Aravalli Range

Also called: Aravallis, Aravali range, Aravalli · Topic: Structure and Physiography of India: Himalayas, Plains, Peninsula, Coasts and Islands · NCERT: Class 6, Ch 3 "Landforms and Life"; Class 7, Ch 1 "Geographical Diversity of India"; Class 11, Ch 2 "Structure and Physiography"; Class 11, Ch 3 "Drainage System"; Class 11, Ch 4 "Climate"

Meaning

The Aravalli Range is one of the oldest fold mountains in the world, about 2.5 billion years old. Erosion has worn it down into a low relict range, meaning only the stump of a once-high mountain is left. It runs about 700 km from south-west to north-east, through Gujarat → Rajasthan → Haryana → Delhi, and ends as the Delhi ridge. Its highest point is Guru Shikhar (about 1,722 m), near Mount Abu in Rajasthan.

It matters for three reasons. It is the western boundary of the Central Highlands and marks the north-western limit of the Peninsular Plateau. It holds back the Thar desert from the Ganga plains. Mining, the Green Wall and the Supreme Court's definition dispute keep it in the news.

Explanation

How it formed and why it is so low

• It began as a fold mountain.
• Fold mountain: a range made when layers of rock are squeezed and bent upward.

• The Aravallis are part of the ancient Archaean Peninsular block. These rocks formed more than 2.5 billion years ago, and the block was once part of Gondwana.

• Then it was worn down for billions of years.

• Wind, rain and rivers slowly wore the peaks away.
• Most hills today are only 300–900 m high.

• A few higher peaks still stand. Guru Shikhar (~1,722 m) is the highest.

• The result is a relict range.

• It is a low, broken line of hills, not one tall, unbroken wall.
• The low Delhi ridge at its northern tip is the last rocky part.

Its parts and rocks

• Southern end: it starts in Gujarat and rises highest in the Mount Abu area of Rajasthan.
• Middle: it runs through Rajasthan, where hills carry forts such as Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh and Ranthambore.
• Northern end: it runs through Haryana into Delhi as the Delhi ridge.
• Rocks and minerals: it has metamorphic rocks, which are rocks changed by great heat and pressure. It also has deposits of marble, granite, zinc and copper.
• At Zawar (near Udaipur), old mines show that Indians first learned to extract zinc more than eight centuries ago.

What it does: barrier, water divide and climate

• Desert barrier.
• The range stops the Thar desert from spreading east into the Ganga plains.

• The Supreme Court (December 2025) called the Aravallis the "green lungs" of north-western India. It also called them the main barrier between the dry north-western desert and the fertile northern plains [2].

• River source.

• On the east side, the Banas rises in the Aravallis. It is the only significant tributary of the Chambal.

• On the west side, the Luni rises in the Aravallis and flows south-west towards the Rann of Kutch.

• Rain shadow effect (textbook climate fact).

• The range runs parallel to the Arabian Sea branch of the south-west monsoon.
• So moist winds blow along it instead of hitting it and being pushed up.
• Without that upward push, little rain falls. This is one reason western Rajasthan stays dry.

The problem today: mining gaps

• Illegal mining cuts away hills.
• This opens gaps in the range.
• Dusty winds from the Thar blow through these gaps, so Delhi-NCR and the plains get more dust storms.
• Losing forest also means less rainwater soaks down to refill groundwater.

Where it occurs

• States: Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi. It runs about 700 km from south-west to north-east.
• Highest point: Guru Shikhar, near Mount Abu, Rajasthan (~1,722 m).
• Northern tip: the Delhi ridge in Delhi. This is the north-western limit of the Peninsular Plateau.
• Mines: Zawar, near Udaipur, Rajasthan, for ancient zinc.
• Forts on Aravalli hills: Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh and Ranthambore, all in Rajasthan.
• Rivers that rise here: the Banas, which flows east and north-east to the Chambal, and the Luni, which flows west.
• Aravalli Green Wall Project:
• Run by MoEFCC and launched in March 2023.
• It aims to green a 5 km buffer around the range.
• It covers 29 districts in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat [3].

• The Detailed Action Plan for Aravalli Landscape Restoration (2025) plans to restore about 6.31 million hectares over 2025–2034. It covers forest restoration, grassland revival and repair of old mine land. Funds come from CAMPA, MGNREGS and the Green India Mission [4].

