It is the largest of India's physical divisions. It is the oldest and is formed of hard rocks.
The Eastern Ghats and the Western Ghats constitute its eastern and western boundaries, respectively.
The river Narmada, which flows through a rift valley, divides the region into two parts: the Malwa Plateau in the north and the Deccan Plateau in the South.
The Malwa plateau is occupied by the Aravalli Ranges in north west, Malwa region in the centre, the Chotta Nagpur Plateau in the east and Vindhya mountains in the south.
Vindhya and Satpura ranges are examples of block mountain or fault mountain.
This mountain separates India into two geographical division like tropic of cancer.
Highest peak of Satpura range is Dhupgrah (1350 m) near Pachmarhi.
The Deccan Plateau is composed of very old and hard rocks. This region is made up of crystalline rocks.
The plateau region includes a number of other minor mountains. They include the Vindhyas and Satpuras in Central India.
The Satpuras, which lie between the rivers Narmada and Tapti, have several hills including the Rajpipla Hills in Maharashtra, and the Maikal Range and Pachmarhi Hills in Madhya Pradesh.
The Western Ghats form a continuous range from south to north and the highest range of this region is often called the Sahyadri.
There are mountains passes across the western ghats linking the plateau with the western coastal plain. The Thal Ghat, the Bhor Ghat and the Palakkad gap are the three important passes.
The Western Ghats separate the Deccan Trap region from the Western Coastal Plain.
The rocks of the Deccan Trap are rich in deposits of a variety of minerals. Granite, basalt, gneiss and quartzite are the major rocks besides some limestone and sandstone.
South of the Palghat gap are the Anaimalai hills.
Palghat pass is the largest pass of Indian peninsula. It acts as the longest natural pass between Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Anamudi is the highest peak in the Western Ghats as well as the Indian peninsula.
The hill stations of Western Ghats Mahabaleshwar, Udhagamandalam and Munnar.
Western Ghats is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the eight hottest hotspots of biological diversity in the world.
Two branches of the Annamalai Hills are Palani Hills and the Yelagiri (Cardamom) Hills.
The Western Ghats are well-known by various local names. In Maharashtra and Karnataka, the western ghats are called Sahyadri . In Tamil Nadu they are called the Nilgiris. In Kerala and Tamil Nadu border, they are known as Anaimalai and Cardamom Hills.
The Sivasamudram Fall, the Gokak Fall and the Mahatma Gandhi Fall are important waterfalls.
The most important waterfall formed by the Narmada is the Dhuandhar Falls near Jabalpur.
The river flows through marble rocks in this region and hence the Dhuandhar Fall is also called the Marble Falls.
The highest peak of Aravalli range is Guru Shikhar near Mt. Abu (I,158m) in Rajasthan. The Aravallis due to erosion over a long period of time their height has been reduced and they can be considered relict mountains.
River Chambal is the most important river originating from the eastern slopes of the Aravallis.
The Luni and the Sabarmati are the most important rivers rising from the Aravallis and flowing in a westerly direction.
East of Aravalli range, the area is less dry and there are lower hills like Bundi Hills.
Chambal and its tributaries flow through this part draining southeastern part of Rajasthan.
The Western Ghats are connected to the Eastern Ghats by the Nilgiri Hills (Blue Mountains).
The Eastern Ghats do not constitute continuous chain of hills like the Western Ghats. This chain is broken into small hills.
The Eastern Ghats lie between the Eastern Coastal Plain and the Deccan Trap.
