Plateaus
Plateaus
Malwa Plateau Meghalaya Plateau
Marwar Uplands Deccan Plateau
Central Highlands Maharashtra plateau
Bundelkhand Uplands Bastar-Dandakaranya
Plateau
Baghelkhand Karnataka Plateau
Chotanagpur Plateau Telangana Plateau
North Central Highlands
o Malwa Plateau
o Marwar uplands
Malwa Plateau
• Located in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan
• Bound by Aravalli Range in the West and Bundelkhand in
the East.
• Drained by rivers like Mahi, Chambal, Dhasan, Betwa, Ken
and Shipra among others
Malwa Plateau
• Soil: It is covered with black soil due to extensive lava
flow.
• Vegetation: Tropical dry deciduous forests are found in
the eastern part of Malwa.
• Main tribes: Bhils, Meena, Barelas.
• Prominent locations: Bhopal, Vidisha, Ujjain, Indore,
Guna, Ratlam
Marwar Uplands
• Located in the state of Rajasthan to the west of Aravalli
Range.
• Major part lies in desert region with annual rainfall less
than 40 cm
• River Luni drains in this region
• Made of sandstone, shales and limestone of Vindhyan
period.
• Tribes- Meenas, Bhils, Damor.
• Soil: Reddish to yellowish red to yellowish brown.
Central Highlands
• Also called Madhya Bharat Pathar.
• Lies east of Marwar uplands.
• Open rolling plateau made of old rocks interspersed with
rounded hills composed of sandstone.
• Basin of the Chambal river and the Sindh.
• In its Northern expanse, are the badlands of Chambal.
• Soil : Alluvial and Black soil.
• Major crops : Oil seeds, Millet, and gram.
Central Highlands
• Minerals - Marble, Kaolin for ceramic industry.
• Industrial Centres – Dabra (Gwalior), Banmor (Morena),
Malanpur (Bhind).
• Prominent industries- Ceramic, Sugar, Matchstick,
Catechu
• Tribes- Saharia.
• Monuments- Mausoleum of Jhansi Rani , Gwalior fort,
Jaivilas palace.
• Sanctuaries- Kuno-Palpur, Karera, Ghatigaon.
South Central Highlands
o Bundelkhand
o Baghelkhand or Vindhyachal Plateau
Bundelkhand Uplands
• Located in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar
Pradesh
• Lies to the south of Yamuna river between the Madhya
Bharat Pathar and the Vindhyan scarp lands.
• Northeast and northwest is covered by Ganga - Yamuna
alluvium and southwest by Deccan trap.
• Houses famous Panna diamond mines
Bundelkhand Uplands
• Streams like Betwa, Dhasan and Ken have carved out
steep gorges and waterfalls.
• Minerals - Diamond, Lead, Limestone, Granite.
• Soil- Black, Red, Yellow.
• Climate - Continental climate with hot and dry summer
and cold winter.
• Kharif crops - Sorghum, Pigeon pea, Urad bean, Mung
bean, Sesame, Soybean and Rice.
Bundelkhand Uplands
• Rabi crops- Wheat, Chickpea, Field pea, Lentil, Linseed
and Mustard.
• Tribe - Bundeli and Saharia tribes.
• Monuments- Khajuraho temple, Pitambara peeth.
• National parks- Panna National park.
• Submergence of Panna National park due to Ken Betwa
river linkage (was in news recently).
South Central Highlands
o Bundelkhand
o Baghelkhand or Vindhyachal Plateau
Baghelkhand
• Located in the state of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar
Pradesh to the East of the Maikal range.
• Bounded by Son river on the north.
• Central part of the plateau acts as a water divide
between the Son and the Mahanadi river system.
• General elevation of 150 m to 1200 m and uneven relief.
• Tribes- Baiga and Kol.
Baghelkhand
• Crops - Rice, wheat, mustard
• Soil – Red & yellow soil
• Minerals - Bauxite, Limestone, Coal.
• Industry - Amlai paper mill (Shahdol), Lac industry
(Umaria), Coal Mining (Singrauli)
Eastern Plateau
o Chotanagpur Plateau
Chotanagpur Plateau
• Located in the states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha,
West Bengal and Bihar.
• Represents the northeastern projection of Indian
Peninsula.
• Son river flows northwest of the plateau.
• Mineral store house of India with rich deposits of mica,
bauxite, copper, limestone, iron ore and coal.
• Hazaribagh plateau, Ranchi plateau, and Rajmahal
plateau are part of the Chota nagpur plateau.
Chotanagpur Plateau
• Tribes : Santhal, Ho, Kharia, Munda and Oraon.
• Protected areas: Palamu tiger reserves, Dalma wildlife
sanctuary, Hazaribagh wildlife sanctuary.
