Plateau Deccan - the basis of the Indian subcontinent.On the map, it is between 11 ° and 20 ° north latitude and 75 ° - 80 ° east longitude. The plateau is located in the center of the peninsula. Its borders from the north and south are two rivers: Narmada and Kaveri, the latter, thanks to its slope to the east, carries its waters into the Bay of Bengal. And the river Narmada flows into the Arabian Sea.
Briefly about the plateau
Dean - the largest plateau of India.It has an area of 1 million square meters. km It is a rocky plain, with separately rising mountain peaks. The Deccan Plateau is located in such a way that the Indo-Ghana Plain is located on its northern part, and the Malabar Coast on the south. Along the western and eastern edges are the boundaries expressed by mountain ranges. They are called Western and Eastern Ghats.
The Deccan Plateau has a slightlydodge the east coast. For this reason, the entire flow of inland waters of this territory falls on the Bay of Bengal. Age of the plateau - the Mesozoic period. It was at this time that the peaks came to the surface.
Relief
Plateau Deccan - part of the Indian platform. Its base is composed of Archean and Proterozoic gneisses, quartzites, schists and fine granites.
The relief of the plateau consists of typicalregion stepped plains, which are called - trapps. They represent the remaining craters of ancient volcanoes. The traps are composed entirely of igneous rocks, the surface of which is covered with basalts. Average heights - 600-900 m.
The name "trapp" is taken from Swedish, whichtranslation means "ladder". But no wonder they got that name. It is a staircase with steps that resembles this relief. Traps are found in various mountain systems, where ancient volcanoes greatly influenced their formation. But such relief areas that can be observed on the Deccan plateau are considered to be the largest volcanic formations of this type on Earth.
In addition to the traps, on the territory of the plateaumountain peaks are rising. They can stand alone or nearby mountain range. All of them are denudation table mountains, the average height of which is 1 500-1 800 m.
Climate
For the Deccan Plateau is characterized by the mostThe favorable climate of the whole of South Asia is subequatorial of the monsoon type. The highest level of heat occurs in May. During this period, the thermometer rises to + 28 ... + 32 ° С. But the coldest is January. The temperature in this month drops to + 21 ° C. There are no frosty days on the plateau. On the local territory precipitation is unevenly distributed. Most of them fall on the eastern and western outskirts (windward slopes) - 2 500-3 000 mm. In the central part, the average annual rainfall reaches 900 mm. Most often they fall in the form of rain in the summer.
Inland waters and soils
On the territory of the plateau flow large rivers of India - Mahanadi, Godavari, Kaveri, Narmada.
Plateau Deccan is covered with fertile black tropical soils. Currently, more than 60% of this area is plowed for the development of agriculture in the region.
From the vegetation here you can find monsoon deciduous forests, which mainly consist of such trees as bamboo, teak, sal. This area is also characterized by light forest and dry savanna.
Minerals
На образование крупнейших месторождений полезных Fossils in this region have been greatly influenced by ancient volcanic activity. In the valleys where sedimentary rocks accumulated, large deposits of coal were formed. Also developed important deposits of iron and copper ore, tungsten, manganese and gold.
After reading this article, all students will know where the Dean Plateau is and what its features are.