Geomorphic History and Landscapes of India

Vishwas S. Kale

Abstract
The Indian subcontinent is a land of great geomorphic diversity and grand scenery. Two
major tectonic influences have affected the Indian subcontinent since the Mesozoic times:
fragmentation of the Gondwanaland and the Himalayan Orogenesis. These events, along with
Deccan Volcanism, differential uplift and reactivation of faults in the Peninsula, and the onset
of monsoon climate over the subcontinent have primarily shaped the megascale architecture
and scenery of the Indian landmass. The erosional landscape of the Peninsula has inherited
substantial elements from and throughout the Cenozoic. The foundations of the modern
drainage systems, the coastal margins, and the inland terrains of the Peninsula were laid
around the mid Mesozoic. In comparison, the Himalayan landscape and the foreland basin
(Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra Plains) formed and evolved during Neogene and Quaternary. The
glacial-interglacial cycles of the Quaternary and associated oscillations in the sea level
(erosional base-level) and the monsoon strength have left an indelible impression on the
drainage systems and landforms of the subcontinent in a variety of ways. The net effect is the
present magnificent scenery of the subcontinent.

Keywords
    
Gondwanaland Drift Differential erosion Peninsular India Himalaya Ganga Plains
Brahmaputra Plains Cenozoic history Quaternary Uplift Climate change
 

1 Introduction northern latitudes of North America and Europe have not

been reported in the Indian subcontinent. The fundamental
The Indian subcontinent is a land of great geomorphic reasons for the development of the grand scenery are, rifting
diversity and grand scenery. The subcontinent encompasses along the continental margins, the northward drift of India,
virtually every geomorphic landscape present on the Earth collision with Eurasia, and formation of towering Himalaya
surface, from spectacular glacier-carved valleys and frozen out of the Tethys Sea and the adjacent foreland basin. The
ice peaks to vast mangrove swamps, chains of coral islands Indian region also has the distinction of having some of
and a scorched rocky-sandy desert, though landforms the oldest rocks on the Earth surface. Rocks ranging in age
resulting from continental glaciations so common in the from Archean to Quaternary are found in the subcontinent.
Long timescale is, thus, involved in landscape evolution of
the Indian landmass.
The geomorphic history of the diverse landscapes that
V. S. Kale (&) we see today in different parts of the subcontinent, in gen-
Department of Geography, University of Pune, Pune 411007,
eral, and the Indian Peninsula in particular, can be traced
India
e-mail: [email protected] back to at least the last *170 Ma (mid-Mesozoic), when

V. S. Kale (ed.), Landscapes and Landforms of India, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 25

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-017-8029-2_3,  Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014
26 V. S. Kale

Fig. 1 Summary of the major

PALEOZOIC
PRECAMBRIAN
tectonic and geomorphic events MESOZOIC CENOZOIC

India-Madagascar
Deccan Volcanism & Rifting along western margin
during the long history of the

of Peninsula
Paleogene Neogene Quaternary
Indian subcontinent (1 to

Presence of Acheulian Hominins in Peninsula

Intense lateritic weathering - Mysore Plateau
*250 Ma)

Rifting on eastern margin & eastward tilt

Rerouting of Punjab rivers into Indus

& titling

Collision of India-Eurasia begins

of Greater
Gondwanaland begins to split

eastern margin

Resurgent Siwalik Ranges

Onset of monsoon climate
Northward drift of India
& separation

Himalayan orogeny
Riftingalong
Rifting
1000 100 10 1
Time in million years (Ma)

