Sahyadri Range or Western Ghats of India

Mountain Pictures Mountain Pictures

The Sahyadri Range or Western Ghats are a mountain range that runs down the West Coast of India.

The name Ghats means stair steps, and literally translated, the tern Western Ghats refers to the stair step look of the mountains that connect India's West Coast to the Deccan Plateau of central India.

While the Sahyadri are called mountains, geologically their formation runs opposite of the Himalayas, caused not by the meeting of two tectonic plates, but rather by the separation of the Indian and Madagascar plates around ninety million years ago (the time frame varies depending on the source).

Geologically, the mountains represent the broken edge of the Deccan Plateau, with their stair step appearance a result of erosion processes.

Conservation International has designated the area as one of the world's biodiversity hot spots. The picture shows a farm at Mahabaleshwar, India, with the Sahyadri range in the background (courtesy of R. A.).

© 2009 Patricia A. Michaels