Physical Features of India Test - 28

Bordered by the Aravallis in the north, the Vindhyan Range in the south and the Bundelkhand Plateau in the east. Two drainage systems, one towards the Arabian Sea (Narmada, and Mahi), and another towards the Bay of Bengal (Charnbal, Sind, Betwa and Ken) joining the Yamuna river.

The Northern Plain was formed by the interplay of the three major river systems, namely– the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra along with their tributaries. It is composed of alluvial soil which has been deposited over millions of years, about 2400 km long and about 240 to 320 km broad. It is divided into three sections, viz. the Punjab Plain, the Ganga Plain and the Brahmaputra Plain.

The Punjab plain lies in the western part of the northern plain & formed by the Indus and its tributaries with major portion of this plains in Pakistan

Deccan Plateau is made up of lava, due to the volcanic fissure erruption. The soil in this area is the weathered form of this lava rocks only. And this is the reason of their black color. It is largely called Black soil or regur soil. Owing to high proportion of clay content, they are sticky when wet and consequently difficult to plough. They develop under semi-arid conditions in the areas covered with basalt.

The West Coastal Plains stretches from the Rann of Kachchh in the north to Kanyakumari in the South. To the East it is bounded by the steep slopes of the Western Ghat and to the west lies the Arabian Sea. Compared to the East Coastal Plain, the West coastal plain is narrower. The west coastal plain becomes narrower gradually from the Kachchh coast to Kanyakumari.

Satpura ranges extend east to west, south of the Narmada River valley, for nearly 900 km. Dhupgarh (1350 meters) is the highest peak of the Satpuras. Located to the east of Satpura-Mahadev ranges is Mahakal range. Amarkantak (1057 meters) is its highest peak. It is important to note that the Satpuras have been formed due to faulting movement of the earth. Thus it is a Block mountain, also called “Horst’. On either side of it due to fault movements rift valleys have formed, called “Graben”, through which river Narmada flows north of the Satpuras, and river Tapti flows through the Graben to the south of the Satpuras.

The Coastal Plains of Karnataka which is the South of the Konkan coast starts the coastal plains of Karnataka between Goa in the north and Mangalore in the south, for 225 km. Though this coastal plain is narrow it is wider near Mangalore 70 km. At many places along the coast the plain is sandy and at some places the Western Ghat reaches the sea. To the east of this plain lies the highest waterfall of India, called Jog or Gersoppa which falls across the Sharavati River. The height of the fall is 275 meters.

The Andhra Plain lies between Berhampur and Pulicat Lake. It has been formed by the deltas of the Godavari and the Krishna rivers. The Andhra plain has straight coast and has few sites for good harbours. Vishakhapatnam and Machilipatnam are notable exceptions.

Indo Gangetic plain is also known as Indus and Ganga plain. These plains are named after two rivers, Indus and Ganga. It encompasses most of northern and eastern India, the eastern parts of Pakistan, and all of Bangladesh. Himalayas are located on the north of these plains and its rivers are the source of rich alluvium brought down to the Indo-Gangetic plains.

Assam plain is also called as Bramhaputra plain. This is because most of Bramhaputra plain is located in Assam. Its western boundary is formed by the Indo-Bangladesh border as well as the boundary of the lower Ganga Plain. Its eastern boundary is formed by Purvanchal hills. Fertile alluvial soils, flat surface, slow moving perennial rivers and favorable climate facilitate intense agricultural activity.