Geomorphic History and Landscapes of India

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.