Peninsular Region on Map

India has varied physical features. From mountains and valleys in the north to plateaus in the south and plains in between, the physiographic division of India is as follows:

1. The Himalayan Mountains
2. The Northern Plains
3. The Peninsular Plateau
4. The Indian Desert
5. The Coastal Plains
6. The Islands

A plateau is a region that is surrounded by water from three sides. India is also surrounded by water from three sides. It is surrounded by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the West, and the Indian Ocean in the south. It creates a triangular structure whose base is parallel to the Ganga Valey and the tip is towards the Southern tips of India (Kanyakumari).

It is known to be one of the oldest and largest parts of Indian physiography. The whole Indan peninsular region is about 1600 Km in north-south and about 1400 Km in east-west directions. In terms of land, it covers around 16 lakh sq. Km which is half of the country’s total land area.

Moreover, this region contains wide and shallow valleys and smooth hills. It also consists of metamorphic rocks and igneous rocks. Black soil found in this area is a significant feature of this region.

Indian Peninsular Region

The Indian Peninsular Region as we can see is full of mountains and plateaus. Thus, it can be divided into two parts:

Peninsular Plateau

The Malwa plateau is based on the Vindhya range with the Aravali Range in the west, Central High Land in the north, and Bundelkhans in the east. It has two drainage systems towards the Arabian sea and the Bay of Bengal. It consists of the lava flow that is covered with black soil.

Marwar Plateau

The Marwar Plateau lies in the eastern Rajasthan. It consists of sandstone, shales, and limestones belonging to the Vindhayan period. It appears like a rolling plain because of the because of erosion activities that take place in the rivers flowing through this plateau.

Central High Land

Central High Land or the Madhya Bharatplateau is located in the east of the Marwar plateau. It majorly consists of the Chambal river. It is a sloping plateau, that has sandstone hills. Other things found here consist of the Thick Woodland.

Bundelkhand Plateau

The Bundelkhand Plateau covers five districts of Uttar Pradesh and four districts of Madhya Pradesh. It has the Yamuna river in the north, Central High Land in the west, Malwa plateau in the south, and Vindhya Range to the east. Granite and sandstone can be found here.

Bhaghelkhand Plateau

Made of limestones and sandstones in the west and east direction, the Baghelkhand Plateau lies towards the north of the Maikal range. It is an uneven region bounded by the Son river in the north. Its central part acts as a divider between the Son drainage system and the Mahanadi river system.

Chota Nagpur Plateau

The Chota Nagpur Plateau lies majorly in Jharkhand and the northern part of Chhatisgarh and Purulia district of West Bengal. It comprises the Gondwana rocks. It has a radial drainage system as a result of various rivers draining here in different directions. It is also home to the Gondwana Coal Fields. The place from where India gets bulks of coal.

Meghalaya Plateau

The Meghalaya Plateau stretches beyond the Rajmahal hills, eastwards to Meghalaya or Shillong Plateau. Garo Hills is the name given to its western, middle, and eastern sections. The western boundary of this plateau is somewhat parallel to the Bangladesh border. It is separated from the main block through Garo-Rajmahal Gap.

Deccan Plateau

The Deccan Plateau is one of the major Plateaus of the Indian Peninsular region. It covers an area of about 5 lakh sq Km. It is surrounded by Satpura and Vindhya hills in the north-west, the Mahadev and the Maikal in the north, the Western Ghats in the west, and the Eastern Ghats in the east. The rivers flowing through it have divided this plateau into various small plateaus.

Peninsular Mountain

Aravalli Range

Aravalli Range is stretched between Delhi, and Palanpur Gujarat. It is approximately 800 Km long. They are known to be India’s oldest mountains. They align from northeast to south-west direction.

Vindhya Range

Vindhya range ranges east-west running parallel to the Narmada Valley from Jobat, Gujarat to Sasaram, Bihar. It is approximately 1200 Km long.

Satpura Range

The 900 Km long Satpura Range got its name Satpura which means ‘seven mountains’ (Sat= Seven and Pura= Mountains) because it has a series of seven mountains. It runs east-west between Vindhyas and the Narmada and Tapi rivers. It runs almost parallel to this river.

Western Ghats

The Western Ghats also called Sahyadris runs from Tapi Valley to Kanyakumari for 1600 Km. The western edge of the Deccan tableland is formed by them. It is divided into three parts:

1. The Northern Section
2. The Middle Sahyadri
3. The Southern Section

Eastern Ghats

The Eastern Ghats runs parallel to the east coast from Mahanadi in Orissa to Vagai in Tamil Nadu. The Maliya and Madgula make up the northern section of this range while the Palkonda forms its southernmost portion. It merges with the Western Ghat in the Nilgiri Hills.

Rivers of Peninsular India

The major rivers that flow through the peninsular region of India include the Godavari, Krishna, Mahanadi, Kaveri, Narmada, Tapi, and Luni among others. They play a major role in the lives of Indians both culturally and religiously.