MAIKALA RANGE

mountain range in Madhya Pradesh state, central India, running in a north-south direction and forming the eastern base of the triangular Satpura Range. The Maikala Range consists of laterite-capped, flat-topped plateaus (pats) with an elevation of from 2,000 feet (600 m) to 3,000 feet (900 m). The Satpura-Maikala watershed is the second largest in India. The Narmada, Son, Pandu, Kanhar, Rihand, Bijul, Gopad, and Banas rivers run almost parallel from south to north and have carved extensive basins in the relatively soft rock formations of the Maikala Range. Vegetation varies from grass and thorny trees to deciduous trees such as teak and sal (Shorea). Agriculture, the principal economic activity, is practiced mostly in the alluvial basins; crops include rice, wheat, gram (chick-pea), jowar (sorghum), barley, corn (maize), pulse (legumes), sesame seeds, and mustard seeds. Industries produce cement, ceramics, bricks, tiles, glass, dressed stone, lumber, and shellac; flour, dal (pigeon-pea), and oil are milled. Mineral deposits include coal, limestone, bauxite, corundum, dolomite, marble, slate, and sandstone. The principal ethnic groups are the Gonds (numerically and historically the most important), Halbas, Bharais, Baigas, and Korkus. The chief towns are Balaghat, Mandla, Nainpur, and Dindori. A fort at Mandla (the capital of the Gond kings), a palace at Ramnagar, and Kanha National Park are places of interest.