RAS question
The Meghalaya Plateau is geologically an extension of:
Correct answer: (C) The Peninsular Plateau (Chota Nagpur Plateau).
The Meghalaya Plateau is geologically a detached north-eastern extension of the Peninsular Plateau, specifically linked with the Chota Nagpur Plateau.
Explanation
The Meghalaya Plateau, made up of the Garo, Khasi and Jaintia Hills, belongs to the Peninsular Plateau system rather than to the Himalayas or the northern alluvial plains. Meghalaya, Karbi-Anglong Plateau and North Cachar Hills form a north-eastern extension of the plateau, and this extension is separated by a fault from the Chotanagpur Plateau. The block was detached from the mainland by the Malda Gap, through which the Ganga flows, and it is composed of ancient Precambrian rocks. So the geological clue is the old, stable Peninsular Plateau linkage, not the young Himalayan fold belt or the recent alluvial plain.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Himalayan mountain system is a geologically young and unstable fold-mountain zone, whereas Meghalaya is treated as an old plateau block linked to the Peninsular Plateau.
- (B) The Indo-Gangetic Plain is an alluvial formation of the northern plains, so it does not match the ancient plateau geology of Meghalaya.
- (D) The Andaman Ridge is unrelated to the Meghalaya block; Meghalaya connects with the Peninsular Plateau extension in the north-east.
Concept
This tests the physiographic division of India, especially how the Peninsular Plateau continues into the north-east. It recurs in RAS because Rajasthan and India geography questions often turn on geological origin, not just present political location.