The Peninsular Block – Structure and Physiography of India

This is a purely geomorphological term and does not imply a sharp break in the continuity of Indian territory. The Peninsular Block consists of coastal plains, which are indented with tidal creeks and estuaries, and separate peninsular tracts of the peninsula.

Karbi Anglong and the Meghalaya Plateau in the northeast and Rajasthan in the west are also extensions of this block.

Roughly triangular in shape with its base coinciding with the southern edge of the great plain of North India. Apex of the triangular plateau is at Kanniyakumari. It covers a total area of about 16 lakh sq km (India as a whole is 32 lakh sq km).

The average height of the plateau is 600-900 m above sea level (varies from region to region). Most of the peninsular rivers flow west to east indicating it’s general slope.

Narmada-Tapti are the exceptions which flow from east to west in a rift (rift is caused by divergent boundary (Go back to Interaction of plates). The Peninsular Plateau is a one of the oldest landforms of earth.

It is a highly stable block composed mostly of the Archaean gneisses and schists. It has been a stable shield which has gone through little structural changes since its formation.

Since few hundred million years, Peninsular block has been a land area and has never been submerged beneath the sea except in a few places.

Peninsular Plateau is an aggregation of several smaller plateaus, hill ranges interspersed with river basins and valleys.