Question

Physiographic region of India covering the maximum area is:
1. Deccan plateau
2. Northern plains
3. Northern mountains
4. Coastal plains

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 1 : Deccan plateau

The correct answer is Deccan plateau.

• The Peninsular Plateau or Deccan Plateau
  • It covers an area of about 16 lakh sq km forms the largest and oldest physiographic division of India.
  • It is bounded by the Aravallis in the North-West, Maikal range in the North, Hazaribagh and Rajmahal Hills in the North-East, the Western Ghats in the West, and the Eastern Ghats in the East.
  • The peninsular plateau is divided into
    • Central High lands include Aravalli Range, Malwa Plateau, Vidhya Range, Bundelkhand Plateau, Baghelkhand Plateau.
    • Eastern Plateau-Chhota Nagpur plateau and Meghalaya Plateau.
    • The Deccan Plateau includes Mahadev Hills, Kaimur Hills, Maikal Range, Western Ghats, Nilgiri, Anaimalai Hills, Palani Hills and Cardamom Hills, Eastern Ghats (Shevaroy Hills, Javadi Hills, Palkonda Range Nallamala Hills) Mahendragiri. Maharashtra Plateau, Mahanadi Basin, Garhjat Hills, Karnataka Plateau, Telangana Plateau, and Tamil Nadu Upland.

• The Northern Mountains
  • It stretches across northern India from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh (about 2500 km) with a varying width of 240 to 320 km forming Himalaya in the East-West direction and its offshoots run in North-South direction along the India-Myanmar boundary traversing through Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram known as eastern hills.
  • They represent the youngest and highest folded mountains of the earth formed by the tectonic collision of the Indian plateau with the Eurasian plateau.
• The Coastal Plains the West Coast Plain
  • This is a narrow coastal strip in the West facing the Arabian Sea.
  • The plain area between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea from the Gulf of Kuchchh and Gulf of Khambat located on either side of Kathiawar Peninsula is called Gujarat Plains.
  • To the south, the coastline is more rugged.
  • It is called the Konkan Coast up to Goa and from there onwards in Karnataka, it is the Kanara Coast, further South the part that lies in Kerala is called Malabar Coast till Kanyakumari, the southern tip of the Indian mainland.
• Northern plains
  • ​​This is the youngest physiographic feature in India.
  • They lie to the south of the Shivaliks, separated by the Himalayan Frontal Fault (HFF).
  • The southern boundary is a wavy irregular line along the northern edge of Peninsular India. On the eastern side, the plains are bordered by the Purvanchal hills.