38 ASIA 



and seamed by deep gorges, is less than 3,000 feet high. 

 It may be divided, broadly, into a north-west drier part 

 and a south-eastern portion where the rainless period only 

 extends over two or three months ; but the driest area 

 stretches in a belt at the foot of the western Ghats. 

 Much of the original character is still preserved in the 

 mixed woodlands of teak and other deciduous trees, which 

 however, do not form a continuous cover, but are inter- 

 mingled with large expanses of semi-arid scrub. Though 

 the Deccan is said to be destitute of true * caatinga ' forma- 

 tion similar to what exists in South America, Africa, 

 Australia, and Siam, it is evident that some of its deci- 

 duous jungles and woodlands, depending upon analogous 

 climatic conditions and offering the same vegetative 

 characters, may be classed under that type. The gorges, 

 which the rivers have cut for themselves below the level 

 of the plateau, are densely wooded. A large portion of 

 the dense and tall, drought-bare scrub is only new 

 growth consequent upon the destruction of forests, which 

 is natural in a country with a comparatively dense popu- 

 lation. Among the economic resources of the woodlands 

 are teak, sandal-wood and cedrela, the bastard cedar, 

 whilst cotton is extensively grown. 



The escarpment known as the eastern Ghats leads one 

 from the central plateau to the low and narrow coastal plain 

 of Coromandel. This is a dry and hot, sandy tract, mostly 

 covered with thickets of thorny evergreen shrubs, equiva- 

 lent to the * restinga ' formation of the Brazilian shores. 

 The evergreen jungle, however, gives way, at the deltas 

 of the main rivers, to fertile tracts which are suggestive 

 of oases. 



The west coast feels, to a much less degree, the 

 seasonal monsoon rhythm and the influence of the dry 

 season. The drought lasts less than two months and the 



