Indian Peninsular

Plateau
Plateau is an area of raised land that is flat on
top. Plateaus are often by themselves with no
surrounding plateau. National Geographic
describes plateaus as flat and elevated
landform that rises sharply above the
surrounding area on at least one side.

Features of the Peninsular Plateau

• Roughly triangular in shape with its base coinciding with the southern edge of the great plain of
North India. The apex of the triangular plateau is at Kanniyakumari.
• 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 (varies from region to region).
• Most of the peninsular rivers flow west to east indicating it’s the general slope.
• Narmada-Tapti is the exception that flows from east to west in a rift (rift is caused by a
divergent boundary (Go back to Interaction of plates).

• It is a highly stable block composed mostly of the

Archaean gneisses and schists.
• It has been a stable shield that has gone through
little structural changes since its formation.
• Since a few hundred million years, the Peninsular
block has been a land area and has never been
submerged beneath the sea except in a few places.
Central Highland

• Also called the Madhya Bharat Pathar or Madhya

Bharat Plateau.
• It is to the east of the Marwar or Mewar Upland.
• Most of the plateau comprises the basin of the
Chambal river which flows in a rift valley.
• The Kali Sindh, flowing from Rana Pratap Sagar, The
Banas flowing through Mewar plateau, and The
Parwan and the Parbati flowing from Madhya
Pradesh are its main tributaries.
• It is a rolling plateau with rounded hills composed
of sandstone. Thick forests grow here.

Marwar Plateau or Mewar Plateau

• It is the plateau of eastern Rajasthan. [Marwar plain is
to the west of Aravalis whereas Marwar plateau is to
the east].
• The average elevation is 250-500 m above sea level
and it slopes down eastwards.
• It is made up of sandstone, shales and limestones of
the Vindhayan period.
• The Banas river, along with its tributaries [Berach river,
Khari rivers] originate in the Aravali Range and flow
towards northwest into Chambal river. The erosional
activity of these rives make the plateau top appear
like a rolling plain.
• [Rolling Plain: ‘Rolling plains’ are not completely flat:
there are slight rises and fall in the land form. Ex:
Prairies of USA]

Bundelkhand Upland
• Yamuna river to the north, Madhya Bharat Pathar to the
west, Vindhyan Scarplands to the east and south-east
and Malwa Plateau to the south.
• It is the old dissected (divided by a number of deep
valleys) upland of the ‘Bundelkhand gneiss’ comprising
of granite and gneiss.
• Spreads over five districts of Uttar Pradesh and four
districts of Madhya Pradesh.

• An average elevation of 300-600 m above sea level, this area slopes down from the
Vindhyan Scarp toward the Yamuna River.
• The area is marked by a chain of hillocks (small hill) made of granite and sandstone.
• The erosional work of the rivers flowing here have converted it into an undulating
(wave-like surface) area and rendered it unfit for cultivation.
• Streams like Betwa, Dhasan, and Ken flow through the plateau.
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.
• This plateau has two systems of drainage; one towards the
Arabian sea (The Narmada, the Tapi, and the Mahi), and the other
towards the Bay of Bengal (Chambal and Betwa, joining the
Yamuna).
• In the north, it is drained by the Chambal and many of its right
bank tributaries like the Kali, the Sindh, and the Parbati. It also
includes the upper courses of the Sindh, the Ken, and the Betwa.
• It is composed of the extensive lava flow and is covered with black
soils.
• The general slope is towards the north [decreases from 600 m in
the south to less than 500 m in the north]

Baghelkhand

• North of the Maikal Range is the Baghelkhand.

• Made of limestones and sandstones on the west
and granite in the east.
• It is bounded by the Son river on the north.
• The central part of the plateau acts as a water
divide between the Son drainage system in the
north and the Mahanadi river system in the
south.
• The region is uneven with general elevation
varying from 150 m to 1,200 m.
• The Bharner and Kaimur are located close to the
trough-axis.

Chotanagpur Plateau

• Chotanagpur plateau represents the north-

eastern projection of the Indian Peninsula.
• Mostly in Jharkhand, the northern part of
Chhatisgarh and Purulia district of West Bengal.
• The Son River flows in the north-west of the
plateau and joins the Ganga.
• The average elevation of the plateau is 700 m
above sea level.
• This plateau is composed mainly of Gondwana
rocks.
• The Damodar River flows through the middle of this
region in a rift valley from west to east. Here are found
the Gondwana coal fields which provide the bulk of coal
in India.
• North of the Damodar river is the Hazaribagh plateau
with an average elevation of 600 m above mean sea
level.
• The Ranchi Plateau to the south of the Damodar Valley
rises to about 600 m above mean sea level. Most of the
surface is rolling where the city of Ranchi (661 m) is
located.
• The Rajmahal Hills forming the northeastern edge of the
Chotanagpur Plateau are mostly made of basalt and are
covered by lava flows {Basaltic Lava}.

