Central Highlands

It extends between river Narmada and Great Northern Plains. The Aravallis form the west-northwestern edge of the Central Highlands. These hills extend from Gujarat, through Rajasthan to Delhi in the northeasterly direction for a distance of about 700 km.

The height of these hills is about 1500 metres in southwest while near Delhi they are hardly 400 metres high. The highest peak of the Aravalli hills is Gurushikhar (1722 m) near Mt. Abu. Mt. Abu on the border of Gujarat and Rajasthan is a beautiful hill station.

The region to the east of Aravallis is the highly dissected and uneven. Malwa plateau forms the dominant part of the Central Highlands. It lies to the southeast of Aravallis and to the north of Vindhyachal Range.

River Chambal, Betwa and Ken drain the Malwa Plateau before they join Yamuna. The part of the Central Highlands which extends to the east of Malwa Plateau is known as Bundelkhand and is further followed by Baghelkhand and the well known Chhotanagpur Plateau.

Vindhyachal Range forms the southern edge of Malwa Plateau. The Mahadeo Hills, Kaimur Hills and Maikal Range lie towards further east. The slope of Vindhayachal Range towards Narmada valley is absolutely steep and forms escarpments. It only confirms that Narmada flows through a rift valley. This range has very few passes. Due to this fact the Vindhyas acted as a barrier between northern and southern parts of India for a long time in the past.

The valley of Narmada is situated between the Satpuras and the Vindhyas. River Narmada flows from east to west in this valley and falls into the Arabian Sea. This valley has been formed due to the subsidence of the land mass between the Vindhyas and the Satpuras.