Features of the Peninsular Plateau

• Triangular in shape with base at southern edge of North India’s great plain; apex at Kanniyakumari
• Covers about 16 lakh sq km (India’s total area is 32 lakh sq km)
• Average height: 600-900m above sea level (varies in different regions)
• Most peninsular rivers flow west to east, indicating general slope
• Narmada-Tapti flows from east to west in a rift caused by a divergent boundary
• One of the oldest landforms of earth, composed mostly of Archaean gneisses and schists
• Highly stable block with little structural changes since formation
• Has been a land area for hundreds of millions of years, never submerged except in a few places
• Aggregation of several smaller plateaus, hill ranges, and river basins/valleys.

Minor Plateaus in the Peninsular Plateau

Marwar Plateau or Mewar Plateau

• The Aravalli Range is to the west of the Marwar plateau, while the Marwar plain is to the east.
• The average elevation of the plateau is between 250-500 meters above sea level and it slopes down towards the east.
• The plateau is composed of sandstone, shales, and limestones from the Vindhayan period.
• The Banas River and its tributaries (the Berach and Khari rivers) originate in the Aravalli Range and flow northwest into the Chambal river.
• The erosional activity of these rivers gives the plateau a rolling plain appearance, which means it is not completely flat with slight rises and falls in the landform.

Central Highland

• Also known as the Madhya Bharat Pathar or Madhya Bharat Plateau.
• Lies to the east of the Marwar or Mewar Upland.
• The plateau is mostly made up of the basin of the Chambal river, which flows in a rift valley.
• Its main tributaries are the Kali Sindh, Banas, Parwan, and Parbati rivers.
• The plateau is rolling with rounded hills made of sandstone, and thick forests grow here.
• To the north are the ravines or badlands of the Chambal river which are typical to the Chambal river basin.
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Bundelkhand Upland

• Location: North-central India, bounded by Yamuna river to the north, Madhya Bharat Pathar to the west, Vindhyan Scarplands to the east and southeast, and Malwa Plateau to the south.
• Geology: Dissected upland of ‘Bundelkhand gneiss’ consisting of granite and gneiss.
• Area: Spreads over five districts of Uttar Pradesh and four districts of Madhya Pradesh.
• Elevation: Average elevation of 300-600 m above sea level sloping down towards the Yamuna River.
• Topography: Undulating area marked by a chain of hillocks made of granite and sandstone, unfit for cultivation due to erosional work of rivers and senile topography.
• Rivers: Streams like Betwa, Dhasan, and Ken flow through the plateau.
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Malwa Plateau

• Malwa Plateau is roughly a triangle based on the Vindhyan Hills
• It is bounded by Aravali Range to the west, Madhya Bharat Pathar to the north, and Bundelkhand to the east
• It has two drainage systems – one towards Arabian Sea (Narmada, Tapi, and Mahi rivers) and the other towards Bay of Bengal (Chambal and Betwa rivers, which join the Yamuna)
• The north part of the plateau is drained by Chambal river and its right bank tributaries like Kali, Sindh, and Parbati. It also includes upper courses of Sindh, Ken, and Betwa.
• The plateau is composed of extensive lava flow and covered with black soils
• The general slope is towards the north (decreasing from 600m in the south to less than 500m in the north)
• The plateau is rolling and dissected by rivers
• In the north, the plateau is marked by the Chambal ravines.
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Baghelkhand

• Baghelkhand is located north of the Maikal Range.
• The west of Baghelkhand is made up of limestones and sandstones while the east is composed of granite.
• It is bounded by the Son river to the north.
• The central part of the plateau acts as a water divide between the Son drainage system to the north and the Mahanadi river system to the south.
• The elevation in the region varies from 150 m to 1,200 m, and the Bharner and Kaimur are situated near the trough-axis.
• The strata in the region have not undergone any significant disturbance, as seen from the general horizontality of the layers.
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Rohtas Plateau

• The Rohtas Plateau, also known as Kaimur Plateau, is located in the southwest part of Bihar.
• It covers an area of about 800 square miles (2,100 km2) and is an undulating table land.
• At Rohtasgarh, it reaches a height of 1,490 feet (450 m) above sea level.
• The plateau is part of a series of fluvial plateaux along the Kaimur Range that descend from west to east.
• The series includes the Panna Plateau in the west, followed by Bhander Plateau and Rewa Plateau, and ends with the Rohtas Plateau in the east.
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Bhander Plateau

• The Bhander Plateau is in Madhya Pradesh, India, covering an area of 10,000 square kilometres.
• It connects the Deccan Plateau in the south with the Indo-Gangetic Plains and Chota Nagpur Plateau in the north and east, respectively.
• It is part of the Vindhya Range in central India.
• A group of plateaux runs along the Kaimur Range, comprising descending plateaux, starting with the Panna Plateau in the west, followed by Bhander Plateau and Rewa Plateau, and ending with Rohtas Plateau in the east.

