Geological Map India

GEOLOGY OF INDIA

India has a diverse geology akin to that of her people, climate and size. Its different regions contain rocks of all types
belonging to different periods of Geological Time Scale. Some rocks are badly deformed and metamorphosed while others are
recently deposited alluvium that are yet to undergo digenesis. Mineral deposits of great diversity are found in the subcontinent in
large quantity. Even the fossil records are impressive in that they include stromatolites, invertebrates, vertebrates and plant
fossils.
India's geological features can be divided based on their formation in different periods of the Geological Time Scale.
Accordingly, India's geographical land can be classified into Deccan Trap, Gondwana and Vindhyan and into those that originated
in Pleistocene, Tertiary, and Pre-Cambrian Period.
The Deccan Trap covers almost all of Maharashtra, a part of Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh
marginally. Geologists believe that the Deccan Trap was formed as result of sub-aerial volcanic activity associated with continental
divergence in this part of the earth during the Mesozoic era. The rocks found in this region are generally of igneous type.
The Gondwana and Vindhyan include within its fold parts of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttaranchal.
The Gondwana Supergroup forms a unique sequence of fluviatile rocks deposited in Permo-Carboniferous & Mesozoic
times. Damodar and Sone river valley and Rahmahal hills in the eastern India are repositories of the Gondwana rocks.
The vast plateau mountains to the north of Narmada River in Madhya Pradesh and the adjoining areas of Malwa Plateau
and Gangetic Plains form the Vindhyan cover. Here, the Deccan Trap and the alluvium conceal the rocks. The lower Vindhyans
(Semri Group) are dominantly limestones, whereas the upper parts of the succession are mostly sandstones.
Formations, which are of recent or Pleistocene origin, are found over relatively large area of India. Parts of the
geographical area of the states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh,
Orissa, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Assam, Bihar and Haryana come under this geological category.
The Tertiary period has also left its imprints on the geological features of Manipur, Nagaland, and parts of Arunachal
Pradesh, Mizoram, Assam, Tripura, Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu andKashmir.
Geological formations of Pre-Cambrian period are predominantly spread over large area of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Jharkhand,
Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, and marginally over Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
The following diagram shows the different periods in the Geological Time Scale :
Eon

Period

Unit: Ma (Mega annum)

Era

Epoch

1 Ma = 106 years ago

PHANEROZOIC
Cenozoic

65 - 0 Ma
Quaternary

Holocene
Pleistocene
1.5 - 0.0 Ma

Tertiary

Neogene

26 - 1.5 Ma
Pliocene
Miocene

Palaeogene

65 - 26 Ma
Oligocene
Eocene
Palaeocene

Mesozoic

230 - 65 Ma
Cretaceous

Late(Senonian)
Early(Neocomian)
136 - 65 Ma

Jurassic

Late(Maim)
Middle(Dogger)
Early(Lias)
190 - 136 Ma

Triassic

Late
Middle
Early
230 - 190 Ma

Palaeozoic

570 - 230 Ma
Permian

Late
Middle
Early
280 - 230 Ma

Carboniferous

Late(Pennsylvanian)
Early(Mississipian)
345 - 280 Ma

Devonian

Late
Middle
Early
395 - 345 Ma

Silurian

430 - 395 Ma

Ordovician

Late
Early
395 - 345 Ma

Cambrian

Late
Middle
Early
570 - 500 Ma

PRECAMBRIAN

4600 - 570 Ma

Proterozoic

2500 - 570 Ma
Upper

1600 - 570 Ma

Middle

2000 - 1600 Ma

Lower

2500 - 2000 Ma

Archaean
Hadean

2500 - 570 Ma
4600 - 3800 Ma

Topography of India

India the seventh largest country in the world , is well marked with off from the rest of Asia by mountains and the sea, which gives
the country a distinct geographical entity. It covers an area of 32,87,2631 sq.km. Bounded by the great Himalayas to the north , it
stretches southwards and at the Tropic of Cancer, tapers off in the Indian ocean between the Bay of Bengal on the east and the
Arabian sea to the west.
Lying entirely in the northern hemisphere the mainland extends measures 3214 km from north south between extreme latitudes
and about 2933 km from east to west between extreme longitudes. It has a land frontier of about 15200 km. The total length of
the coastline of the mainland, Lakshwadeep group of islands and Andaman and Nicobar group of islands is 7,516.5 km.
The Himalayas and the other mountain ranges -Mustagh Ata , Aghil Kunlun mountains to the north of Kashmir and to south eastern
portion of Zaskar mountains to the east of Himachal Pradesh- form Indian northern boundary except in Nepal region. She is
adjoined to the north by China Nepal and Bhutan. A series of mountain ranges separate India from Burma. Also, in the east lies the
Bangladesh. In the north west Afghanistan and Pakistan border India. The Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Straits separate India from
Sri lanka.
The Andaman and Nicobar island in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshwadeep in the Arabian sea are parts of the territory of India.
The Indian sub-continent is characterised by great diversity in its physical features .It may be divided into three broadly defined
physical units :

The Himalayas and the associated mountain ranges.

The Indus Ganga-Bramha-putra plain.

The Peninsular Plateau.

The land is very diverse and covers an area of about 3.3 million square kilometres. This large landmass encompasses several varied
climatic and ecological zones. India has the highest snowbound mountain range of the world, the Himalayas to its north, the humid
tropical forests on the south-west coast, the fertile Brahamaputra valley, the low mangrove swamps of the Sunderbans, the Garo
Hills of Meghalaya which is the wettest spot on the universe all lying on its east, the barren marshes of the Rann of Kutch, and the
Thar desert with its shifting sand dunes lies towards the west.
To the north, the Himalayas stretches approximately 2400 kilometers and has the world's highest mountain peaks including Mt.
Everest, Mt. K2 and Mt. Kanchenjunga. These mountains form the source of mighty rivers like Indus and Brahmaputra which flow

into the Gangetic plains. These rivers cause constant erosion of the lofty mountains to build the vast alluvial plains of the Indus,
Ganga and Brahamaputra. The latter two rivers form the world's largest and most fertile delta called the Brahmaputra valley before
it flows out into the Bay of Bengal.
The Deccan Plateau is formed by prehistoric crystalline and lava rocks. Between the Deccan Plateau and the Gangetic plain lies a
series of low mountain ranges like the Aravallis and Vindhyas. The plateau has the Eastern and Western Ghats flanking its sides.
The western coastal plain is uneven and swift rivers flow through it which forms beautiful lagoons and backwaters, examples of
which can be found in the state of Kerala.
The east coast is wide with deltas formed by the rivers Godavari, Mahanadi and Kavery. Flanking the Indian peninsula on the
western side are the Lakshadweep Islands in the Arabian Sea and on the eastern side lies the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the
Bay of Bengal.