Geology of Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Located in the north eastern part of Indian peninsula, Maharashtra physically is a plateau region. The sahyadris or the Western Ghats runs south to north parallel to Konkan coast. The dominant physical trait of the state is its plateau character. Its western edges form the sahyadri range and its slope gently descending towards the east and south-east. Nearly 90% of the land in Maharashtra is formed from lava. The outpouring of basic lava through fissures and its cooling formed horizontally beaded basalt rocks.
The process of formulation of Deccan plateau took place near about 14 million years ago and continued for a long period of time. Due to this many layers of lava can be seen in the state. Maharashtra plateau is mainly made up of basalt rocks but at the bottom of this plateau lays Archean rocks. As we move from west to east in the region, the layer of basalt rocks gradually reduces resulting in unfolding of rocks of Archean, Vindhya and Dharwad tradition as well as limestone, mostly in Nagpur, Bhandara and Chandrapur region. In nutshell, in this region basalt layer gradually decreases and finally disappears.
In south Konkan, especially in Sindhudurg district, the layer of basalt rock is removed by digging process and due to which the sandstone and pebble stone gets unfold in this region. In Chandrapur and Nagpur district, large amount of coal is found under the class of ancient Gondwan rocks. Since the layer of basalt is in line with the horizon, it gets easily eroded due to which pyramid shaped and stair like arrangement is seen throughout the state. This is the reason why the sahyadri peaks are flat and not pointed. In the sahyadris, towards the south of Mahabaleshwar as well as in south Konkan, the mountain tops are covered with Jambha rocks in the form of shells. Layers of sediments are found in the river basin and on the banks of channels all over the state.
According to physical distribution, the Maharashtra plateau is divided in three divisions:
1) Konkan Coastline:
The tapering belt from Bordi-Talsari in the north to Redi-Banda in the south forms Konkan coastline. The coastline spreads 700km in length from north to south and has width of 50 to 100 km. The whole Konkan coastline is surrounded by rivers having its source in the sahyadri. These rivers lie in the some mountain ranges or branches and sub branches of sahyadri. These mountain ranges play the role of water partition in the rivers of Konkan coastline. The height of branches of sahyadri goes on decreasing towards Konkan coastline and “Chaupati” or soft soil is developed along the coast.The Konkan coastline is narrower towards the south and wider towards the north and it is widest in the Ulhas River.
2) Sahyadri mountain ranges:
The sahyadri ranges or the Western Ghats are spread from Navapur in Nandurbar district in north to Chandgad in Kolhapur district in south. These form the borders in Maharashtra. However the sahyadris extend till Kanyakumari. In Maharashtra, the length of sahyadri is 800km and height is 900km. The sahyadri runs parallel to Konkan coastline and 50-100 km south to north. the western slope of sahyadri is intense due to sinking down of Konkan coastline. Comparatively the eastern slope of sahyadri is mild. There are much upland for moving from Konkan towards plateau. Hill stations like Mahabaleshwar lies in the uplands of sahyadri. Kalsubai (1646), the highest peak in Maharashtra, lies in the northern Maharashtra, since the height of sahyadri is very high in this part.
3) Plateau:
The plateau region of Maharashtra lies in the eastern side of sahyadri. Many important rivers like Godavari, Bheema, Krishna having their source in sahyadri and flowing towards south east or east flows through this region. In between these rivers are the mountain ranges originating from sahyadri and moving towards the east. These ranges are:
1) Ajantha - Satmala range present between Tapi and Godavari rivers.
2) Harishchandra mountains located between Godavari and Bheema rivers.
3) Mahadev mountains between Bheema and Krishna rivers.
Towards the northern borders of Maharashtra are the Satpura mountains. Astambha is the highest peak of Satpura in Maharashtra. Chikhaldara, the hill station is present in satpuras. Bairat is the highest place in satpura. The plateau region near the sahyadris is 600m above the coastline and its height goes on decreasing towards the east.
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