Meghalaya Plateau

• The peninsular plateau extends further east beyond the Rajmahal hills to from Meghalaya or
the Shillong plateau.
• Garo-Rajmahal Gap separates this plateau from the main block.
• This gap was formed by down-faulting (normal fault: a block of earth slides downwards). It was
later filled by sediments deposited by the Ganga and Brahmaputa.
• The plateau is formed by Archaean quartzites, shales and schists.
• The plateau slopes down to Brahmaputra valley in the north and the Surma and Meghna valleys
in the south.
• Its western boundary more or less coincides with the Bangladesh border.
• The western, central and the eastern parts of the plateau are known as the Garo Hills (900 m),
the Khasi-Jaintia Hills (1,500 m) and the Mikir Hills (700 m).
• Shillong (1,961 m) is the highest point of the plateau.
Deccan Plateau

• It covers an area of about five lakh sq km.

• It is triangular in shape and is bounded by the
Satpura and the Vindhya in the north-west, the
Mahadev and the Maikal in the north, the
Western Ghats in the west, and the Eastern Ghats
in the east.
• Its average elevation is 600 m.
• It rises to 1000 m in the south but dips to 500 m
in the north.
• Its general slope is from west to east which is
indicated by the flow of its major rivers.
• Rivers have further subdivided this plateau into a
number of smaller plateaus.

Maharashtra Plateau

• The Maharashtra Plateau lies in Maharashtra.

• It forms the northern part of the Deccan Plateau.
• Much of the region is underlain by basaltic rocks of lava origin [Most of the Deccan Traps lies in
this region].
• The area looks like a rolling plain due to weathering.
• The broad and shallow valleys of the Godavari, the Bhima, and the Krishna are flanked
[bordered on the opposite sides] by flat-topped steep-sided hills and ridges.
• The entire area is covered by black cotton soil known as regur.
Karnataka Plateau
• The Karnataka Plateau is also known as the Mysore plateau.
• Lies to the south of the Maharashtra plateau.
• The area looks like a rolling plateau with an average elevation of 600-900 m.
• The highest peak (1913 m) is at Mulangiri in Baba Budan Hills in the Chikmaglur district.
• The plateau is divided into two parts called Malnad and Maidan.
• The Malnad in Kannada means the hill country. It is dissected into deep valleys covered with
dense forests.
• The Maidan on the other hand is formed of a rolling plain with low granite hills.
• The plateau tapers between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats in the south and merges
with the Niligiri hills there.

Telangana plateau

• The Telangana plateau consists of Archaean gneisses.

• It is made up of Dharwar rocks. Gondwana rocks are also found in the Godavari valley, famous
for its coal fields.
• Because of the Dharwar rock strata, the plateau is rich in mineral resources.
• Its average elevation is 500-600 m.
• The southern part is higher than its northern counterpart.
• The region is drained by three river systems, the Godavari, the Krishna, and the Penner.
• The entire plateau is divided into Ghats and the Peneplains (a vast featureless, undulating plain
which the last stage of the deposition process).

Bastar Plateau

• Bastar is a district in the southernmost region in the state

of Chhattisgarh.
• It is a forested mineral rich region.
• Southern part of Chhattisgarh between the Mahanadi and
Godavari rivers.
• Bisected into two parts by the Indravati River.
• Tribal dominated region.
• Under the strong grip of Naxalism.
Dandakaranya Plateau

• Dandakaranya is a historical region in India, mentioned in Ramayana. It is located in the

Bastar region of the present-day state of Chhattisgarh in the central part of India.
• Dandakaranya is a physiographic region in the central part of India. Extending over a
neighborhood of about 35600 square miles, it includes the Abujhmad Hills within the
west and borders the Eastern Ghats within the east.
• Abujmarh is a hilly forest area in Chhattisgarh, covering Narayanpur district, Bijapur
district, and Dantewada district. It is home to indigenous tribes of India, including Gond,
Muria, Abuj Maria, and Halbaas.
• The Dandakaranya includes parts of the Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana, and Andhra
Pradesh states. It’s a dimension of about 200 miles from north to south and about 300
miles from east to west.