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The Peninsular plateau is a tableland of crystalline, igneous, and metamorphic rocks from the past. It was produced by the breakup and drifting of the Gondwana continent, making it the oldest landmass. The plateau is characterised by vast and shallow valleys and rounded hills. The Central Highlands and the Deccan Plateau are the two major sections of this plateau.
The Central Highlands are a section of the Peninsular plateau to the north of the Narmada river, covering a large portion of the Malwa plateau. The Satpura range (south) and the Aravallis (northwest) define the Vindhya range. The sand and stony desert of Rajasthan eventually blend with the farther westward extension.
The Peninsular Plateau’s Characteristics
It has a total size of around 16 lakh square kilometres.
The plateau rises 600-900 metres above sea level on average.
Most peninsular rivers run from west to east, demonstrating the peninsula’s overall slope.
The Narmada-Tapti are the exceptions, flowing in a fissure from east to west.
One of the world’s oldest landforms is the Peninsular Plateau.
The Peninsular Plateau comprises several smaller plateaus, hill ranges, river basins and valleys.
The plateau contains rounded hills and vast shallow valleys.
This plateau is divided into two sections, each of which comprises smaller plateaus.
The Two Crucial Plateaus
The Malwa Plateau: It is bounded on the south by the Vindhya Range, the west by the Aravalli Range, and the east by the Chota Nagpur Plateau.
The Satpura Range (north), the hills of the Western Ghats (west), and the hills of the Eastern Ghats (east) define the Deccan Plateau.
What Is The Importance Of The Peninsular Plateau?
The peninsular plateau is critical to India’s economic development with its abundant natural resources. This tableland contributes significantly to India’s economic growth in the following ways:
India’s most valuable metal deposits, such as iron, bauxite, mica, gold, copper, and others, are found in the peninsular plateau. The peninsular plateau is home to well-known mines like Kolar, Bailadila, Singhbum, and Korba.
Coal mines are critical to India’s industrial growth, and the peninsular plateau is home to many of the country’s best coal mines. The peninsular plateau is home to well-known mines like Ranighanj, Singareni, and Jharia.
With its rough topography and slips, the Peninsular Plateau is also home to several rivers, which provide perfect areas for installing hydroelectric plants, which are critical components of a region’s economic growth. The Srisailam and Koyna hydropower plants are among India’s most significant.
Flora and fauna of the Western and Eastern Ghats, which define the peninsular plateau’s boundaries, are incredibly diverse. Teak, Sandalwood, Rosewood, and other essential timber woods are available there. The Nilambur teak is a globally recognised variety with a GI designation.
The Stretch
The Vindhyas, the Satpura, Mahadeo, Maikal, and Sarguja ranges divide this high plateau from the Indo- Gangetic plain, ranging from 300 to 900 metres.
It stretches into Rajasthan (west) and extends to the Assam plateau (east), and flanks on the west by the Sahyadris (or the Western Ghats) and on the east by the Eastern Ghats, with a slope running towards the west to east. It has a total size of around 16 lakh square kilometres. India’s peninsular uplands are the country’s largest division physiographically.
Topography
Topography is the section of the outer shell of the earth that usually comprises horizontal beds of rocks that stand on a stable and immovable base. It has stayed thus remarkable for thousands of years despite the revolutions and cataclysms that have transformed the earth’s face.
As a result, it is India’s oldest region and among the world’s most stable landmasses, except for a few areas where marine breaches have occurred. The topography comprises several small or big plateaus with smooth surfaces and broadly rounded tops that seldom rise over 600 m.
The effects of denudation have been stopped by hard rocks. On the other hand, the subordinate hills are maybe the remnants of the previous system of mountains (the Aravalli hills) or the stricter elements of the same plateau that have weathered erosion (the Western Ghats). Volcanic eruptions have occurred in several regions, covering broad swaths of the northwest Deccan having a thick volcanic lava mantle.
Central Highlands
The massif’s fragmentation and tilting have altered the peninsula’s shape and drainage. The fault through which the river Narmada separates the plateau into two unbalanced halves. The smaller is known as the Central Highlands (constituting east Rajasthan upland, the Aravalli ranges, Bundelkhand upland, and Madhya Pradesh plateau, covering nearly one-sixth of India’s total area). The larger of which is called the Deccan Plateau (constituting the Satpuras Eastern and the Western Ghats, covering several plateaus spread over about 70,000 square kilometres).
The northern half is slanted to the north, and also flows north, mainly by the rivers Son, Chambal, Ken, Betwa, Kali, Parvati, Sindh, Damodar, and others in the Ganga valley. With strong elevations to the west, the southern half shifted east. The central Highlands’ average elevation is 700 and 1000 metres above sea level.
Conclusion
The Peninsular Plateau is an ancient landmass made mainly of igneous and metamorphic hard crystalline rocks. The plateau is triangular, broad in the north and narrowing in the south as it approaches Kanyakumari. The plateau stretches from the Aravalli Range in the west to the Chota Nagpur Plateau in the east.