India started detaching itself from the Gondwanaland 2.1 The Indian Peninsula
(Fig. 1). Evidence indicates that the Indian Peninsula was a
part of the Gondwanaland in the early Mesozoic that broke The Indian Peninsula constitutes the oldest and the largest
away from the supercontinent and drifted northwards and (*2.1 million km2) geomorphic province of India. The
collided with the Eurasian Plate to form the lofty Himalaya Peninsula, chiefly made up of Precambrian cratonic blocks
Mountains. The Himalayan Orogeny had a decisive role to and Proterozoic fold belts, is the most geologically exposed
play in the onset of monsoon climate over the subcontinent part of the Gondwanaland and largely displays an erosional
*8–10 Ma and formation of the vast, fertile alluvial plains landscape. By and large, bedrock landforms (Fig. 4) and
adjacent to and south of the elevated mountains. These partially to deeply weathered rocks dominate the scenery of
major geological, climatic and tectonic events (Fig. 1) have this ancient landmass.
largely shaped the architecture and scenery of this vast The Deccan Plateau, with an easterly tilt, is the principal
landmass. sub-province of the Indian Peninsula. The nearly 1,500-km
long, Western Ghat (Sahyadri) Escarpment forms the wes-
tern edge of the plateau. In the east, the plateau is flanked by
2 Geomorphic Provinces discontinuous hill ranges of the Eastern Ghat (e.g. Shevaroy,
Nallamalai and Mahendragiri Hills). The Eastern Ghat is
On the basis of common geologic and geomorphic attri- breached by large peninsular rivers. The two Ghats converge
butes, the Indian region can be broadly divided into three in the south at Nilgiri Hills, with Doda Betta (2,637 m a.s.l.)
spatial entities or provinces and several sub-provinces as the 2nd highest peak. Anai Mudi (2,695 m a.s.l.), south of
(Table 1). The three distinct geomorphic provinces are the Palghat Gap, is the highest point in the Western Ghat and
(Figs. 2 and 3): the Peninsula. The Deccan Plateau is bounded on each side
(a) The Indian Peninsula (Geologic Province—Indian by coastal lowlands of variable width and morphology.
Shield), including the Deccan Traps Region (Geologic Whereas the west coast lowland is generally rocky, relatively
Province—Large Igneous Province) narrow (except along the Gujarat coast) and dominated by
(b) The Himalaya Mountains (Geologic Province—Indian hills and laterite plateaux, the eastern seaboard is featured by
Orogenic Belt) large deltas, deltaic plains and predominantly aggradational
(c) The Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra Plains (Geologic Prov- littoral features (Vaidyanadhan 2002). There are two archi-
ince—Indian Foreland Basin), including the Thar Desert. pelagos in the adjoining seas, namely the Andaman and
Table 1 Principal geomorphic provinces of India
Abbreviation Geomorphic province Geologic Sub-provinces and their abbreviations Geological characteristics Geomorphic characteristics
(area within India) province
IP The Indian Peninsula Indian Shield A. The Deccan Plateau (DP) The shield composed of large Oldest geomorphic province with ancient
(*2.1 million km2) B. The Western Ghat Escarpment areas of exposed rocks, surfaces (erosional/planar) and
(WGE) Precambrian crystalline rivers. Dominantly erosional landscape
Geomorphic History and Landscapes of India

igneous and high-grade with wide open valleys. Two conspicuous

C. The Deccan Traps Region (DT) metamorphic rocks landscapes—granitic and basaltic
D. The coastal lowland (CL) Four cratons bordered by Great Escarpment of India on the western
fold belts and rifts margin of Deccan Plateau—the Western
E. The Archipelagos—Andaman and Tectonically relatively stable Ghat
Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep
Islands (AR)
HM The Himalaya Mountains Indian A. The Siwalik Ranges (SR) An active mountain belt in a Multiple, parallel, mountain ranges having
(*0.5 million km2) Orogenic B. The Lower Himalaya (LH) collisional setting rugged topography with prominent peaks
Belt Long tracts of highly and ridges reaching 7–8 km above sea level
C. The Higher Himalaya (HH) deformed rocks Dominated by fluvial erosion, landslides
D. Tethys Himalaya (TH) Four tectonic zones and glacial erosion. Impressive deep
separated by thrust faults gorges, strath and fill terraces and glacial
E. Indo-Myanmar Ranges (IM) landforms. Massive landslides
IGB The Indus-Ganga- Indian A. The Indus or Sindhu Plains (SP) A foreland basin. A large An extensive, low-relief alluvial plain
Brahmaputra Plains Foreland B. The Ganga Plains (GP) geological and sedimentary *100–500 km wide and *3,000 km long,
(*0.7 million km2) Basin depression developed between Himalaya and the Indian Peninsula
C. The Brahmaputra Plains (BP) adjacent and parallel to the Sediments deposited almost continuously
D. The Thar Desert (TD) Himalayan mountain belt since Eocene-Oligocene times (*55
An aggregation of sediments million years ago). Constitutes fan,
ranging for boulders to clay, floodplain, channel and deltaic deposits
that filled up a depression or
accumulated in an area
27
28 V. S. Kale

TIBET

(SP) HM
IGB
THAR (BP)
(TD) (GP)
(IM)
(DT)

