, •, , Also known as the Mysore plateau., , •, , The average elevation of the plateau is in the range of 600-900m., , •, , The plateau has two major divisions viz., Malnad and Maidan
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•, , Malnad is a hilly region covered with dense forests. Maidan is a rolling plain with low, lying hills., , •, , The plateau is drained by numerous streams and rivers flowing from the Western Ghats., , •, , The plateau tapers to the south, in between the Western and the Eastern Ghats, and, merges with the Nilgiris.
