Physiography Part 1

Introduction :- 

• Physiography deals with the study of the surface features and landforms of the Earth. On the basis of tectonic history, stratigraphy, and physiography, India may be devided into the following four physiographic divisions :- 

1. The elevated Penisular regions.
2. The mighty Himalayas and their associated young folded mountains.
3. The Indo - Gangetic - Brahmaputra Plains.
4. The coastal Plains and Islands.

Origin and Physiography of the Penisular India :- 

• The origins of rocks of  Penisular India is more than 3600 millions years old. Before the Carboniferous period, it was a part of the Gondwanaland.
• It was during the Carboniferous period that coal was formed In the Damodar, son, Mahanadi, and Godavri basins. During the Cretaceous period, large scale vulcanicity produced the Deccan Trap ( the lava Plateau of India), comparing lava sheets of thosand meters in depth. The decan Trap originated about 146 million years back when magma flowed from the depth of about 40 km below the Crust.

Physiography and Relief Features of Penisular India :- 

• Covering an area of about 16 lakh sq km, the penisular upland forms the largest physiographic divisions of India. With a general elevations between 600-900 m,  the region constitues an irrigular triangle with its base lying between the Delhi Ridge and the Rajmahal Hills and the apex formed by Kanyakumari.
• The highest peak of Penisular India - Anai - Mudi (Nilgiris), is 2695 meters above the sea level.

 The Physiographic Regions of Penisular India :- 

            Meso - Regions  :

1. The North Central Highlands.
2. The south Central Highlands.
3. The Eastern Plateau.
4. The Meghalaya - Mikir uplands.
5. The North Deccan.
6. The South Deccan.
7. The western Ghats or Sahayadri.
8. The Eastern Ghats.

1. The North Central Highlands :- 

• The central highlHigh of Penisular India include the Aravallis, the Malwa Plateau, and the Vindhyanchal Range.

(i) The Aravallis :- It is a range that runs from North - East to South - west for about 800 km between Delhi to palanpur (Gujarat). It is one of the oldest folded Mountains of the world. Being highly denuded, its highest peak - Guru - Sikhar is only 1722 height.

(ii) The Malwa Plateau :- It is bordered by the Aravallis in the North, the Vindhyanchal Range in ththe east. The Malwa Plateau has two drainage system, one towards the Arabian Sea (Narmada and Mahi), and another towards the Bay of Bengal (Chambal, Sind, Betwa and Ken) joining the Yamun river.

2. The South Central Highlands :- 

• The Vindhyanchal Range extends from Jobat (Gujarat) and Chittorgarh (Rajasthan) to Sasaram in Bihar.

(i) The Bundelkhand (Vindhyanchal Plateau ) :- It is bounded by the Yamuna river in the North, the Vindhyanchal in the South, the Chambal in the North- west, the Panna- Ajaygarh Range in the south east.

3. The Vindhyanchal - Bundelkhand or Vindhyanchal Plateau :- 

• It incl the Plateau of Satna Rewa (MP) and Mirzapur (UP). Parallel to the Vindhyanchal between the Narmada and the Tapi rivers is the satpura Range. Satpura consist of Rajpipla Hills, Mahadev Hills and the Maikal Range. Dhupgarh (1350 m, near Pachmarhi) is highest peak of Satpura. Amarkantak (1064 m ) is another important peak of the Satpura Mountains.