Maharashtra, Indiai

Regional Level Types
Maharashtra	State
India	Country

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Maharashtra is a state in western India, covering approximately 307,700 km², making it the second-largest state in India by area. It borders Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh to the north, Chhattisgarh to the east, Telangana and Karnataka to the south-east and south, Goa to the south-west, and the Arabian Sea to the west. The capital is Mumbai, India’s largest city and principal financial centre, while Pune, Nagpur, and Nashik are also major urban centres.

Geographically, Maharashtra displays strong regional contrasts. The western margin is dominated by the Konkan Coast, a narrow lowland strip along the Arabian Sea characterised by lateritic soils, estuaries, and short, steep rivers. Inland, the Western Ghats (Sahyadri Range) form a prominent escarpment rising abruptly from the coast and acting as a major climatic divide. East of the Ghats lies the extensive Deccan Plateau, a gently undulating upland dissected by broad river valleys. Major rivers include the Godavari, Bhima, Krishna, Tapi, and Wardha, most of which drain eastward or south-eastward. The climate is tropical monsoonal, with heavy rainfall along the coast and Ghats and progressively drier conditions inland.

Geologically, Maharashtra is dominated by the Deccan Traps, one of the world’s largest continental flood basalt provinces. These Late Cretaceous–Early Paleogene basaltic lava flows, locally exceeding 2 km in thickness, cover much of the state and form the bedrock of the Deccan Plateau. The basalts are typically layered, with intertrappean sedimentary horizons containing fossils and calcareous deposits. Along the eastern and northern margins, older Precambrian crystalline rocks of the Indian Shield are exposed, while the coastal Konkan region includes laterites, alluvial deposits, and locally younger sedimentary sequences. The Deccan Traps are tectonically stable but deeply weathered, strongly influencing soils and landforms.

Maharashtra’s mineral and extractive heritage is dominated by industrial minerals and construction materials rather than metallic ores. Important resources include limestone, dolomite, basalt, laterite, sand, and clay, widely used for cement, aggregates, and building stone. The state hosts significant coal deposits in the eastern Vidarbha region, notably in the Wardha Valley Coalfield, which supports power generation. Metallic mineralisation is limited but includes occurrences of manganese, iron ore, and bauxite in parts of Vidarbha and the Western Ghats. Maharashtra is also known for zeolite minerals, such as stilbite, heulandite, and scolecite, which occur in vesicles and fractures within the Deccan basalts and are internationally significant for mineral collectors.

Historically, Maharashtra has been a major political and cultural region, associated with the Maratha Empire from the 17th century onward. The area later came under British colonial rule, forming part of the Bombay Presidency. Following India’s independence in 1947, Maharashtra was established in its present form in 1960 after linguistic reorganisation. Its geology and coastal position have supported long-standing trade, urban development, and industrialisation.

Administratively, Maharashtra is divided into districts, grouped into revenue divisions. The state’s geological framework—dominated by the Deccan Traps and bordered by older shield rocks—makes it central to understanding large igneous provinces, continental volcanism, and the links between geology, soils, mineral resources, and settlement patterns across western and central India.

Commodity List

This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded from this region.

Mineral List

Mineral list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities

154 valid minerals. 2 erroneous literature entries.

Rock Types Recorded

Rock list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities