THE PLATEAU AND DESERT REGIONS (PART 1)

Today we are going to start a new chapter. The name of the chapter is- The Plateau and Desert Regions.

By the end of the lesson, you will be able to :-

• understand plateau and will know about southern plateau.
• learn about the Central highlands and the Deccan Plateau.
• acquire knowledge of climate, soil, vegetation, wildlife and minerals of the plateau region.
• retain knowledge about the Great Indian Desert.

WHAT IS A PLATEAU?

A plateau is a high land which is almost flat (table like) at the top. It is also known as tableland.

THE SOUTHERN PLATEAU

FROM THE SOUTH OF THE NORTHERN PLAINS TO THE SOUTHERN TIP OF THE INDIAN MAINLAND LIES A VAST SOUTHERN PLATEAU OF INDIA. THIS PLATEAU COVERS MOST PART OF INDIA. THE LAND HERE IS ROCKY AND UNEVEN. THE SOUTHERN PLATEAU IS BORDERED BY THE FOLLOWING:

• The Aravalli Range on the north-west.

• The Rajmahal Hills on the north-east.

• The hilly region called the Eastern Ghats on the east.

• The hilly region called the Western Ghats on the west.

The plateau region mainly covers peninsular India and is inverted triangular in shape ( as shown in the map), broad in the north and narrow in down as it extends southwards. It is thus called the Peninsular Plateau. 

It covers the states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Eastern part of Kerala. The main cities of this region are Bhopal, Indore, Hyderabad, Mysore and Bangalore.

Now, we will learn about the parts of this plateau.

The River Narmada divides the southern plateau into two parts. The northern part is called Central Highlands and the southern part is called Deccan Plateau. 

Now let's learn about Central Highlands

The Malwa Plateau in Central India and the Chota Nagpur Plateau in the east together make the Central Highlands.

The Chhota Nagpur Plateau covers the states of Jharkhand, North-Eastern Chhattisgarh and Northern Odisha. The fine black soil in the Malwa Plateau region is suitable for growth of cotton and oilseeds.  

Let's watch a video for better understanding.

That's all for today!! We'll learn about Deccan Plateau in the next class! Stay Safe.