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India's oldest and most stable landmass, a triangular tableland of ancient crystalline rock divided into the Central Highlands and the Deccan Plateau.
The Peninsular Plateau is the oldest and geologically most stable part of India, a roughly triangular tableland made of ancient crystalline, igneous and metamorphic rocks. It is a fragment of the Gondwana landmass, and because it has not been subjected to folding since it formed, it has none of the seismic instability of the Himalayas. The plateau is divided by the Narmada river valley into two broad units: the Central Highlands to the north and the Deccan Plateau to the south. Its edges are marked by escarpments — the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats — and its surface generally slopes from west to east, which is why most peninsular rivers flow eastward into the Bay of Bengal.
Type: PhenomenonTwo broad divisions — the Central Highlands north of the Narmada and the Deccan Plateau south of it
Central Highlands — includes the Malwa Plateau, Bundelkhand, Baghelkhand and the Chotanagpur Plateau, bounded by the Vindhyas to the south and the Aravallis to the north-west
Deccan Plateau — bounded by the Western Ghats, the Eastern Ghats and the Satpura and Maikal ranges to the north
Deccan Traps — thick basaltic lava flows in the north-west of the Deccan, which weather into fertile black cotton soil known as regur
Westward-flowing exceptions — the Narmada and Tapi flow west through rift valleys, unlike most peninsular rivers which flow east
Stability — one of the most stable landmasses on Earth, largely free of major tectonic activity
Mineral wealth — the plateau holds most of India's iron ore, manganese, coal, bauxite and mica
Frequency: One of the most frequently examined physical geography topics across UPSC, SSC and Railway papers
| Aspect | Western Ghats | Eastern Ghats |
|---|---|---|
| Continuity | Continuous, broken only by a few passes such as the Palghat Gap | Discontinuous and irregular, dissected by major rivers |
| Average elevation | Higher, generally 900 to 1,600 metres | Lower, generally 600 metres or less |
| Highest peak | Anamudi, about 2,695 metres, in Kerala | Arma Konda in Andhra Pradesh |
| Relation to rivers | Form the water divide; most peninsular rivers rise here | Cut through by the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri as they reach the coast |
| Rainfall | Very heavy on the windward western slope | Comparatively low, lying in the rain shadow |
| Other names | Sahyadri | Purva Ghats |
The Peninsular Plateau occupies most of India south of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, forming a triangle with its base along the Vindhya-Satpura belt in the north and its apex near Kanyakumari. The Central Highlands lie north of the Narmada, extending from the Aravallis in the west across the Malwa Plateau and Bundelkhand to the Chotanagpur Plateau in the east. South of the Narmada lies the Deccan Plateau, flanked by the Western Ghats along the Arabian Sea and the Eastern Ghats along the Bay of Bengal, with the two converging near the Nilgiri Hills.
Almost every distinctive feature of peninsular India follows from the plateau's geology. Because the rock is ancient and crystalline, it stores very little groundwater, which is why hard-rock aquifers in the Deccan yield poorly and why borewell failure is common across Maharashtra, Telangana and Karnataka. Because the surface slopes eastward, the great peninsular rivers drain to the Bay of Bengal and build deltas there while the west coast has almost none. Because the Deccan Traps weathered into moisture-retentive black soil, the region became India's cotton belt. And because the plateau is tectonically stable, it hosts the mineral belts on which Indian heavy industry was built, concentrated above all in Chotanagpur. For examination purposes, the plateau is best learnt not as a list of sub-regions but as a set of causal links running from rock type to water, soil, agriculture and industry.
Oldest and most stable landmass in India; part of Gondwana
Divided by the Narmada into the Central Highlands and the Deccan Plateau
Central Highlands: Malwa, Bundelkhand, Baghelkhand, Chotanagpur
Highest peak of peninsular India: Anamudi, about 2,695 m, in Kerala
Western Ghats continuous and higher; Eastern Ghats discontinuous and lower
Narmada and Tapi flow west through rift valleys; most others flow east
Deccan Traps weather into black cotton soil (regur)
Chotanagpur Plateau is India's richest mineral belt
The Narmada river valley. The Central Highlands lie to its north and the Deccan Plateau to its south.
Anamudi in Kerala, at about 2,695 metres, which is also the highest peak of the Western Ghats.
Because they occupy rift valleys formed by faulting, and therefore follow those fault lines rather than the plateau's general eastward slope.
Black cotton soil formed by the weathering of the basaltic Deccan Traps. It retains moisture well and supports cotton cultivation.
The plateau is built of ancient crystalline hard rock, which holds very little water. Hard-rock aquifers yield poorly, which is why borewell failure is common across the region.