Rajasthan Geography

Plateaus – Geography of Rajasthan

What is Plateau?

A plateau is a flat, elevated landform that rises sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Plateaus occur on every continent and take up a third of the earth’s land. They are one of the four major landforms along with mountains, plains and hills.

There are two kinds of plateaus

(i) Dissected plateaus

(ii) Volcanic plateaus

A dissected plateau forms as a result of upward movement in the earth’s crust. The uplift is caused by the slow collision of tectonic plates.

A volcanic plateau is formed by numerous small volcanic eruptions that slowly build up over time, forming a plateau from the resulting lava flows.

Erosion can influence the shape of a plateau. Soft rock often erodes away on the top of a plateau. Many plateaus are therefore topped with a hard, durable surface called Caprock. Caprock protects the plateau from erosion of the soil underneath it.

Major Plateaus in Rajasthan

  1. Plateau of Oriya
  2. Plateau of Abu
  3. Plateau of Bhorat
  4. Plateau of Mesa
  5. Hadoti Plateau
  6. Lasadiya Plateau

1. Plateau of Oriya: It is the highest plateau in Rajasthan, located below the Guru Shikar and its average height is 1360 meterandthis plateau is located in the Sirohi district of Rajasthan.

 2. Plateau of Abu: This is second highest plateau of Rajasthan with the average height of 1200 meter and located in Sirohi district of Rajasthan.

3. Plateau of Bhorat: This is third highest plateau of Rajasthan with the average height of 920 meter and it is located between Gogunda hills (Udaipur) and Kumbhalgarh hills (Rajsamand), locally known as Bhorat Plateau with extension toward north-east known as Deogarh-Madaris hills. The average elevation of this plateau is 1225 metre around Udaipur and in the south east of it the hills are characterised by a great mode of spurs and curved ridges, locally known as Girwa, the girdle of hills The Girwa tehsil of Udaipur district seems to have derived its name from this feature. Most part of this hilly region is covered with rocks, hills and fairly dense forest, most particularly rugged topography. This is the wildest portion of aravali and was also known to the British political administration as the Hilly tract of Mewar.

 4. Plateau of Mesa: The average height of this plateau is 620 meter and the famous chittorgarh fort is located on this plateau.

5. Plateau of Lasadiya: It is located in North-East of Jaisamand lake in Udaipur districtandthe average height is between 360-620 meters.

6. Southeastern Rajasthan Pathar or Hadoti Plateau: The eastern part along the Chambal River is covered by the Hadoti plateau. Four districts Kota, Baran, Bundi and Jhalawar are the part of this plateau. The Great Boundary Fault of the Aravallis forms its northwest boundary which extends eastward across the Rajasthan border. River Chambal drains in the large part of this area.

  • This region locally called Pathar and Uppermal
    • It comprises of the eastern & south-eastern part of the state & is known as Hadoti.
    • Bhilwara, Bundi, Kota, Baran and Jhalawar are the districts contain about 9.6% of the area of whole Rajasthan.
    • East of the plateau has a general slope toward Gwalior & catchment of Betwa river
    • The eastern, southern and south-west part bordered with Madhya pradesh.

The Plateau has been divided into two units

(a) Vindhyan Scrap Land

The scarp lands formed by massive sandstones separated by shale have an average elevation between 350m to 580m. The scarps are facing towards the south-southeast between the Banas and the Chambal and then it extend towards the east over Bundelkhand. A scarp block occupies the areas of Dholpur and Karauli. The region presents an undulating topography strewn with blocks, depressions and boulders.

(b) Deccan Lava Plateau

The Deccan Lava Plateau is also known as Pathar or Uppermal plateau. It is a wide stony upland including Kota-Bundi plateau section. The Chambal along with its tributaries Kali Sindh and Parbati form a triangular alluvial basin of 210m-275m at Kota and mostly black soil found in this region.