Pariksha SaathiLesson 5 of 10 · Madhya Pradesh General Knowledge
Geography of Madhya Pradesh: Location, Borders and Physiographic Regions
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Location and size
Madhya Pradesh lies between 21°6' and 26°30' north latitude and 74°9' and 82°48' east longitude, at the centre of India, which is why it is called the heart of India. The Tropic of Cancer (about 23.5 degrees north) runs almost through the middle of the state, crossing districts such as Ratlam, Ujjain, Bhopal, Vidisha, Sagar, Jabalpur and Shahdol. The state covers 308,252 sq km, 9.38 per cent of India's area, and since 2000 it has been second in area after Rajasthan. It stretches about 870 km from east to west and about 605 km from north to south. Census 2011 counted about 7.26 crore people, with a density of 236 persons per sq km.
Neighbours
The state is landlocked and has no international border. It touches five states: Rajasthan to the north-west, Uttar Pradesh to the north and north-east, Chhattisgarh to the south-east, Maharashtra to the south and Gujarat to the west. Of these boundaries, the shortest is the one with Gujarat. Rivers mark parts of these borders: the Chambal separates the state from Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh along stretches of its course, and the Narmada forms a short border with Maharashtra.
Rocks beneath the land
The landforms follow the geology. The oldest Archaean rocks, including the Bundelkhand gneiss and granite, form the northern plateau. Dharwar rocks in Balaghat and Chhindwara hold manganese. The Vindhyan system of sandstone and limestone, named after the Vindhya range, covers the Rewa-Panna region, where the Panna diamond field lies. Gondwana rocks in the Son, Satpura and Narmada basins hold coal, and the lava flows of the Deccan Trap cover Malwa and the western Satpura, weathering into black soil. River alluvium fills the Narmada valley and the Chambal plains.
Malwa and the Gird region
The Malwa plateau in the west is the largest physiographic region. Built of Deccan Trap basalt and covered with black soil, it slopes gently to the north and is bounded on the south by the Vindhyan scarp above the Narmada. The Chambal, Shipra, Kali Sindh, Parbati and Betwa drain it, and Indore, Ujjain, Dewas, Ratlam, Mandsaur and Bhopal stand on it; the Chambal rises at Janapav hill near Mhow. Its fertility gave rise to the old saying Malav dharti gahan gambhir, dag dag roti pag pag neer. North of Malwa lies the Madhya Bharat plateau with the Gird region of Gwalior, Bhind and Morena, cut by the ravines of the Chambal.
Bundelkhand, the Vindhyas and Baghelkhand
The Bundelkhand plateau in the north (Datia, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur and parts of Shivpuri and Sagar) is made of granite and gneiss, with rocky hills, old tanks and rivers such as the Betwa, Dhasan and Ken flowing north to the Yamuna. The Vindhyan range rises as an escarpment north of the Narmada and continues east as the Bhander and Kaimur hills; behind it lies the Rewa-Panna (Vindhyan) plateau of sandstone and limestone, with waterfalls where rivers drop off its edge. Baghelkhand, the eastern plateau around Sidhi, Shahdol and Singrauli, is drained by the Son and holds the Gondwana coalfields.
Narmada valley and the Satpura-Maikal ranges
The Narmada valley is a rift valley between the Vindhyas to the north and the Satpura to the south, filled with fertile alluvium around Jabalpur, Narsinghpur and Narmadapuram. The Satpura range runs between the Narmada and the Tapti from the Rajpipla hills in the west through the Mahadeo hills to the Maikal range in the east. Dhupgarh (1350 m) in the Mahadeo hills near Pachmarhi, the Queen of Satpura, is the highest point of the state. The Maikal range meets the Vindhyas at the Amarkantak plateau, where the Narmada and the Son rise. In the west the Burhanpur gap through the Satpura, guarded by the fort of Asirgarh, was the old route from north India to the Deccan.
Traps to avoid
The highest peak is Dhupgarh in the Satpura, not Amarkantak in the Maikal range. Indore, the largest city, lies south of the Tropic of Cancer, while Bhopal and Ujjain lie close to it. The Vindhyas are mainly the edge of a plateau rather than a fold mountain chain. Malwa's black soil comes from Deccan lava, while Bundelkhand's thin soils come from ancient granite.
Key facts
- Extent: 21°6' N to 26°30' N and 74°9' E to 82°48' E; about 870 km east to west and about 605 km north to south.
- Area 308,252 sq km (9.38 per cent of India): second largest state after Rajasthan since 2000.
- Five neighbours: Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Gujarat; shortest border with Gujarat; landlocked.
- The Tropic of Cancer crosses the middle of MP through districts such as Ratlam, Ujjain, Bhopal, Vidisha, Sagar, Jabalpur and Shahdol; Indore lies south of it.
- Malwa plateau: the largest region, Deccan Trap basalt and black soil; the Chambal rises at Janapav near Mhow.
- Bundelkhand plateau: the oldest rocks (Bundelkhand gneiss and granite), with the Betwa, Dhasan and Ken flowing north to the Yamuna.
- The Narmada valley is a rift valley between the Vindhyas to the north and the Satpura to the south.
- Highest point: Dhupgarh (1350 m) in the Mahadeo hills of the Satpura, near Pachmarhi, the Queen of Satpura.
- Amarkantak plateau in the Maikal range: meeting point of the Vindhya and Satpura, source of the Narmada and the Son.
- Census 2011: about 7.26 crore people, density 236 persons per sq km.
Quick revision
MP between 21°6'-26°30' N and 74°9'-82°48' E, heart of India, Tropic of Cancer through the middle; area 308,252 sq km (9.38 per cent), second after Rajasthan; five neighbours, shortest border Gujarat; Bundelkhand gneiss oldest, Vindhyan sandstone, Gondwana coal, Deccan Trap in Malwa; regions: Malwa plateau, Gird, Bundelkhand, Vindhyan plateau, Baghelkhand, Narmada rift valley, Satpura-Maikal; highest point Dhupgarh 1350 m; Amarkantak where Vindhya meets Satpura.