(DT)

IP
(DT)

Arabian Bay of
Sea Bengal

(AR)

(AR)

Fig. 2 Map showing the principal geomorphic provinces and sub-provinces of the Indian subcontinent. Refer Table 1 for explanation of the
abbreviations

Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep drainage system. The courses of Narmada, Tapi and Son are
Islands in southern Arabian Sea (Fig. 2). strongly controlled by a regional geofracture that transects
In the west-central part of the Peninsula, the Precambrian the Indian shield in the middle. All the Peninsular rivers are
cratonic blocks and Vindhyan rocks are concealed under monsoon-fed and are presently incised in bedrock (Fig. 5)
thick piles of late Cretaceous-Eocene Deccan basalts. This or late Quaternary alluvium. By and large, the channels are
vast igneous province (5 9 105 km2), partitioned by Nar- stable and floodplains are narrow, discontinuous or absent,
mada-Son fault-trough (Sheth 2007), is the youngest geo- except in the deltaic portions.
logical unit of the Indian shield. Consequently, the drainage Although landforms developed within sedimentary rocks
and landforms are also much younger, albeit older than the are present in certain pockets, the peninsular landscape is
Himalayan drainage. overwhelmingly dominated by landforms of the granite-
A line joining the Western Ghat and Aravalli Hills via gneissic terrain and basaltic terrain.
Gawilghar-Maikal-Vindhyan Ranges constitutes the major Many of the major landforms (valleys, high-level sur-
waterdivide of the Indian Peninsula (Fig. 2) that separates faces, inland plateaux, duricrusted landforms, etc.) on the
the Arabian Sea drainage from the Bay of Bengal drainage. face of Indian Peninsula are the legacy of its long geo-
Four large rivers, namely Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and morphic history that extends back to the Cenozoic or pre-
Kaveri drain into the Bay of Bengal and form large deltas. Cenozoic times (Vaidyanadhan 2002). It is the Gondwana
Whereas the Narmada, Tapi, Sabarmati and Mahi debouch breakup that initiated the development of the current mac-
into the Arabian Sea via estuaries; the Chambal, Betwa, roscale morphology of the Indian Peninsula. Much of the
Ken, Tons and Son form part of the Yamuna-Ganga geomorphology of the subcontinent relates to tectonic and
Geomorphic History and Landscapes of India 29

(a)
Indian Indus- Ganga-Brahmaputra Himalaya
Peninsula Plains Mountains Tibet

Tsangpo
km HH River
6 TH
Bhabhar
4 Son Ganga Ghagara Rapti (Fan belt) LH
River River River River
2
SR
DP GP
0

0 200 400 600 km

SOUTH Distance in km NORTH

Western Deccan Eastern (b)

Ghat RAINSHADOW Plateau Ghat
km Krishna
1 River Godavari
River

CL CL
Arabian Bay of
Sea Bengal
0

0 200 400 600 800 1000 km

WEST Distance in km EAST

Fig. 3 Transverse profiles showing major geomorphic provinces and sub-provinces of India. The upper panel a shows a south-north profile
(approximately along 83.3 E longitude) across the northern part of the Indian Peninsula to Tibet via Ganga Plains and Himalaya Mountains. The
lower panel b depicts a west-east profile (approximately along 17.3 N latitude) across the Indian Peninsula. The cross profile shows the coastal
lowlands, the Western Ghat Escarpment, the Deccan Plateau and the Eastern Ghat. Refer Table 1 for abbreviations

Fig. 4 Granitic hills near Mandya on the Mysore Plateau. The influence of jointing patterns on the form and development of these hills is
clearly seen
30 V. S. Kale

