Distinguish between Northern plains and Peninsular plateau.

Northern plains lie in the south of Himalayas Mountains and north of Deccan plateau. It is formed by flooding of three major rivers- Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra. It is drained by many other rivers like Yamuna, Ghaghara, Gandak etc. These are perennial rivers which flow throughout the year which helps plains maintain their fertility. It has the largest tract of 3200 km of alluvial soil in the world. The soil of these plains is very fertile. Many people live here who are dependent on agriculture for livelihood.

Indian Peninsula is another name of the peninsular plateau. Over 200 years ago, it was part of Gondwana land. The peninsular plateau was formed by faulting of Gondwana land. Roughly, the shape of the peninsular plateau is triangular. The average height of the plateau is 600-900 m above sea level. Its two main divisions are Central Highlands and Deccan Plateau. Central Highlands lies in the north of Narmada River and Deccan Plateau lie in the south of Narmada River. The direction of slope of central highlands is west to east and that of Deccan plateau is southwest to northeast. Central Highlands is bounded by Aravalli and Chhotanagpur plateau and Deccan plateau is bounded by the Western Ghats in the west and the Eastern Ghats in the east. The major rivers of the plateau include Krishna, Kaveri, Godavari, Mahanadi, Narmada, Tapti. All the rivers flow through west to east except Narmada and Tapti which flow from east to west in a rift.