• Forest: Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest.
• Industry: TISCO, Hydel power projects - DVC, Durgapur
steel factory, Burnpur iron, and steel factory.
• Minerals: Coal, Manganese, Iron.
Meghalaya Plateau
Meghalaya Plateau
• Part of peninsular plateau and located in the state of
Meghalaya.
• Separated from the peninsular plateau by Garo Rajmahal
Gap.
• Plateau slopes down to Brahmaputra valley in the north
and the Surma and Meghna valleys in the south.
• The western and eastern part of the plateau are known
as Garo Hills, the Khasi, Jaintia Hills and the Mikir Hills.
• Shillong is the highest point of the plateau.
• Tribes - Khasi, Garo, Jaintia, Hajongs.
Meghalaya Plateau
• Climate- In some places, rainfall is up to 1200 cm
(Mawsynram).
• Soil- Dark brown to dark reddish-brown in color.
• Protected places - Nokrek Biosphere Reserve, Balpakram
National Park, Narpuh Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Industry- Cement, Steel, Limestone mining
• Minerals- Limestone, Lithomargic clay, Granite, Kaoline
Deccan Plateau
Deccan Plateau
• The largest unit of the peninsular plateau.
• Bounded by the Satpura and the Vindhya in the north
west, the Mahadev and the Maikal in the north, Western
ghats in the west and Eastern ghats in the east.
• Deccan plateau has an average elevation of 600 m and it
rises to 100m in the south.
• Its slope is from west to east.
Deccan Plateau
• Major river system are Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and
Cauvery.
• The major subdivisions are the Maharashtra plateau,
Bastar-Dandakaranya, Karnataka Plateau and Telangana
Plateau.
• Fertile black soil is found over the deccan trap in the
northwest region
North Deccan
o Maharashtra plateau
o Dandakaranya Plateau
Maharashtra Plateau
• Lies in Maharashtra and parts of Gujarat, and forms the
northern part of the deccan plateau.
• Most of the rocks are of Basaltic origin.
• Horizontal lava sheets have led to the formation of
Deccan Trap topography.
• The entire area is covered with black cotton soil called as
regur soil.
• Major Tribes: Bhils and Gonds
Dandakaranya plateau
• Located in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh.
• Includes the Abujhmarh Hills within the west and borders the
Eastern Ghats within the east.
• Abujhmarh is a hilly forested mineral rich area.
• It is drained by the Indravati River.
• Tribes-Gond, Muria, Abuj Maria, and Halbaas.
South Deccan
o Karnataka Plateau
o Telangana Plateau
Karnataka Plateau
• Lies south of the Maharashtra plateau.
• Average elevation of 600 to 900 m.
• Plateau is divided into Malnad (hill) and Maidan (rolling
plain).
• Tapers between the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats in
the south and merges with the Nilgiri hills.
Karnataka Plateau
• Streams draining it include the Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri
(Cauvery), Tungabhadra, Sharavati, and Bhima.
• Highest waterfall in India, known as Jog Falls is in
Sharavati.
• Minerals - Manganese, Chromium, Copper, Bauxite, large
reserves of iron ore in the Baba Budan hills and gold in
the Kolar Gold Fields.
• Major crops - Jowar (grain sorghum), Cotton, Rice,
Sugarcane, Sesame seeds, Peanuts (groundnuts),
Tobacco, Fruits, Coconuts, and Coffee.
Karnataka Plateau
• Industry- Textile manufacturing, food and tobacco
processing, and printing.
• Important cities - Mysuru (Mysore), Belagavi (Belgaum),
Kalaburagi (Gulbarga), Ballari (Bellary), and Vijayapura
(Bijapur).
• Tribes- Soliga, Iruligas, Siddis, Jen kuruba.
South Deccan
o Karnataka Plateau
o Telangana Plateau
Telangana Plateau
• Located in the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
• Drained by rivers like Godavari, Krishna, and Penna.
• Average elevation of 500 to 600m
• Consists of Archean gneisses.
• Tribes- Gonds, Naikpods, Kolams, Andhs and Bhils.
• Climate- Warm and dry summer , Mild winter, Average
rainfall of 90cm.
• Minerals- Coal, Limestone, Quartz, Granite, Feldspar,
Dolomite, and Barite.
Telangana Plateau
• Industry- Manufacturing utilities, construction,
aeronautical and other high-technology manufacturing.
• Crops- Rice, Ragi, Maize, Cotton, Sorghum, Pulses.
• Protected sites- Mrugavani National Park, Pakhal Lake
and Wildlife Sanctuary, Eturnagaram Sanctuary.
• Major cities - Warangal, Nizamabad, Mahbubnagar, and
Adilabad.
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