VINDHYA RANGE
The Vindhya Range (also known as Vindhyachal) is a complex, discontinuous chain of mountain ridges, hill ranges, highlands and plateau escarpments in west-central India.· The Vindhya Mountain Range in central India is a very ancient mountain range. It is one of India's seven major sacred mountain ranges.
· These hills are less craggy and smaller in size than the others.
· Technically, the Vindhyas do not form a single mountain range in the geological sense.
· The exact extent of the Vindhyas is loosely defined, and historically, the term covered a number of distinct hill systems in central India, including the one that is now known as the Satpura Range.
· They really serve as a dividing line between the Indo-Gangetic plains and the Deccan area of India.
· Today, the term principally refers to the escarpment and its hilly extensions that runs north of and roughly parallel to the Narmada River in Madhya Pradesh.
· Depending on the definition, the range extends up to Gujarat in the west, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in the north, and Chhattisgarh in the east.
· These are non-tectonic mountains; they were formed not because of plate collision but because of the downward faulting of the Narmada Rift Valley (NRV) to their south.
· They extend for 1200km from Bharuch in Gujarat to Sasaram in Bihar.
· Geologically, they are younger than Aravallis and Satpura hills.
· Their average height is in the range of 300-650m.
· They are made up of older Proterozoic rocks. They are cut across by Kimberlite piles (diamond deposits)
· They are known by local names such as Panna, Kaimur, Rewa, etc.
· They rise from the NRV in the form of steep, sharp slopes called the escarpments. These escarpments are well developed in Kaimur and Panna regions.
· The mountains run along the southern edge of the Malwa Plateau before splitting into two branches: the Kaimur Range, which runs north of the Son River into western Bihar state
· The southern branch, which runs between the upper reaches of the Son and Narmada rivers to meet the Satpura Range in the Maikala Range (or Amarkantak Plateau).
· At elevations ranging from 1,500 to 3,500 feet (450 to 1,100 metres), the Vindhya Range gives rise to the primary southern tributaries of the Ganges-Yamuna basin, which include the Chambal, Betwa, Ken, and Tons rivers.
· The mountains are flat-topped and plateau-like due to their horizontal sandstone nature.
· In the correct geological sense, the Vindhyas do not form a single range: the hills known as the Vindhyas do not lay along an anticlinal or synclinal ridge.
Vindhya Range - Rivers
· The Vindhyas are the source of several tributaries of the Ganga-Yamuna system.
· Chambal, Betwa, Dhasan, Ken, Tamsa, Kali Sindh, and Parbati are among them. These rivers drain the northern slopes of the Vindhyas.
· The Narmada and Son rivers drain the Vindhyas' southern slopes.
· Both of these rivers originate in the Maikal hills, which are currently considered an extension of the Satpuras, while numerous earlier literatures refer to them as the Vindhyas.
· The northern slopes of the Vindhya Mountain Range are drained by Ganges tributaries like the Kali Sindh, Parbati, Betwa, and Ken.
· The Son, a Ganges tributary, drains the range's southern slopes near its eastern end.
· The Narmada River drains the range's southern slopes and flows westward to the Arabian Sea in the depression between the Vindhya Range and the adjacent Satpura Range to the south.
· The Vindhya Range runs along the northern boundary of the Narmada Valley.
Important Landforms
· As the range breaks into branches east of Malwa, the eastern section of the Vindhyas is made up of numerous chains.
· The Vindhyas forms a southern chain that connects the upper reaches of the Son and Narmada rivers to the Satpura Range in the Maikal Hills at Amarkantak.
· The Vindhyas' northern chain extends eastward as the Bhander Plateau and Kaimur Range, which stretch north of the Son River.
· This extensive region extends from what was formerly Vindhya Pradesh to the Bihar district of Kaimur.
· The Panna range is a section of the Vindhya range that runs across Bundelkhand.
· The Vindhyan tableland is a plateau located to the north of the range's centre. The Vindhya plateau is another name for the Rewa-Panna plateau.
Vindhya Range - Climate
· The Vindhya Mountain Range is primarily covered with dry-deciduous forests.
· Rainfall is seasonal here, followed by a protracted dry season, which impedes the growth of natural flora, which loses its leaves.
· Teak, sal, and bamboo are the most common trees found in these areas.
· Bison, wild buffalo, spotted deer, leopard, black buck, and giant brown deer are all part of the animal world.
· The Vindhya Range is home to a diverse range of fauna and vegetation.
· Despite the fact that human activities have caused significant degradation in the natural environment, resulting in a wide range of ecological concerns.
Significance of Vindhya Range
· The Vindhyas are recognised as the historic physical barrier between northern and southern India, and they have a prominent place in Indian mythology and geography.
· The Vindhya Mountain Range in central India is a very ancient mountain range. It is one of India's seven major sacred mountain ranges.
· These hills are less craggy and smaller in size than the others. They truly constitute a barrier between India's Indo-Gangetic plains and the Deccan region.
· The Vindhya hills block the course of the winds, making the region very inhospitable and harsh.
· The various slopes of the Vindhya Range are drained by Ganges tributaries to the north and Narmada tributaries to the south.
· These hills include a large sandstone resource, which was utilised to construct Buddhist stupas at Sanchi and other temples at Khajuraho.
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