| Deccan | |
|---|---|
| Deccan Plateau, Deccan Peninsula | |
 Deccan plateau (cyan) includes the Maharashtra plateau, Karnataka plateau and Telangana plateau. | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 600 m (2,000 ft)  |
| Coordinates | 15°N 77°E / 15°N 77°E |
| Naming | |
| Native name | |
The Deccan is a large plateau and region of the Indian subcontinent located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada River. To the north, it is bounded by the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges. It covers the modern-day Indian States of Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
A rocky terrain marked by boulders, its elevation ranges between 100 and 1,000 metres (330 and 3,280 ft), with an average of about 600 metres (2,000 ft).[1] It slopes generally eastward, and thus its principal rivers—the Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri (Cauvery)—flow eastward from the Western Ghats to the Bay of Bengal. The plateau is drier than the coastal region of southern India and is arid in places.
The Deccan plateau served as the core of many kingdoms in Indian history, including that of the Pallavas, the Satavahanas, the Vakatakas, the Chalukyas, the Rashtrakutas, the Kadambas, the Yadavas, the Kakatiyas, and the Musunuri Nayakas. In the later medieval era, the lower plateau was ruled by the Vijayanagar Empire, and the upper portion by the Bahmani Kingdom, and its successors, the Deccan sultanates. In the modern period, it housed the Maratha Confederacy, the Nizam's dominions and the Kingdom of Mysore.
- ^ Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica (2014), Deccan plateau India, Encyclopaedia Britannica Archived 29 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine