India Physiography – The Indian Peninsular Plateaus

India can be divided into following physical divisions viz.

• The Northern Mountains
• The North Indian Plain
• The Peninsular Plateau
• Great Indian Desert
• The coastal Regions
• Islands

The Peninsular Plateaus

• Largest of India’s physical divisions – Comprises of broad & shallow valleys with rounded hills.
• Triangular in shape; composed of the oldest rocks & surrounded by hills.
• Narmada – Tapi divides it into 2 parts viz. Central highland & Deccan plateau.

The Central Highlands

• Lies to the north of the Narmada River between Aravali in North & Vindhya range in south
• Covers the major portion of the Malwa plateau (Madhya Pradesh)
• Rivers in this region flow from southwest to northeast, which indicates the slope of this region
• Further extension of it is Bundelkhand, Bhaghelkhand & Chhota Nagpur Plateau
• Chambal & Betwa flows through it [arr] Region known as Bedland (Not fit for cultivation)

Deccan Plateau

• Largest plateau in India; Lies to the south of the Narmada River; Shaped as inverted triangle.
• Surrounded by Satpura hills, Mahadeo hills, Maikala range, Amarkantak hills and Rajmahal hills in the north; Western Ghats in the west and the Eastern Ghats in the east
• Volcanic in origin, made up of horizontal layers of solidified lava forming trap structure with step like appearance.
• Sedimentary layers are also found in between the layers of solidified lava, making it inter-trapping in structure.
• Average elevation of Western Ghats is 900 – 1600 metres; compared to 600 metres of Eastern Ghats
• Slopes towards east and south and descends abruptly towards west making sahayadri ranges.
• The plateau is suitable for the cultivation of cotton; home to rich mineral resources & a source to generate hydroelectric power.

Western Ghats

• Folded parts of Deccan Plateau
• Also known as Shayadries
• More Continuous & higher than Eastern Ghats
• Separated from coast by narrow coastal plains
• Rich watersheds give birth to large peninsular rivers like Godavari and Krishna
• Extends from Tapi in North to Kanyakumari in south.

Important Passes (Rail Links)

• Thalghat [arr] Mumbai —- Kolkata
• Bhorghat [arr] Mumbai —- Chennai
• Phalghat [arr] Kochi ——– Chennai

Important Hill Ranges

• Nilgiri Range (Highest peak [arr] Doda Betta along ooty (Udhagmandalam) [arr] TN
• Highest Peak of South India [arr] Anaimudi From which 3 ranges radiates in 3 directions. 

• Cardmom Hills to south,
• Anamalai hills to north
• Palni to North East

Eastern Ghats

• Extends from Odisha to North of Nilgiri hills.
• Discontinuous & lower than Western Ghats
• Do not give birth to important rivers like western ghats
• Separated from coast by very wide coastal plains
• Geologically older than western ghats
• Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri cut through this range to merge with Bay of Bengal
• The Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats meet in the Nilgiri hills.