RAS question
The Deccan Plateau slopes from:
Correct answer: (D) West to east, causing most rivers to flow eastward into the Bay of Bengal.
The Deccan Plateau generally slopes from west to east, so most major peninsular rivers flow eastwards into the Bay of Bengal.
Explanation
The Deccan Plateau has a general west-to-east slope. WorldAtlas describes it as bounded by the Western Ghats in the west and the Eastern Ghats in the east, with an average elevation of about 600 m, and states that it slopes gently towards the east. This relief pattern explains the drainage: major rivers such as the Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri flow from the Western Ghats towards the Bay of Bengal. The same logic applies to the wider peninsular drainage pattern, including Cauvery and Mahanadi, while the main exceptions are the Narmada and Tapti, which flow westwards through rift valleys into the Arabian Sea.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) A south-to-north slope would produce a different drainage pattern from the eastward flow of major Deccan rivers from the Western Ghats to the Bay of Bengal.
- (B) An east-to-west slope would make westward drainage the general pattern, whereas WorldAtlas and the drainage pattern both support an eastward slope and east-flowing major rivers.
- (C) A north-to-south slope misreads the plateau relief; the general slope runs from west to east, not along a north-south axis.
Concept
Indian physiography and drainage are closely linked because plateau relief controls river direction. In RAS, one fact connects the Deccan Plateau, the Ghats and the east-flowing peninsular river system.