Deccan Traps
India's volcanic plateau
The Deccan Traps are a vast region of layered volcanic rock covering much of west-central India.
Formed by massive eruptions roughly 66 million years ago, these basalt flows rank among the largest volcanic features on Earth.
The eruptions may have contributed to the mass extinction that ended the dinosaurs.
The Deccan Traps cover an area larger than France.
- K-Pg boundaryGeological extinction horizon
- mass extinctionLarge-scale species elimination
- basaltFine-grained volcanic stone
- volcanic winterClimate cooling from eruption debris
- paleoclimatePast geological climate conditions
fissure · igneous rock · lava flows · volcanic plateau · radiometric dating · dinosaur extinction · geochronology · flows · steppes · paleoecology · Cretaceous period · dinosaurs · stratigraphy · layers · eruption · lava · flood basalt · ancient
- Eurasian GeographyHimalayas, Tibetan Plateau, Gobi Desert, Ganges River, Yangtze River
- Volcanic PlacesRing of Fire, Hawaii, Iceland, Indonesia, Yellowstone
- DeccanHyderabad, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Vijayanagara Empire
- Flood Basaltsflood basalt
- lava plainslava field, lava flow, flood basalt, volcanic plateau, Columbia Plateau
- mantle plumeshotspot, hotspots, upwelling, Hawaii, Hawaiian Islands
Deccan Trapsstratovolcano
Layered cone-shaped volcanic mountain
Mount Vesuvius · Mount St. Helens · Krakatoa · Mount Fuji · Plinian eruption
Deccan Trapsrecovery period
trap, trapped, traps, trapping, entrap, entrapment, entrapped, entrapping