Marble Rocks and Dhuandhar Falls
Topic: Drainage System of India: Rivers, Basins and Patterns · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 3 "Drainage System"
Meaning
At Bhedaghat near Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, the Narmada has cut a narrow gorge (a deep valley with steep sides) through cliffs of white marble. These cliffs are called the Marble Rocks. Nearby the river drops about 30 m at Dhuandhar Falls. "Dhuandhar" means "smoke-mist", after the cloud of spray the falling water throws up. The site shows how a river with a steep fall can cut down through hard rock.
Example
At Bhedaghat, boats carry visitors between marble walls that rise straight out of the Narmada. Just upstream, Dhuandhar Falls sends up its misty spray. Below this stretch the river continues west through its rift valley between the Vindhyas and the Satpura.
Don't confuse with
- Jog Falls: this is a much higher plunge of about 253 m on the Sharavati in Karnataka. Dhuandhar is famous for its spray and its marble gorge, not its height.
Related concepts
- Narmada river
- Tapi river
- Narmada and Tapi as west-flowing rivers
- West-flowing rivers of the Peninsula
- Jog Falls
- Luni river
- Inland drainage