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    The Deccan Traps: India’s Volcanic History and Geology

    17 min
    |
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    May 23, 2026
    TechnologyHistory & SocietyEnvironment

    Explore the geology of the Deccan Traps, a massive Large Igneous Province in India formed by basaltic lava flows from the Reunion hotspot millions of years ago.

    The Deccan Traps: India’s Volcanic History and Geology

    Best quote from The Deccan Traps: India’s Volcanic History and Geology

    “

    The Deccan Traps were a massive, voluminous outpouring of basaltic lava that repainted the landscape of central and western India, creating a giant, stony layered cake where each layer represents a different chapter of the earth’s internal heat coming to the surface.

    ”
    B

    Generated by Babu

    Input question

    Plate tectonics with respective to Deccan plate , east and western ghats. And Himalayas. . Type of rocks.

    Host voices
    Lenaplay
    Milesplay
    Knowledge sources
    Tectonics of the Deccan Large Igneous Province: an introduction
    link
    https://www.geos.iitb.ac.in/images/stories/pdf/sm_tecdec.pdf
    Mechanism of rift flank uplift and escarpment formation evidenced by Western Ghats, India
    link
    https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6642085/
    The Restless Indian plate and its epic voyage from Gondwana to Asia: Its tectonic, paleoclimatic, and paleobiogeographic evolution
    link
    https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331699796_The_Restless_Indian_plate_and_its_epic_voyage_from_Gondwana_to_Asia_Its_tectonic_paleoclimatic_and_paleobiogeographic_evolution
    The longest voyage: Tectonic, magmatic, and paleoclimatic evolution of the Indian plate during its northward flight from Gondwana to Asia
    link
    https://www.academia.edu/11710893/The_longest_voyage_Tectonic_magmatic_and_paleoclimatic_evolution_of_the_Indian_plate_during_its_northward_flight_from_Gondwana_to_Asia
    The Eastern Ghats Belt - A Polycyclic Granulite Terrain
							| Journal of Geological Society of India
    link
    https://www.geosocindia.org/index.php/jgsi/article/view/58795
    link
    https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/secb/066/05/0200-0205

    Frequently Asked Questions

    The Deccan Traps are a Large Igneous Province in central and western India characterized by massive layers of basaltic lava. They formed approximately 66 million years ago when the Indian subcontinent, acting like a giant raft after breaking away from the Seychelles, passed over the Reunion hotspot. This event caused a voluminous outpouring of lava that repainted the landscape, creating volcanic rock layers that are still prominent today.

    Currently, the Deccan Traps cover over 500,000 square kilometers across regions like Maharashtra and Gujarat. However, geological estimates suggest the original area before millions of years of erosion could have been as much as five times that size. In some locations, the accumulated layers of volcanic rock reach a staggering thickness of over 2,000 meters, forming a significant part of India's geological foundation.

    The eruptions that formed the Deccan Traps were not a single event but occurred in pulses over millions of years. This intense volcanic activity took place roughly between 68 and 60 million years ago. This period of geological history transformed the subcontinent from a moving landmass into a region defined by vast basaltic plateaus, coinciding with India's journey across the ocean toward its current position.

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    Key Takeaways

    1

    The Day the Earth Poured Out Fire

    0:00
    0:21
    0:59
    1:32
    2:03
    2

    Layering the Trap through Pulses of Fire

    2:23
    2:42
    3:01
    3:30
    3:49
    4:09
    3

    The Great Escarpment and the Mystery of the Western Ghats

    4:31
    4:51
    5:09
    5:27
    5:46
    6:05
    4

    Why the East and West are Worlds Apart

    6:26
    6:45
    7:01
    7:24
    7:40
    8:01
    5

    The Thermal Collapse and the Sinking Basement

    8:23
    8:33
    5:46
    9:10
    9:29
    9:51
    6

    The Ultimate Collision and the Birth of the North

    10:11
    10:31
    10:50
    11:09
    11:29
    11:56
    7

    Reading the Stones of the Peninsula

    12:14
    12:32
    12:53
    13:14
    13:36
    13:55
    8

    A Tectonic Playbook for the Modern World

    14:19
    14:35
    14:56
    15:15
    15:35
    15:56
    9

    The Moving Ground Beneath Your Feet

    16:14
    16:31
    16:45
    17:11
    17:29
    17:43

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