THE PALAEOTROPK - 179 



for the beautiful Jain temple-. Mt. Abu is often visited by tourif 

 in northern India. 



The Western Ghats rise from the western coast in a series of 

 terraces. The highest point is 4,700 feet above the sea. From tin 1 

 eastern edge of the Ghats, the plateau slopes gradually to the I 

 elevated Eastern Ghats, the two border ranges uniting a1 the south 

 in the Nilgiri Hills, with an extreme elevation of 8,700 feet. The 

 enclosed Deccan plateau, with an elevation of from 1,000 to 3,000 

 feet, is occupied by the Central Provinces. 



The southern point of the Peninsula has mountains along the 

 coast, continuing the Western Ghats; but the eastern side is 

 nearly level with only isolated ranges of low hill-. 



Separated from the extreme southern point of the Indian 

 Peninsula, by only about 50 miles, is the Island of Ceylon. 



The Indus Plaix 



The northwestern plains of India traversed by the Indus, are a 

 continuation of the great desert stretching from Egypt through 

 Arabia and Mesopotamia. Excessively hot in summer, with 

 relatively cold winter, the whole region is too arid for agriculture, 

 except where irrigation is available. Some parts of this region are 

 practically rainless. 



The scanty vegetation is very uniform throughout, and in 

 northwest India the vegetation is much the same as in the desert 

 regions to the west. Thorny Acacias (A. Arabica), a poplar 

 (Populus Euphratica) and wild figs grow along the streams, 

 tamarisk and jujube (Zizyphus sp.), sl leafless caper (Capparis 

 aphylla), and various shrubby Leguminosae are the most important 

 elements of the flora. 



The northwest provinces get very little rain from the south weM 

 monsoon, which is deflected to the east by the mountain- t<» the 

 south. This whole region is dependent upon the Indus, which 

 furnishes water for irrigation, but apparently the flow of the river 

 has diminished since ancient times. 



The original flora of the great alluvial plains of the Punjab and 

 Bengal has long since disappeared before the intense cultivation 

 of the land for ages by the dense population, and the whole region 

 is practically destitute of any indigenous forest formation-. < hily 



