6. The Deccan Trap

The Cretaceous system is a very widely distributed system in the country. The Gondwanaland developed fissures and its broken parts started drifting from each other. There was large scale upheaval of lava (basalt) from the interior of the Earth to form the Deccan Trap. The eruption of lava was of the Hawaiian or fissure type.This period is marked by the transgression of the sea (Narmada valley and Coromandal coast), and outpouring of huge quantity of basalt so as to form the Deccan Trap. There had been intrusions of the plutonic rocks such as gabbro and granite. The basalt ol the Deccan Trap is used for the construction of roads and buildings. Moreover, there are quartzites, agates and carnelians in the lava formations of the Deccan Plateau.