Aeolian Geomorphology of the Punjab Plains and the North Indian Desert

Abstract

The geomorphology of Punjab plains and the northern Indian Desert indicates a distinct aeolian effect. The present paper is a study of its sequential evolution in geological time scale. The paleosand dunes were formed during the arid phase of late pleistocene and the Paleosols on the paloedune indicate a wet phase during 3,700-10,000 y B.P. The Sutlej River had cut down deeply into the alluvial upland around 3,700 y B.P. in the dry phase and the sand dunes and desert loess were fairly fixed. The human impact during the 19th century has since influenced the present morphology of these regions.