Fig. 5 Turbulent waters of the

Kaveri River through a bedrock
gorge near Mekedatu, Karnataka

climatic events, and base level changes that have taken east, and varies in width from *250 to 300 km. Syntaxial
place since the mid-Jurassic (*170 Ma). By and large, bends are present at the western (Nanga Parbat) and eastern
divergent weathering and differential erosion during its long (Namcha Barwa) ends.
geological history have fashioned the peninsular landscape. The Himalayan province is sub-divided into four principal
morpho-tectonic zones or sub-provinces (Figs. 2 and 3).
Each province is separated by a major thrust fault. From south
2.2 The Himalaya Mountains to north these longitudinal sub-provinces are: the Siwalik
Ranges, the Lesser Himalaya, the Higher (or Greater)
Along the northern rim of the Indian subcontinent exists a Himalaya and the Tethys Himalaya (Valdiya 1998; Yin
grand and immense mountain range—the Himalaya-Karak- 2006). The Siwalik Ranges (elevation \1,000 m a.s.l.) rise
oram Mountains. The ranges include the world’s highest peak, abruptly above the Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra Plains along
the Sagarmatha or Mt. Everest (8,848 m a.s.l.) and over a the Main Frontal Thrust (MFT). Neogene and Quaternary
dozen peaks rising above 7,500 m a.s.l. (for example, Mt. sediments dominate these sub-Himalayan ranges. The ranges
Kanchenjunga, Dhaulagiri, Nanga Parbat, and Nanda Devi). occur in the form of rows of hills, separated by elongated
These highest mountain ranges in the world constitute an piggyback basins (called Duns). The Main Boundary Thrust
enormous geophysical-geomorphologial system and display a (MBT) defines the boundary between Siwaliks and Lesser
whole range of spectacular landforms, such as alpine moun- Himalaya. The Lesser Himalaya (including Pir Panjal,
tains, long glaciers, glacial troughs, steep gorges, intermoun- Dhaulagiri, Dhauladhar, Mahabharat and other ranges) con-
tain basins (called Duns) and multiple strath and fill terraces. sists of Precambrian and Cambrian sequences (Fig. 6). Here
The fundamental reason for the development of such rugged summits can rise above 3500 m a.s.l. (Fig. 7). Well known
relief and grand scenery is the tectonic uplift and upthrusting intermountain valleys and hill resorts, such as Srinagar,
caused by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian Plates that Kathmandu, Kangra, Shimla, Mussoorie and Darjeeling are
started *55 Ma and is continuing to the present. The Hima- located in this sub-province. The Higher Himalayan crys-
layan Orogen is one of the most impressive examples of an talline is separated from the Lesser Himalaya by the Main
active mountain belt in a collisional setting. Central Thrust (MCT). In this zone, snow and glacier capped
Himalaya, the abode of snow, is one of the youngest peaks range in elevation from 3,000 to [8,000 m a.s.l. The
mountain ranges in the world. The nearly 2,500-km long, South Tibetan Detachment (STD) separates the Higher
arc-shaped mountain range (Fig. 2) extends from Afghani- Himalaya from the Tethys Himalaya. This northern-most
stan-Pakistan in the west to Indo-Myanmar Ranges in the morpho-tectonic zone consists of sedimentary sequences that
Geomorphic History and Landscapes of India 31

Fig. 6 Near-vertical slopes

developed in Lesser Himalayan
granite/banded gneiss, Upper
Beas Valley, Himachal Pradesh

Fig. 7 Snow covered Himalayan

peaks and small glaciers as seen
from Manali, Himachal Pradesh

range in age from late Precambrian ([600 Ma) to Creta- Tectonic uplift, rapid valley incision, landslide erosion
ceous-Eocene (95–45 Ma) (Valdiya 1998). Whereas south of and glacial erosion are the fundamental processes respon-
the Siwalik Ranges lies the Duar and Terai Belt, on the sible for the spectacular rugged relief of the Himalayan
Tibetan side lie the Karakoram, Zanskar, Ladakh and Kailas landscape. The continuing rapid uplift of the Himalaya, great
Ranges. On the extreme eastern flank of the subcontinent are, differences in altitude over short distances, and orography-
the roughly north-south trending Indo-Myanmar Ranges. induced monsoon precipitation have all combined to provide
32 V. S. Kale

Fig. 8 The Ganga River

upstream of Rishikesh. The river
has incised into Lesser
Himalayan metasediments

geomorphic conditions favourable for highly elevated rates giving rise to gridiron drainage pattern (Gupta 1997). Such
of denudation and sediment transport. The river systems are rivers emerge through the mountain front and form large
supply-limited (sediment transport capacity exceeds sedi- alluvial fans (megafans).
ment supply), and hence, they are forced to cut down into Due to its high elevation, there are over 15,000 glaciers
rising anticlines. The contribution of glacial erosion to the in the Himalaya. As a result, snowmelt constitutes an
overall denudation in Himalaya is also noteworthy. Cryo- important component of the hydrological budget of the
genic weathering is conspicuously observed at higher Himalayan rivers. Of the total annual discharge, snowmelt
elevations. contributes up to 50 % in the Indus catchments, *25 % in
Despite rapid uplift (tectonic or isostatic) and increased Tsangpo-Brahmaputra catchments, and \20 % in other
stream power and incision, the mountain slopes are main- basins (Bookhagen and Burbank 2010). The Himalayan
tained at threshold angles by high rates of landsliding glaciers (continental and maritime) are more extensive in
(Larsen and Montgomery 2012). As a result, formation of the west due to higher average altitude. On account of the
landslide dams and generation of large floods due to the presence of large number of glaciers, there is abundance of
failure of such dams is nothing extraordinary in this terrain. glacial erosional and depositional features. The Himalayan
Such extreme floods, in turn, play a key role in promoting landscape is also modified by glacial lake outburst floods
incision and coarse sediment transport. (GLOFs) from time to time.
Major Himalayan rivers, such as, Indus, Brahmaputra,
Satluj, Karnali, Kali-Gandaki, and Kosi (Arun) flow across
the geologic structures (thrust faults) and the orientation 2.3 The Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra Plains
of the mountain ranges, right from the edge of the Tibetan
Plateau. There is a broad consensus that these trans- To the south of the Himalayan front lies a vast alluvial plain
Himalayan rivers are antecedent and predate the Himalayan (*1.17 million km2) created by three large Himalayan rivers
Orogeny. Wherever these rivers breach the transverse ranges and their tributaries, namely Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra.
or anticlines, spectacular gorges have formed (Fig. 8). The These highly fertile Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra (IGB) Plains
deeply incised river valleys of the trans-Himalayan rivers are are primarily composed of fan, floodplain, channel and del-
related to high rates of erosion, favoured by rapid uplift and taic deposits, and are intensively cultivated and densely
late Cenozoic changes in monsoon strength. Some of the settled. The IGB Plains are built by sediments derived from
transverse rivers are laterally diverted at Siwalik anticlines, the Himalayan Orogen to its north as well as from the
Geomorphic History and Landscapes of India 33

Fig. 9 Generalized geomorphic map of the Ganga Alluvial Plains. 1 Megafan, S-MF Sarda (Ghaghara) Megafan, YG-MF Yamuna-Ganga
fan belt at the foot of the Siwalik Ranges, 2 megafans; 3 incised Megafan, T-MG Tista Megafan, T0 active floodplain surface, T1 river
valleys, 4 abandoned channel belt, 5 rivers. PF piedmont fan belt, MP valley terrace surface, T2 upland interfluve surface. (Modified after
marginal plain upland surface, K-MF Kosi Megafan, G-MF Gandak Singh 1996)

cratonic hinterland in the south. The plains generally have an the channels are unstable; hence, they frequently change
altitude of less than 150 m a.s.l. and slope gently towards the their path by avulsion. The Kosi River provides one of the
Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. best examples.
The vast foreland basin is a large geological and sedi- Traditionally, two types of alluvial deposits are recog-
mentary depression, adjacent and parallel to the Himalayan nized in the Ganga Plains (also along the Indus), namely
Mountain belt. The alluvial plains were largely formed by Bhangar (older) and Khadar (recent) (Singh 2007). The
net alluviation and filling up of a foredeep basin by sedi- former represents more clayey and calcareous alluvium, and
ments derived from the rising Himalaya as well as Penin- occurs in the form of a high, extensive terrace or interfluves.
sular India since about Paleocene. The foredeep was The younger alluvial deposits are confined to the modern
initially formed due to the flexing down of the Indian Plate floodplains of the Ganga and its tributaries.
following India-Eurasia collision and later deepened due to Although the channel forms vary according to sediment
sinking of the basin floor as the Indian Plate slid under the load, slope and discharge variability, meandering, braided
Himalaya (Valdiya 2010). Over the last few million years and anabranching channel patterns and alluvial styles pre-
the foreland basin has been gradually filled by sediments dominate the IGB Plains. Amongst the principal rivers, only
brought in by rivers. The effect of this deposition was to the Yamuna River displays a distinct meandering channel
level the landscape producing a flat terrain. The thickness of pattern. Ganga, Brahmaputra, Satluj, Kosi, etc. exhibit
the sediments under the plains varies from a few hundred either braided or anabranching pattern. Examples of palaeo-
meters up to *7 km in structural depressions. channels (Fig. 9), natural levees, ox-bow lakes and meander
Rivers emerging from Himalaya Mountains onto the scars are found in abundance throughout the IGB plains
alluvial plains rapidly lose their stream power and carrying (Sarma 2005; Inam et al. 2007; Singh 2007). Due to the
capacity. As a result, they dump their excess sediment load alluvial nature of the rivers and large monsoon floods,
at the mountain-plain interface, giving rise to alluvial fans. changing of river courses, avulsion and bankline migration
All Himalayan rivers having sizable catchments have have been going on since times immemorial. One of the
developed large alluvial fans (Fig. 9). A continuous belt of noteworthy characteristics of the Ganga drainage is the
coalescing gravel fans (Bhabhar) exists at the foot of the occurrence of groundwater-fed streams such as Gomati, Sai,
Siwalik Ranges. Some of the rivers, such as Kosi and etc. These rivers originate on the plains and are perennial
Gandak, bring enormous amounts of sediment load and with low sediment load to discharge ratio.
hence form gigantic fans at the mountain front, called Rivers have played a decisive role in the distribution of
megafans (Singh 2007). The gigantic fans have shoved the settlements from pre-historic times. The oldest civilization
Ganga drainage southward (Fig. 9). Over the fan surface, in the subcontinent is the Harappan (aka Indus Valley),
34 V. S. Kale

Fig. 10 The Luni River

downstream of Tilwara, east of
Barmer, Rajasthan. The Luni
(meaning salty) is the only well
integrated river system in the
Thar Desert

which first flourished on the banks of the Indus River difference of opinion about whether the former river was a
(*2–4 millennium BCE) and then extended into other large glacier-fed Himalayan river or monsoon-fed river
rivers of northwest India (e.g. Ghaggar, Satluj, Ravi, Sar- system during the Holocene.
aswati, etc.).
The interfluve area between the Ganga and the Indus
drainage is a dryland area known as the Great Indian Desert 3 Macroscale Geomorphic History of India
or the Thar Desert. Spread over an area of *285,000 km2,
the Thar is the only region in India, where there is evidence 3.1 Pre-Cenozoic Geology
of strong aeolian activity during the late Quaternary. Shal- and Geomorphology
lowness of the monsoon current, subsiding air and anti-
cyclonic circulation are the fundamental reasons for aridity There is little doubt that some of the large-scale landforms
over this area. Though the exact age of the Thar Desert is occurring in the Indian Peninsula are the legacy of the
not known, some workers believe that aridity has prevailed geological and geomorphic history that extends back to the
over the area for the last few million years. Mesozoic and or even earlier. Even though the Gondwana
Apart from sand dunes (parabolic, barchans, longitudinal successions provide evidence of the existence of glacial,
and transverse), rocky landforms (hammada) and desert fluvial and marine regimes in central and eastern India from
pavements (reg), the Thar Desert is featured by numerous late Permian to Cretaceous times, and the palaeocurrent
saline lakes or playas. The Sambhar Lake is the largest saline trends from various Gondwana Basins suggest drainage
lake (playa) on the eastern fringe of the desert. Blockage of alignment towards the northwestern or northeastern direc-
rivers and streams by advancing sand dunes, deflation, and tion (Valdiya 2010), there is not much tangible evidence of
tectonic subsidence have been suggested as the possible the pre-Gondwana-breakup landscapes. This is primarily
causes for the formation of these lakes. Their subsequent due to the fact that the Gondwana sediments in India and
desiccation has been attributed to weakening of the monsoon. elsewhere are confined to only rifted grabens.
Today, the Luni River (Fig. 10) is the only well-inte- The megascale geomorphic history of India approxi-
grated drainage system in the Indian Desert. It is an mately starts with the breakup of eastern Gondwana when
ephemeral river and in some years it is completely dry. It the Indian Peninsula came into existence (Fig. 1). The
receives tributaries from the Aravalli Hills, but none from the eastern margin of the Peninsula was created by the breakup
sandy desert in the west. At least one major river, sometimes of India from Antarctica around early Cretaceous
referred to as the ‘Saraswati’ or ‘Vedic Saraswati’, is (*130 Ma). This was followed by the breakup of Greater
believed to have flowed through the Harappan-sites domi- India from Madagascar/Malagasy around 80–90 Ma (Storey
nated section of the Thar Desert (Valdiya 2010). There is et al. 1995), as India started drifting northwards. The initial
Geomorphic History and Landscapes of India 35

breakup resulted in the eastward tilt of the Peninsula and during Cenozoic, since the end of Deccan Volcanism
establishment of the easterly drainage (Murthy et al. 2010). (Fig. 1). These events were linked to the northward
During its northward journey the western continental pas- migration of the Indian Plate through different latitudinal
sive margin of India was impacted by two major hotspots zones, the Himalayan Orogeny and the establishment of the
(Marion and Réunion) and has experienced two episodes of monsoon system over the subcontinent. There is conspicu-
separation—Madagascar-Greater India *80–90 Ma and ous absence of Paleogene-Neogene continental records
Seychelles-India *65 Ma (Norton and Sclater 1979; Storey (except in Tamil Nadu, Kachchh and Rajasthan) and this
et al. 1995). As a result of the formation of the eastern and has inhibited the erection of the detailed Cenozoic geo-
western margins and tilt of the Peninsula, the pre-Cenozoic morphic history of the Indian Peninsula.
rivers had to adjust and work headward from the new At the beginning of the Paleogene the subcontinent
coastlines. existed as a huge island, surrounded by the Tethys Sea in
During late Cretaceous-Eocene, western India experi- the north and the Indian Ocean on the other three sides. The
enced intense explosive volcanism of Deccan Traps basalts. Earth’s climate was extremely warm during the Paleocene-
The extensive outpourings of basalts not only buried the Eocene thermal maximum (PETM). The beginning of the
low-relief, pre-Trappean landscape over an area of *1.5 Cenozoic also witnessed significantly higher eustatic sea-
million km2 but also created a completely new topography level (Gunnell 1998) and submergence of large areas along
over which sub-aerial processes started operating and new the margins of the Indian Peninsula. The elevated temper-
drainage network was established. The extrusion of Deccan atures and high sea-stands had a significant impact on the
Traps lavas was also associated with major rifting along the weathering fluxes and denudation rates. Development of
western margin of India, and failed rifting along the duricrust armouring over the deep weathered profiles on
Khambhat (Cambay) and Kachchh grabens. Erosion com- multiple surfaces of the Peninsula was one of the conse-
menced on the newly formed rifted margin and operated to quences of warmer climate. 40Ar/39Ar dates suggest inten-
the then existing erosional base level. It is the continuance sive lateritic weathering over Mysore Plateau between *26
of this headward-working erosion along the western passive and 36 Ma under warm and wet climate similar to that
margin that gave rise to the most prominent physiographic prevailing in tropical humid forests (Nicolas et al. 2014).
feature of the Peninsula: the *1,500 km long Great Even though the foundations of the modern drainage
Escarpment of India, the Western Ghat (Sahyadri) and system and fluvial landscape were laid in the middle
consequently the Deccan Plateau. Mesozoic, there is enough evidence to suggest that the
The massive Deccan volcanism was perhaps associated landscape of Peninsula was sculptured predominantly by
with a major global change in climate and mass extinction. fluvial systems throughout Cenozoic. The major landscape
This, along with the fact that the northward-drifting Indian elements, the Godavari, the Krishna, the Kaveri, the Nar-
Plate had already entered the warmer low-latitudes by the mada, the Mahanadi, and some other rivers very likely
early Cretaceous, suggests that the period from late Jurassic existed throughout the Cenozoic, although complete inte-
to Eocene was characterized by warmer and more humid gration of younger Deccan Traps drainage with the older
conditions (Gunnell 1998). These conditions facilitated Peninsular drainage must have taken some time. Apart from
deep weathering of the rocks underlying the valleys, ero- changes in the catchment hydrology, the long-term down-
sional surfaces and plateaux and formation of deep weath- ward trend in the eustatic sea-level during mid to late
ering fronts. The formation of laterites over the youngest Cenozoic not only lowered the erosional base level but also
lava flows in the Deccan Traps Region is an indicator of subaerially exposed previously submerged areas along the
intense and deep weathering immediately after the cessation margins. The rivers most likely responded to the long-term
of the Deccan volcanism. Some of the oldest high level base-level lowering by downcutting their channels, dis-
surfaces, capped in places by laterite duricursts and inferred secting inland plateaux and high-level surfaces, exposing
to be late Cretaceous-Paleocene in age (Gunnell 1998), are the weathering fronts (giving rise to bornhardts and boulder
observed over the Nilgiri and Palni Hills (*2,200 m a.s.l.) inselbergs) and by increasing their sediment output. It
in southern Peninsula. appears that most of the present relief in the Indian Penin-
sula was acquired during Neogene (Nicolas et al. 2014).
Phases of uplift of Himalaya Mountains in the Mio-
3.2 Cenozoic Geomorphology: The Pliocene had a profound effect on the climate of the sub-
Paleogene-Neogene Period continent as well as on the regional drainage system. This in
turn, controlled the sediment supply to the foreland basin
After the breakup and separation of India, much of the (IGB Plains), coastal areas as well as the adjoining seas.
geomorphology of the Indian subcontinent relates to geo- Since their formation the Himalaya Mountains have been
logical, tectonic and climatic events that have taken place attacked and broken down by weathering and erosion (fluvial
36 V. S. Kale

