Konkan, Sahyadri, Deccan: Maharashtra's physical divisions

Travel from Mumbai to Nagpur by road and you pass through all of Maharashtra's physical divisions in a single day. First, the flat, green coastal strip. Then a steep climb up the ghat roads into the hills, with waterfalls in the monsoon. At the top, the land opens into a wide plateau of black soil and flat-topped hills, which slopes gently eastward all the way to Vidarbha.

Almost every other topic in Maharashtra geography — rivers, rainfall, soils, crops, drought, even the location of forts — follows from this basic structure. That is why MPSC keeps asking about it.

Maharashtra at a glance

The three main divisions

1. The Konkan coast

The Konkan is the narrow coastal lowland between the Arabian Sea and the Sahyadri.

• Width: narrow — typically a few tens of kilometres, wider in the north and narrowing towards the south.
• Districts: Palghar, Thane, Mumbai City, Mumbai Suburban, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg.
• Relief: not a flat plain; it is cut by spurs of the Sahyadri, creeks, estuaries and short, swift rivers.
• Coast: a coast of submergence, with many creeks, estuaries and small bays; beaches alternate with rocky headlands.
• Rainfall: very heavy during the south-west monsoon.
• Economy: rice, coconut, areca, Alphonso mangoes and cashew; fishing; ports.

Sea forts such as Sindhudurg, Vijaydurg, Janjira and Suvarnadurg show the historical importance of this coast.

2. The Sahyadri (Western Ghats)

The Sahyadri runs north–south, parallel to the coast, forming a steep escarpment on its western side and a gentle slope eastward.

• Average elevation: about 900–1,200 m, with higher peaks.
• Highest peak: Kalsubai (about 1,646 m), in Ahilyanagar (Ahmednagar) district — the highest point in Maharashtra.
• Other peaks: Salher (Nashik) — the second-highest in the state, and a famous fort; Mahabaleshwar; Harishchandragad; Torna.
• Hill stations: Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani (Satara), Matheran (Raigad), Lonavala–Khandala (Pune), Amboli (Sindhudurg).

#### The ghats: gateways across the mountains

These passes were historically important trade routes — remember Naneghat, used since Satavahana times — and today carry the railways and highways that link Mumbai to the interior.

3. The Deccan plateau

East of the Sahyadri lies the Deccan plateau, which covers most of the state.

• Geology: built of basalt from the Deccan Traps — vast volcanic lava flows that erupted about 66 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period. Successive flows created the step-like landscape (trap comes from the Scandinavian word for "steps").
• Slope: from west to east and south-east; hence most major rivers flow east to the Bay of Bengal.
• Landforms: flat-topped hills (mesas and buttes), broad river valleys and plateaus.
• Soil: the basalt weathers into fertile black (regur) soil, ideal for cotton.

#### Hill ranges on the plateau

Spurs of the Sahyadri run eastward across the plateau, separating the major river basins:

These ranges are frequently asked in Prelims — learn them with the rivers on either side.

The Satpura ranges in the north

In the far north, the Satpura ranges form part of the state's boundary with Madhya Pradesh.

• Toranmal (Nandurbar district) is a hill station in the Satpuras.
• The Gawilgarh hills in Amravati district include Chikhaldara, the only hill station in Vidarbha, and the Melghat forest.

The Tapi–Purna valley and eastern Vidarbha

• The Tapi–Purna valley in Khandesh and western Vidarbha is a fertile rift valley.
• Eastern Vidarbha (Nagpur, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli) lies partly outside the basalt region, on older Archaean and Gondwana rocks, which is why it has coal, manganese and iron ore. The Wainganga valley is dotted with thousands of traditional tanks.

Unique landforms

• Lonar crater (Buldhana district): a meteorite impact crater in basalt, containing a saline, alkaline lake. It was designated a Ramsar site in 2020.
• Kaas plateau (Satara): a lateritic plateau famous for seasonal wildflowers; part of the Western Ghats UNESCO World Heritage listing.
• Pothole formations at Nighoj on the Kukdi river (Ahilyanagar district).

How the physical divisions shape Maharashtra

Practice

Prelims-style:

1. Which is the highest peak in Maharashtra, and in which district?
2. Which hill range separates the Godavari and Bhima basins?
3. Which ghat connects Mumbai and Nashik?
4. What is the geological origin of the Deccan plateau?
5. Which crater lake in Maharashtra is a Ramsar site?

Mains-style:

• "The Sahyadri shapes the economy of Maharashtra as much as its landscape." Discuss.
• Explain how physiography contributes to regional disparities in Maharashtra.

Map exercise

On a blank map of Maharashtra, mark:

• the Konkan, Sahyadri and Deccan plateau;
• Kalsubai, Salher and Mahabaleshwar;
• the Satmala, Balaghat and Shambhu Mahadev ranges;
• five ghats;
• Lonar, Chikhaldara and Toranmal.

Do this from memory once a week until it takes you less than five minutes. It is the single most useful exercise in Maharashtra geography.