THE VINDHYAN SYSTEM

The Vindhyan System derives its name from the Vindhyan Mountain. This mountain forms a dividing line between the Ganga Plain and the Deccan Plateau. The system covers an extensive area of 103,600 sq km from Chittorgarh in Rajasthan to Sasaram in Bihar. It has enormous sedimentary deposits and at places their depth is more than 4000 metres. In some tracts, the Vindhyan rocks are buried under Deccan lava. The Great Boundary Fault (GBF) separates the Vindhyan System from the Aravallis for a distance of about eight hundred km (Fig. 1.4).

The Vindhyan system is well known for red-sandstone, sandstone, building material, ornamental stone, conglomerates, diamondiferous and raw materials for cement, lime, glass and chemical industries. In certain places these rocks yield inferior quality of iron ore and manganese. The well known diamond mines of Panna and Golc.onda lie in the Vindhyan System. The historical buildings of Qutab Minar, I lumayun’s Tomb, Fatehpur Sikri, Agra Fort, Red Fort, Jama- Masjid, Birla Mandir, the Buddhist Stupa of Sanchi, etc. have been constructed from the red-sandstone obtained from the Vindhyan Ranges. Coarser sandstones have been used as grindstones and millstones.