Here is Question No. 14 a part of our series on UPSC Prelims 2021.
Q14. The black cotton soil of India has been formed due to the weathering of
a) brown forest soil b) fissure volcanic rock c) granite and schist d) shale and limestone
Answer: (b)
Black Cotton Soil
Black soils are derivatives of Deccan trap lava and are spread mostly across interior Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh on the Deccan lava plateau and the Malwa Plateau, where there is moderate rainfall and underlying basaltic rock.
Black soil in India is formed by the weathering of fissure volcanic rock.
The Deccan trap, which is the source of the black soils is a basaltic province formed during the hot spot volcanism when the Indian plate was above the Reunion island about 66 million years ago.
Climatic condition along with the parent rock material is an important factor for the formation of black soil. Black soils are spread mostly across interior Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh on the Deccan lava plateau and the Malwa Plateau, where there is both moderate rainfall and underlying basaltic rock. These soils are also known as the ‘Regur Soil’ or the ‘Black Cotton Soil’.
