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Central Highlands

The Central Highlands are divided into three

plateaus: The Deccan Plateau, The Malwa

Plateau and The Chota Nagpur Plateau.

The Malwa Plateau in the west and the Chota

Nagpur Plateau in the east are the most

important regions of Indian subcontinent and

the central highlands in India. The Malwa

Plateau is located in Rajasthan, Madhya

Pradesh and Gujarat. The average altitude of

the Malwa plateau is 500 metres, and the

landscape generally slopes towards the

north. The Chambal River and its tributaries

drain most of the region; while the Mahi River

drain the western part.

The Chota Nagpur Plateau is located in

eastern India and is one of the central

highlands in India, covering much of the

Indian state Jharkhand and adjacent parts of

Odisha, Bihar and Chhattisgarh. Its total area The Southern Plateaus
is approximately 65,000 sq km and is made up

of three smaller plateaus, namely Ranchi, Hazaribagh, and Kodarma plateaus. Ranchi plateau is

the largest, with an average elevation of 700 m. Much of the plateau is forested, covered by Chota

Nagpur dry deciduous forests. Huge reserves of metal ores and coal have been found in Chota

Nagpur plateau. Kathiawar peninsula in western Gujarat is surrounded by the Gulf of Kutchh and

the Gulf of Khambat. The natural vegetation on most of the peninsula is xeric scrub, part of the

North-western thorn scrub forests eco-region.

Deccan Plateau

The Deccan Plateau is a large plateau in India, making up most of the southern part of the country.
It is a large triangular plateau. Deccan Plateau is surrounded by the Vindhyas to the north and
flanked by the Eastern and Western Ghats. Deccan covers a total area of 1.9 million sq km. It is
mostly flat, with elevations ranging from 300 to 600 m. The average elevation of the plateau is
2,000 feet above sea level. The surface slopes from 3,000 feet in the west to 1,500 feet in the
east. It slopes gently from west to east and gives rise to several peninsular rivers such as Godavari,
Krishna, Kaveri and Narmada, which drain into the Bay of Bengal. This region is mostly semi-arid as
it lies on the lower side of both Ghats. Much of the Deccan is encompassed by thorn scrub forest
scattered with small regions of deciduous broadleaf forest.

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