Satpura Range

hills, India

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Satpura Range, range of hills, part of the Deccan plateau, western India. The hills stretch for some 560 miles (900 km) across the widest part of peninsular India, through Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh states. The range, the name of which means “Seven Folds,” forms the watershed between the Narmada (north) and Tapti (south) rivers. With peaks more than 4,000 feet (1,200 metres) high, the Satpura Range includes the Mahadeo Hills to the north, the Maikala Range to the east, and the Rajpipla Hills to the west.

Although it is economically poor, the Satpura Range contains some worked manganese and coal deposits in its southeastern flanks. It is largely forested, dissected plateau country, and it contains valuable teak stands in the west. In the upper Wainganga and Pench valleys of the Mahadeo Hills, there is some agriculture; on the higher hills, Gond hill tribes practice jhum cultivation (burning, planting, and moving on). In Madhya Pradesh, Pachmarhi is a resort town and Chhindwara is a city.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Michele Metych.