THE PENINSULAR PLATEAUS

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WHAT IS A PLATEAU?

Plateau is an area of raised land that is flat on top.

National Geographic describes plateaus as flat and

elevated landform that rises sharply above the
surrounding area on at least one side.

TYPES OF PLATEAUS

An upward movement in the earth’s crust forms

Dissected dissected plateaus. The cause behind the
Plateau upward movement is the slow collision of the
tectonic plates. Eg.Colorado Plateau

As the name suggests, the volcanic plateau is

Volcanic
the one which is formed by the small volcanic
Plateau eruptions. Eg.Deccan plateau

CAUSES OF PLATEAU FORMATION

Thermal Expansion Crustal Shortening Volcanism

 PHYSIOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS

North of Narmada river.

bounded to the west by the Aravallis.
Satpura ranges
These highlands consist of the Marwar
upland,Malwa plateau,Bundelkhand
plateau,Chhotanagpur plateau &
Baghelkhand plateau

THE N
ORTHE
THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS ASTE
RN P
LA TEAU

THE DECCAN PLATEAU

It is bordered by:
The Western Ghats in the west,
The Eastern Ghats in the east,
The Satpura, Maikal range and
Mahadeo hills in the north.
 MALWA PLATEAU

MARWAR UPLAND
To the east of Aravallis in Rajasthan

Rolling plain carved by Banas river.

Average elevation is 250-500 m above

sea level.

G E
A N
IL R
VA
RA
A

BLACK SOIL
S RA N G E
VINDHYA

Located immediately to the east of the Aravallis, most of

the plateau is situated in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan

Geologically, it's among India's most diverse landmasses

with Dharwar rocks, Vindhyan rocks, Gondwana rocks, and
Volcanic Basalt being found within it.

It has semi-arid to arid type of climate and Ravine-Gully

erosion turns the landform into a Badland, not suitable for
agriculture.
 BUNDELKHAND PLATEAU

MADHYA BHARAT PATHAR

Also known as the Central Highland

It contains the drainage of river

Chambal which flows in a rift valley.

It lies to the east of Marwar upland

GRANITE

GNEISS

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
Along the Betwa floodplains, there are badlands which make
the region unfit for agriculture.

Streams like Betwa, Dhasan and Ken flow through the

plateau.
 BAGHELKHAND PLATEAU

ROCKS OF DHARWAR SYSTEM

These rocks have been formed as a Gondwana coal makes up to 98
result of the erosion and per cent of the total reserves and
sedimentation of the rocks of the 99 per cent of the production of
Archaean system. coal in India.

The rocks of this system are

economically very important. All
prominent metallic minerals (iron, gold,
manganese etc) are found in these
rocks.

RANGE
MAIKAL

North of the Maikal Range is the Baghelkhand.

It is situated in three States - UP, MP, and Chhattisgarh.

Son river drains the region, on which the Rihand Dam &
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.

 CHOTA NAGPUR PLATEAU (CNP)

LATERITE SOILS
Due to intense weathering and
erosion, CNP is covered with
laterite soils which is not suitable
for agriculture
THE DAMODAR RIFT VALLEY
Damodar rift valley (DRV) is the most
prominent structure of this plateau.

Gondwana rocks are found in the rift

valley, which resulted in some of the
richest coal deposits of India
LLS
HI
It divides the plateau into two parts. AL
AH
JM
RA

It's a continental plateau, with Himalayas (Shiwaliks) to its

north
The plateau covers the States of Jharkhand, parts of
Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha.
Geologically, the plateau is made up of Dharwar (igneous
and metamorphic) rocks, mostly granite and gneiss.

CNP is among the richest mineralized zones of India. Many

important industrial centres such as Jamshedpur, Bokaro,
Sindri, Lohar Darga, Ranchi etc. are located in this region.
 THE NORTHEASTERN PLATEAU / THE MEGHALAYA (OR SHILLONG) PLATEAU

SOUTHWEST MONSOON
This area receives maximum
SHILLONG
rainfall from the south-west
monsoon. As a result, the
Shillong (1,961 m) is the highest point Meghalaya plateau has a highly
of the plateau. eroded surface.

CHERRAPUNJI

Cherrapunji and Mawsynram, located in

the Khasi hills, are the wettest places in
India and are a part of the plateau.

The Meghalaya (or Shillong) plateau is separated from

peninsular rock base by the Garo-Rajmahal gap.
The region has the Garo, Khasi, Jaintia and Mikir
(Rengma) hills.
An extension of the Meghalaya plateau is also seen in the
Karbi Anglong hills of Assam.

The Meghalaya plateau is also rich in mineral resources like

coal, iron ore, sillimanite, limestone and uranium.
 THE DECCAN PLATEAU

It is the largest plateau in India, covering an area of

around 5 lakh sq.km
It extends into the States of Maharashtra, Telangana,
Northern Karnataka, and Kathiawar region of Gujarat
It is volcanic plateau formed after the solidification of
basaltic lava

Deccan Traps have the highest thickness in the west and

gradually slope towards the east.

ADEO
SATPURA MAH
LLS
HI
AL
AH
JM
RA
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EA
AT

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N
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H
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NILGIRIS
THE MAHARASHTRA PLATEAU,THE KARNATAKA PLATEAU & TELANGANA PLATEAU

MAHARASHTRA PLATEAU
It has typical deccan trap
topography underlain by basaltic
rock, the regur(black cotton soil)
Much of the region is underlain by
basaltic rocks of lava origin

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.

KARNATAKA PLATEAU
Also known as the Mysore
plateau.
The plateau has two major
divisions viz., Malnad and
Maidan
The plateau tapers to the
south.
 CHIEF CHARACTERISTICS OF THESE PLATEAUS

general elevation
The general elevation of the plateau is from the west
to the east, which is also proved by the pattern of the
flow of rivers.
Barring Narmada and Tapti all the major rivers lying to
the south of the Vindhyas flow eastwards to fall into
the Bay of Bengal.

Tors
Prominent, isolated mass of
jointed, weathered rock,
usually granite.

Spurs
A marked projection of land
from a mountain or a ridge

Dykes
Series of hummocky hills and
wall-like quartzite dykes
offering natural sites for water
storage.
THE DECCAN TRAPS

One of the most important features of the peninsular plateau

The black soil area in the western and northwestern

part of the plateau is known as the Deccan Trap.

The Deccan Traps began forming 66.25 million years ago, at

the end of the Cretaceous period. The bulk of the volcanic
eruption occurred at the Western Ghats some 66 million
years ago.

It covers a major portion of the Maharashtra plateau and parts

of Gujarat, northern Karnataka and Malwa plateau.

Basalt is the main rock of the region.