Chotanagpur Plateau

• Chotanagpur plateau is in Jharkhand, the northern part of Chhatisgarh, and Purulia district of West Bengal.
• The Son River flows in the northwest and joins the Ganga.
• The plateau’s average elevation is 700 m above sea level, and it is mainly composed of Gondwana rocks.
• The plateau is drained by several rivers and streams, and it presents a radial drainage pattern.
• The Damodar River flows through the middle in a rift valley from west to east, and it has extensive drainage basins.
• North of the Damodar river is the Hazaribagh plateau with an average elevation of 600 m, which has isolated hills.
• The Ranchi Plateau to the south rises to about 600 m, and it is mostly rolling with some monadnocks and conical hills.
• The Rajmahal Hills, made mostly of basalt and covered by lava flows, form the northeastern edge, running in the north-south direction and rising to an average elevation of 400 m.
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Meghalaya Plateau

• The Shillong plateau or Meghalaya is an extension of the peninsular plateau towards the east.
• It is separated from the main block by the Garo-Rajmahal Gap which was formed by down-faulting and later filled by sediments from the Ganga and Brahmaputra.
• The plateau is made up of Archaean quartzites, shales, and schists and slopes down to the Brahmaputra valley in the north and the Surma and Meghna valleys in the south.
• The western boundary of the plateau is near the Bangladesh border.
• The Garo Hills (900 m), Khasi-Jaintia Hills (1,500 m), and Mikir Hills (700 m) are the western, central, and eastern parts of the plateau respectively.
• Shillong (1,961 m) is the highest point on the plateau.
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Deccan Plateau

• Area: 500,000 sq km
• Shape: Triangular
• Boundaries: Satpura and Vindhya in the northwest, Mahadev and Maikal in the north, Western Ghats in the west, and Eastern Ghats in the east.
• Average elevation: 600 m
• Highest point: 1,000 m (in the south)
• Lowest point: 500 m (in the north)
• General slope: West to east
• Rivers have subdivided the plateau into smaller plateaus.
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Maharashtra Plateau

• The Maharashtra Plateau is located in Maharashtra and is part of the larger Deccan Plateau.
• Basaltic rocks of lava origin, which make up most of the Deccan Traps, underlie much of the region.
• The plateau has a rolling plain appearance due to weathering, and the horizontal lava sheets have created the typical step-like topography of the Deccan Traps.
• The Godavari, Bhima, and Krishna rivers flow through broad, shallow valleys bordered by steep-sided hills and ridges.
• The entire plateau is covered in black cotton soil known as regur.

Karnataka Plateau

• The Karnataka Plateau is also known as the Mysore plateau
• It is located south of the Maharashtra plateau
• The plateau looks like a rolling plateau with an average elevation of 600-900 m
• It is highly dissected by numerous rivers rising from the Western Ghats
• The hills generally trend either parallel or across the Western Ghats
• The highest peak (1913 m) is at Mulangiri in Baba Budan Hills in the Chikmaglur district
• The plateau is divided into two parts: Malnad and Maidan
• Malnad means the hill country and is dissected into deep valleys covered with dense forests
• Maidan 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 Nilgiri hills there.

Telangana plateau

• Telangana plateau is made up of Archaean gneisses and Dharwar rocks.
• The Godavari valley in the plateau has Gondwana rocks and coal fields.
• The plateau is rich in mineral resources due to the presence of Dharwar rock strata.
• It has an average elevation of 500-600 m, with the southern part being higher than the northern part.
• The region is drained by three river systems: the Godavari, the Krishna, and the Penner.
• The plateau is divided into Ghats and Peneplains.

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.

Chhattisgarh Plain

• The Chhattisgarh plain is the only true plain in the Peninsular plateau.
• It is shaped like a saucer and drained by the upper Mahanadi river.
• The basin is located between the Maikala Range and the Odisha hills.
• The area was ruled by Haithaivanshi Rajputs, and it was named after their thirty-six forts (Chhattisgarh).
• The plain is covered with almost horizontal layers of limestone and shales.
• The elevation of the plain ranges from 250 m in the east to 330 m in the west.

Dandakaranya Plateau

• Dandakaranya is a historical region in India mentioned in Ramayana.
• It is located in the Bastar region of present-day Chhattisgarh state in central India.
• Dandakaranya is a physiographic region extending over an area of about 35600 square miles.
• It includes the Abujhmad Hills in the west and borders the Eastern Ghats in the east.
• Abujmarh is a hilly forest area in Chhattisgarh, covering Narayanpur, Bijapur, and Dantewada districts.
• Indigenous tribes of India, including Gond, Muria, Abuj Maria, and Halbaas, live in Abujmarh.
• The Dandakaranya region includes parts of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh states.
• It has a dimension of about 200 miles from north to south and about 300 miles from east to west.