• Supreme Court case (status as of 2026):

• The Court has heard Aravalli mining cases since 2002. Each state used its own definition of the Aravallis [2].
• 9 May 2024: the Court ordered a committee to frame a uniform definition. The committee had MoEFCC, the four states, FSI, GSI and CEC [2].
• Committee report (3 October 2025):
  • Aravalli Hill: a landform in the Aravalli districts that rises 100 m or more above local relief. Local relief is measured from the lowest contour line around the landform [2].
  • Aravalli Range: two or more such hills within 500 m of each other [2].
  • Rajasthan had used this 100 m rule since 9 January 2006. The rule came from a 2002 committee report based on the Richard Murphy landform classification [6].
• 20 November 2025: the Court accepted this definition. It also stopped new mining leases until MoEFCC, through ICFRE, prepares a Management Plan for Sustainable Mining (MPSM) [2][6].
• 29 December 2025: the Court put that judgment and the definition in abeyance, meaning on hold [2].
  • The worry was that only 1,048 of 12,081 Rajasthan hills met the 100 m test, so lower hills could lose protection [2].
  • The Court proposed a High-Powered Expert Committee to review the definition [2].
  • Until further orders, no new or renewed mining leases are allowed in the Aravallis as defined in the FSI report of 25 August 2010, unless the Court permits it [2].

Don't confuse with

• Himalayas: also fold mountains, but young. They formed in the Tertiary period, so they are still high and rising. The Aravallis are ancient (Archaean) and worn down.
• Vindhyan range: an escarpment, meaning a long, steep, cliff-like slope, north of the Narmada rift. It is the traditional north–south India divide, and the Betwa and Ken rise there. It is not the western boundary of the Central Highlands. That boundary is the Aravallis.
• Satpura range: a relict range of scarped block plateaus between the Narmada and the Tapi. Its highest point is Dhupgarh (~1,350 m). It is not a fold range like the Aravallis, and it is lower than Guru Shikhar.
• Chambal's source: the Chambal rises near Mhow on the Malwa plateau, not in the Aravallis. Only its tributary the Banas rises in the Aravallis.

Prelims Hooks

• Highest peak: Guru Shikhar (~1,722 m), near Mount Abu, Rajasthan. Order: Guru Shikhar > Parasnath (~1,365 m) > Dhupgarh (~1,350 m).
• Delhi ridge = the northern tip of the Aravallis and the north-western limit of the Peninsular Plateau.
• Aravallis = western boundary of the Central Highlands. The Satpura is the southern boundary, and the Rajmahal hills are the eastern boundary.
• Zawar (near Udaipur) = ancient zinc mines, more than eight centuries old.
• Aravalli Green Wall: 5 km buffer, 29 districts, four states (Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat), launched March 2023 by MoEFCC [3].
• SC definition: 100 m above local relief = Aravalli Hill. Two or more hills within 500 m = Aravalli Range. Accepted 20 November 2025, put in abeyance 29 December 2025 [2].

Mains Points

• Natural barrier under threat (GS-I/III):
• The Aravallis hold back the Thar, supply rivers like the Banas, and help refill groundwater.
• Mining gaps let desert dust reach Delhi-NCR and reduce forest and groundwater recharge.

• Responses include the Green Wall (2023) and the 2025 restoration plan for 6.31 million ha, both linked to India's fight against land degradation and desertification (land turning dry and unproductive) [3][4][5].

• Definition decides protection (GS-III, governance):

• Under the 100 m rule, only 1,048 of 12,081 Rajasthan hills qualify, so most low hills could lose protection.
• The Court has put the rule on hold, stopped new or renewed leases without its permission, and proposed an expert review [2].

• Lesson: a technical measure such as height above local relief can decide what nature gets protected. A scientific definition that covers the whole range is needed.

• Physiography shapes climate and settlement (GS-I):

• The range runs parallel to the Arabian Sea monsoon winds, so western Rajasthan gets little rain.
• Its old rocks give marble, granite, zinc and copper, which support mining, from Zawar's early zinc mines to today's quarries.
• Its hills gave strong defensive sites, such as the Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh and Ranthambore forts.

Related concepts

• Peninsular Plateau
• Patland plateau
• Chambal ravines
• Central Highlands
• Delhi ridge
• Malwa plateau
• Vindhyan range
• Satpura range
• Maikal range
• Gir range

Read more

• The Peninsular Plateau and the Central Highlands