The Shillong Plateau is a
plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...
in eastern
Meghalaya
Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of As ...
state, northeastern India. The plateau's southern, northern and western ridges form the
Garo
Garo may refer to:
People and languages
* Garo people, a tribal people in India
** Garo language, the language spoken by the Garo tribe
Places
* Kingdom of Garo, a former kingdom in southern Ethiopia
* Garo, Colorado
* Garo Hills, part of the Ga ...
,
Khasi
Khasi may refer to:
* Khasi people, an ethnic group of Meghalaya, India
* Khasi language, a major Austroasiatic language spoken in Meghalaya, India
* Khāṣi language, an Indo-Aryan language of Jammu and Kashmir, India
See also
* Khasi Hills
* Gh ...
and
Jaintia Hills
The Khasi and Jaintia Hills are a mountainous region that was mainly part of Assam and Meghalaya. This area is now part of the present Indian constitutive state of Meghalaya (formerly part of Assam), which includes the present districts of East ...
respectively.
The plateau shows numerous fracture lineaments in satellite images and has been subjected to extensive and compressive forces in the N-S and E-W direction respectively. Several deep earthquakes point to tectonic activity in the
mantle, such as from the
1897 Assam earthquake
The Assam earthquake of 1897 occurred on 12 June 1897, in Assam, British India at 11:06 UTC, and had an estimated moment magnitude of 8.2–8.3. It resulted in approximate 1,542 human casualties and caused catastrophic damage to infrastructure ...
along the
blind Oldham Fault
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...
.
See also
*
Karbi-Meghalaya plateau
Karbi-Meghalaya plateau is, in fact, an extension of the main Indian peninsular plateau and are originally two different plateaus - Karbi Anglong Plateau and Meghalaya plateau.
ThMeghalaya plateauis traditionally divided into Garo, Khasi and Ja ...
.
*
1897 Assam earthquake
The Assam earthquake of 1897 occurred on 12 June 1897, in Assam, British India at 11:06 UTC, and had an estimated moment magnitude of 8.2–8.3. It resulted in approximate 1,542 human casualties and caused catastrophic damage to infrastructure ...
*
Dauki fault
The Dauki fault is a major fault along the southern boundary of the Shillong Plateau that may be a source of destructive seismic hazards for the adjoining areas, including northeastern Bangladesh. The fault, inferred to go through the southern ma ...
References
External links
INIST-CNRSEncyclopædia Britannica
{{Plateaus of india
Geology of India
Landforms of Meghalaya
Plateaus of India