Indian Plateau

¤ Beautiful Cities Perched On The Indian Plateaus

Plateaus are a major part of Madhya Pradesh, with a handful of mountains and plains thrown in at places. The Bundelkhand Plateau, Malwa Plateau, Baghelkhand Plateau, Dandakaranya Plateau and the Central India Plateau are all in MP.

Cities like Chhattarpur, Panna, Tikamgarh, Datia, and some parts of Shivpuri and Guna are situated in northeast Madhya Pradesh in the Bundelkhand Plateau. The average height of the region is 300-450m, although at some places it touches 500-550m. The plateau slants towards the northeast, which explains why the rivers Betwa and Dhasan flow northwards.


¤ Central India Plateau

Then comes the Central India Plateau, which is situated to the west of the Bundelkhand Plateau. The major cities that have flourished in this plateau are Gwalior, Bhind, Moraina and Shivpuri. The rivers that drain this plateau are Chambal, Kali Sindh and Parvati. The height of these plateaus range from 150m at some places to 450m at others.


¤ Malwa Plateau

The Malwa Plateau forms western Madhya Pradesh and comprises the entire area between the south of Gwalior, and the Vindhya Range in the south. It is made up of lava flows, and slopes downwards towards the north and northeast. Indore, Bhopal, Ujjain, Sagar, Ratlam and Devas, are located in this plateau that has an area of 34,600km.


¤ Baghelkhand Plateau

The river Sone, the Maikal Ranges and the Chhattisgarh region surround the Baghelkhand Plateau, located in eastern Madhya Pradesh. Its height ranges from 550-1033m. Stones of the Jurassic Age (about 80 million years ago) can be found in this plateau. However, there's more to the Baghelkhand Plateau than just this. It houses tribals, dense forests and many wild animals. Most of the coal deposits of Madhya Pradesh are found in this area. The Kanha National Park and some cities like Shahdol, Umariya and Ambikapur, are also situated in the Baghelkhand Plateau.


¤ Dandakaranya Plateau of South Indian Region

Situated in southern Madhya Pradesh below the Chhattisgarh region, the Dandakaranya Plateau is not cultivable since it is a forested area. Indrawati, a significant river in this plateau, forms the splendid waterfall of Chitrakoot in this region. Tribals account for 67% of the populace in this otherwise sparsely-populated plateau.