Which of the following is NOT a feature of Peninsular Plateau?

2019

Which of the following is NOT a feature of Peninsular Plateau?

  1. A.

    It lies to the South of Northern plains.

  2. B.

    Aravali Hills border it on the North-West side.

  3. C.

    It is rich in minerals like coal and iron-ore.

  4. D.

    Rivers Mahanadi and Krishna are some of the west flowing rivers in the plateau.

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: D

The Peninsular Plateau is one of the oldest and most stable physiographic divisions of India, formed of ancient Precambrian crystalline and metamorphic rocks that were once part of the Gondwana landmass. Its identity as a physiographic unit rests on several things: its position relative to the Northern Plains, the hill ranges that bound it, the mineral wealth held in its rock systems, and its drainage pattern -- the plateau broadly tilts from west to east, so most of its rivers flow east into the Bay of Bengal, while a smaller number, including the Narmada and Tapi, flow west through rift valleys into the Arabian Sea.

Checking each statement against this framework:

  • The plateau does lie to the south of the Northern Plains, forming the southern block of the Indian landmass.

  • The Aravali Hills do mark its north-western boundary, separating it from the Thar Desert.

  • Its rock systems do carry major mineral wealth: coal chiefly from the Gondwana sedimentary sequence, as in the Damodar valley coalfields, and iron ore chiefly from the older Precambrian Dharwar rock system, as in the Chota Nagpur and Odisha belts.

  • The Mahanadi and Krishna, however, are east-flowing rivers that drain into the Bay of Bengal, following the plateau's general west-to-east tilt -- the major west-flowing exceptions are rivers such as the Narmada and Tapi.

Since the Mahanadi and Krishna flow east rather than west, the statement describing them as west-flowing rivers of the plateau is the one that does not describe a genuine feature of the Peninsular Plateau.

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