The black soil of the Deccan, also called regur, is formed by the weathering of which rock?
- A.Granite
- B.Basalt of the Deccan Trap
- C.Sandstone
- D.Limestone
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, basalt of the Deccan Trap. Towards the end of the Cretaceous period, fissure eruptions poured out sheet after sheet of lava over western and central India; the hardened lava is basalt and the stepped landscape it makes is called the Deccan Trap. Weathering of that basalt produces the deep black clayey soil known as regur, which holds moisture, swells when wet and cracks when dry, and suits cotton, which is why it is also called black cotton soil. Option A is wrong because granite weathers into red and lateritic soils rather than black clay. Option C is wrong because sandstone yields light sandy soils poor in clay. Option D is wrong because limestone country gives thin calcareous soils and karst features. Link the chain in memory: fissure eruption, basalt, Deccan Trap, regur, cotton.
Read the full article: Peninsular Plateau and Coastal Plains: Relief and Rivers
Practice Questions
View allWhich state has the largest coast line?
- A.Karnataka
- B.Kerala
- C.Tamil Nadu
- D.Gujarat
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Gujarat has the longest coastline of any Indian state. Its shore runs from the Rann of Kachchh round the Gulf of Kachchh, along the whole Saurashtra or Kathiawar peninsula and down the Gulf of Khambhat, and this deeply indented outline gives it far more shore than any other state.
Read the full explanation →Dodabetta is the highest peak of which of the following mountain ranges?
- A.Vindhya
- B.Satpura
- C.Aravalli
- D.Nilgiri
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Doddabetta, about 2,637 metres high, is the highest point of the Nilgiri hills, the block where the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats meet, and it overlooks the hill station of Udhagamandalam or Ooty in Tamil Nadu.
Read the full explanation →Anaimudi, the highest peak of peninsular India, lies in which state?
- A.Tamil Nadu
- B.Kerala
- C.Karnataka
- D.Andhra Pradesh
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Anaimudi rises to about 2,695 metres in the Anaimalai hills of Kerala, south of the Palakkad Gap, and it is the highest summit anywhere in the Peninsular Plateau and indeed in India south of the Himalayas.
Read the full explanation →Which gap in the Western Ghats carries the main road and rail link between Kochi and Coimbatore?
- A.Thal Ghat
- B.Bhor Ghat
- C.Palakkad Gap
- D.Sen Kottai Pass
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The Palakkad Gap, also spelt Palghat, is the widest break in the Western Ghats, lying between the Nilgiri hills to the north and the Anaimalai hills to the south.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following peninsular rivers flows westward through a rift valley and forms an estuary?
- A.Godavari
- B.Narmada
- C.Krishna
- D.Mahanadi
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The Narmada flows west between the Vindhyan range and the Satpuras along a trough formed by faulting, that is, a rift valley, and it empties into the Gulf of Khambhat through a broad estuary rather than a delta.
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