Abstract
The Indo-Gangetic Plains evolved as a consequence of filling up of a foredeep basin in front of the rising Siwalik Ranges. Earlier, the Siwalik foredeep had come into existence due to the flexing down of Indian plate following the collision of India with Asia (Lyon-Caen and Molnar 1985). This foredeep expanded and deepened as sedimentation proceeded progressively until the Late Quaternary 1.5–1.7 million years ago. This was the time when it broke up into two unequal parts along the fault known as the Himalayan Frontal Thrust (Fig. 22.1). The northern 25–45-km-wide part evolved to the rising Siwalik Ranges, and the southern 200–450-km-wide part became the subsiding basin (Valdiya 1998, 2001). This depression was filled up rapidly with sediments derived predominantly from the Himalaya and partly from the hills of the northern Peninsular India, eventually transforming the basin into vast plains known as the Indo-Gangetic Plains. It is 150–500 km wide and covers about 300,000 km2 area (Fig. 22.2) in northern India.
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Valdiya, K.S. (2016). Indo-Gangetic Plains: Evolution and Later Developments. In: The Making of India . Society of Earth Scientists Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-25029-8_22
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