and glacial). The erosion of the Himalaya was remarkably strengthening of the monsoon and revival in the fluvial
high between 15 and 10 Ma and since late Plio-Pleistocene activity, and marine transgression. There were, of course,
(Clift et al. 2008). This was also the time when the monsoon deviations from this general pattern. For instance, the gla-
climate was firmly established over the subcontinent. Tec- cial advances in Himalaya and strong aeolian activity in the
tonic movements provided the template for changes in the Thar Desert were associated with stronger monsoons and
fluvial system. Although the Himalayan drainage configu- did not coincide with the LGM as expected.
ration is believed to have remained, more or less, unchanged The Quaternary Period also witnessed numerous changes
during the India-Eurasia collision (Brookfield 1998), rero- in the drainage in dynamic settings. One of the noteworthy
uting of the major Punjab rivers into the Indus after 5 Ma events was the capture of the Yamuna River by Ganga
(Clift and Blusztajn 2005), and capture of Tsangpo- drainage via a tributary of the Chambal River (Valdiya 1996).
Irrawaddy by Brahmaputra a few million years ago
(Brookfield 1998), suggest major changes in the Himalayan
drainage geometry at the end of Neogene. 4 Conclusions
In the Indian Peninsula, there is every reason to believe
that periods of tectonic stability (indicated by widespread The three distinct geomorphic provinces of the Indian
high-level erosion surfaces) were interspersed with periods subcontinent—(a) The Indian Peninsula, (b) the Himalaya
of tectonic/isostatic uplift during the Cenozoic. Unlike Mountains, and (c) the Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra Plains—
Australia, which is equally old but has been worn down by display distinct landform assemblages and have different
subaerial erosion to give rise to the flattest continent, the evolutionary history. The Indian Peninsula constitutes the
Indian Peninsula shows considerable relief (1000–2000 m). largest geomorphic province and is the most geologically
This itself is a strong evidence of the presence of differential exposed part of the Gondwanaland. Bedrock landforms
tectonic movements during Cenozoic Era. and partially to deeply weathered rocks dominate the
scenery of this ancient landmass. The Himalayan land-
scape and the foreland basin (Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra
3.3 Cenozoic Geomorphology: The
Plains) formed and evolved during Neogene and Quater-
Quaternary Period
nary. Tectonic uplift, rapid valley incision, landslide ero-
sion and glacial erosion are the fundamental processes
The Quaternary is known for moderate to extreme fluctua-
responsible for the spectacular rugged relief of the
tions in the climatic conditions over the subcontinent in
Himalayan landscape. The vast fertile Indus-Ganga-Brah-
response to glacial-interglacial cycles. As a result,
maputra Plains are primarily composed of fan, floodplain,
throughout the Quaternary, the river systems underwent
channel and deltaic deposits.
repeated adjustments. Quaternary glacial-interglacial cycles
Rifting along the continental margins, the northward
and associated sea-level changes led to intermittent periods
drift of India, the Deccan Volcanism, the Himalayan oro-
of aggradation and degradation resulting in the formation of
genesis, onset of monsoon climate over the subcontinent,
the alluvial plains or river terraces. In the tectonically active
differential uplift, and the glacial-interglacial cycles of the
Himalaya, there is ample evidence of multiple glaciations
Quaternary have primarily shaped the megascale architec-
during the Quaternary. There is no reason to suppose that
ture and scenery of the Indian landmass. The net effect is
differential uplift did not occur in Peninsular India during
the present magnificent scenery of the subcontinent.
Quaternary. However, there are difficulties in isolating the
impact of tectonic movements from climatic changes.
All the available climate proxies of the last glacial cycle
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