Peninsular Plateau:-
The Peninsular Plateau is a tableland and its characteristic features include shallow valleys and rounded hills, made of igneous and metamorphic rocks. It has black soil which is known to originate from volcanic eruptions. Peninsular Plateau lies south of northern plain. The shape of this plateau is similar to a triangle whose base lies on the southern edge of the northern plain and Kanyakumari is the apex. Its average height is as much as 600-900 Metre. The Anamudi (2695 Metre) of Kerala is the highest peak of peninsular India. Rounded hills and shallow valleys are found in this region. Formed from the Gondwana land, it is one of the oldest lands of the earth.
It is broadly divided into two Parts :-
- The Deccan Plateau:
It is a triangular shaped plateau and is bounded by the Satpura range in the North,the Western Ghats in the West and the Eastern Ghats in the East. It slopes from West to East. Kaveri, Godavari and Krishna flow through it. It stretches across eight states of India and covers a total area of 1.9 million sq. Deccan Plateau consists of Andhra Plateau, Karnataka Plateau and Maharashtra Plateau.
- The Central highlalands:-
This plateau consists of the Malwa Plateau, Chota Nagpur Plateau, Meghalaya Plateau, Vidhya Range, Satpura Range and Aravali Range. Major portion is covered by the Malwa Plateau which is spread across parts of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Vindya ranges border it in the south and Arravalis in the Nort-west. Chambal River and its tributaries find their way in this plateau and Mahi, Son, Ken, Sind also flow through this region. The highest peak here is Guru Shikhar (1722 M).
The Great Indian Desert (Thar Desert) :-
The only desert of India is the Thar Desert. Covering an area of 200,000 square miles, Thar is India's only desert. The Thar Desert also known as the Great Indian Desert 'Marusthal' is the 18th biggest desert in the world. It covers a large part of Rajasthan and extends to Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab. It covers over 60% of the geographical area of Rajasthan and also extends to Pakistan where it is known as Cholistan Desert. Luni is the only river in this desert and it receives very little rainfall. The desert receives only 150mm rainfall in a year. Major portion of this desert consists of craggy rocks, sand dunes and compacted salt-lake bottoms. The speedy winds that flow with significant force lead to regular soil erosion. It has an arid climate and the vegetation is scanty. The salt marsh located in Kutch, Gujarat known as the Great Rann of Kutch falls into this desert.
