Vindhya Mountains

The Vindhya Mountains, an east-west range in central India, divide the subcontinent into two major geographical zones, the Indo-Gangetic Plain to the north and the Deccan Plateau to the south. The range reaches heights of 500–1,500 meters, and forms the northern edge of the Narmada Valley.

Uniting the Eastern and Western Ghats at its two extremities, the range forms one side of the triangle known as the Deccan Plateau. The Vindhyas contain some of the oldest rocks in India—granites, schists, and marbles—and are geologically the northern front of Gondwanaland where it abuts the Himalayas. The Indo-Gangetic Plain is the infilling of a trough between the two.

The Vindhyas have been of crucial importance in the historical geography of India because they were sufficiently high to dissuade most invading groups from pushing further south into the Deccan Plateau, instead deflecting invaders eastward along the Gangetic Plain. The Vindhyas are largely inhabited by such important Scheduled Tribes as the Bhils.