The southern peninsular region is roughly triangular in shape and covers an area of about 16 lakh sq. km. It is surrounded by hill ranges on all sides, such as the Aravali, Vindhya, Satpura and Rajmahal ranges in the north, the Western Ghats or Sahyadris in the west and the Eastern Ghats in the east.
i. The peninsular plateau extends from north to south for a distance of about 1600 km and from east to west for about 1400 km.
ii. The average height varies between 600-900 metres above the mean sea level.
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iii. The general slope is from west to east, while in the Narmada-Tapi region it is from east to west.
iv. The Narmada river divides the peninsular plateau in two unequal parts.
v. The northern part is called the Central Highlands, while the southern part is called the Deccan Plateau.
Image Source: science.nationalgeographic.com
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Plateaus of Peninsular India:
1. The Marwar Upland lies to the east of the Aravali range and is made up of sandstone and limestone.
2. The Malwa Plateau is bounded by the Aravali range, the Vindhya Range and Bundelkhand. It is made up of lava and is covered with black soil. The Chambal River and its tributaries have created ravines in the northern part of the plateau.
3. The Bundelkhand is located towards the south of the Yamuna river and is composed of igneous and metamorphic rocks. In the northern part, the Ganga and the Yamuna system have deposited alluvium. The hilly areas are made up of sandstone and granite. Some rivers like Betwa and Ken have carved out deep gorges.
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4. The Baghelkhand lies to the east of Maikala range and is made up of sandstone and limestone in the west and granite in the east. The central part of the plateau acts as a water-divide between the Son and the Mahanadi drainage basins.
5. The Chotanagpur Plateau is located towards the northeast and is drained by Damodar, Subarnarekha, Koel and Barakar river systems. The Damodar River flows from west to east through the middle of this region. This region has a series of plateaus and hills, such as the Hazaribagh plateau to the north of the Damodar River, Ranchi plateau to the south and the Rajmahal hills in the north-eastern part.
6. The Deccan Plateau covers an area of about 5 lakh square km. It is bounded by the Satpura and the Vindhya ranges in the northwest, the Mahadev and Maikala ranges in the north, the Western Ghats in the west, and the Eastern Ghats in the east.
i. The general slope is from west to east.
ii. The rivers like Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri flow eastward and join the Bay of Bengal.
iii. The northern part, also known as the Deccan Trap, is made up of lava rocks and has black or regur soils.
iv. In the southern part, the Karnataka Plateau merges with the Nilgiri Hills.
v. The Telengana Plateau is drained by the Godavari, Krishna and Penneru rivers.