Question

The central Highlands and the Deccan plateau is a broad division of the ____________.
A. Peninsular plateau
B. Northern plain
C. Coastal plain
D. Himalayan Mountains

Answer 1

Hint: It lies to the south of the Northern Plains of India and is the oldest and largest physiographic unit of the country. It comprises rounded hills with broad and shallow valleys.

Complete Answer: The sides of the Peninsular Plateau are surrounded by seas and is a land composed of the old crystalline metamorphic and igneous rocks formed because of drifting of the Gondwana land. The shape of the Peninsular plateau is triangular. It is divided into different regional land masses based on their geographical location and regional landmasses. These are –
1. Bundelkhand plateau
2. Baghelkhand plateau
3. Chotanagpur plateau
4. Deccan plateau
5. Kathiawar plateau
6. Madhya Bharat plateau
7. Malwa plateau
8. Meghalaya plateau
Some of the important physiographic features of the Peninsular plateau are tors which are isolated mass of jointed weathered rock, usually granite; block mountains and rift valleys; spurs; rounded hills and broad and shallow valleys; ravines and gorges in the northwestern part of the plateau.
The average elevation of this plateau is 600 to 900 metres above sea level. The Narmada river is a major river that flows through this plateau along with Tapti river. The black soil in the western and northwestern of this plateau is an important feature, which is also known as the Deccan plateau.
Thus, the correct answer is option (A).

Note: The largest pass of the Peninsular plateau is the Palghat pass. It is the longest natural pass between the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala and connects the Nilgiri Hills to the north and Anamalai Hills, also known as the Elephant mountains to the south.