GEOMORPHOLOGY & SEDIMENTATION OF THE AREA AROUND HOMINID LOCALITY HATHNORA NARMADA RIFT VALLEY CENTRAL INDIA.

Narmada River originates at Amarkantak at an elevation of about 1057m above m.s.l. It descendeds from the mountainous tract traversing over a distance of 1280km across the middle of the Indian sub-continent to join the Gulf of Cambay, near Baroda in Gujrat state. The area of study around Homonid locality Hathnora forms the part of central sector of Narmada, it is bound by Vindhyachal in the north and Satpura range to the south; the area in between these two upland is found to be ideal locus of sedimentation as witnessed by the presence of Quaternary landscape and multicyclic sequence of Quaternary terraces in the valley.The general elevation of Narmada alluvial plain varies between 00.00 to 65.00 m in lower Narmada and 65.00 to 95.00 m in upper Narmada valley above the sea level. The general gradient of this plain in this stretch is about 1m /km towards west. The Narmada conspicuously has straight course is controlled by ENE_WSW to E_W lineament, is bounded by Vindhyan in the north and Satpura in the south it is exposed the repeated post erisional and depositional activities and subjected to anisotropic and asymmetric tectonic dislocation which has culminated diversified units and region which further undergone to process of tectonic evolution and chiseling of terrain by dynamic erosional and depositional activity resulting in and reshaping the terrain into various morphogenetic units and land form elements, re-configuration of drainage, topography, physiographic, erosional platform, planation surfaces, denudation ridges, structural units linear valleys, strike hills, valley gapes, escarpments and river terraces. The cumulative dynamics of structural deform, rinsing and sinking platform of Narmada has also manifested concealed cyclic mechanism of tectonics, seiesmicity, neosiesmic events and in surface manifestation. In addition the valley gapes and valley trenches provided ideal sites and platform for accumulation&sedimentation. The Narmada Rift valley formed a linear trench in the middle of Indian subcontinent was an ideal locus for accumulation of sediments.The rift trench is intruded by the dolerite and other mafic and siliceous dykes and sills along lineaments in different phases of Tectonic deformation. The Quaternary sedimentation incepting from glacial activity, followed by fluvio-glacial, lacustrine and fluvial phase within the rinsing and sinking environment, block, faulting, uplifting, isolated domal up- lift, Neogene rifting, Quaternary sedimentation, rift-bound Pliocene–Pleistocene rifting and volcanic activity specifically during glacial and fluvio-glacial phase are major component of the Quaternary period and tectonic processes of the Narmada Rift System which forms the base of quaternary deposits . The Quaternary events of the Narmada portys three prominent terraces and two sub terraces which are designated NT1 to NT3 and sub terraces NT2-A is NT2-B, NT2 B, besides NT2-C, NT3-A & NT3-B besides NT-0 in the valley. They have been designed NTO to NT3, ( 280 to 400 m ), NTO being the low level terrace above the present-day course of the river, NT1-the younger terrace both of cyclic ad o cyclic nature. The NT3 terrace occurs as elongated strip and isolated caps and lenses along the margin of valley flanks has divergent relative disposition. These land forms indicate vigorous and abrupt incision of valley floor due to relatively & repaid uplift of watershed area during Upper Pleistocene time. The NT1to NT2 are the major depositional terrace and have both convergent & divergent mutual disposition with other terrace. These terraces further downstream have matched equivalents along the valley flanks, whereas in the up stream section the matched equivalents are rare. The conspicuous divergent relation of these terraces the valley reveals successive uplift of catchments area and consequential incision of valley floor and adjustment of base level of Narmada during Upper Pleistocene time. The sequence of quaternary dposits depicts cyclic transitional environmental of the rift basins are caused by tectonic activities (uplift and subsidence), changes in relief, and climatic variations. The climatic changes in uplift, coupled with block faulting, rinsing and sinking platform, created basins unstable platform for the accumulations of thick lacustrine and fluvial sediments sequences with terrestrial and aquatic fossils.The evidence of the effects of tectonics on fauna and flora are distinct and its signatures on dislocation and concealing of fossiliferous horizons are uncontrolled and ill defined in the ecosystem in the valley during the Pliocene–Pleistocene periods. The boulder conglomerate which yielded the skull cap of Homo eructs in Narmada rift from Hathnora Sonakia (1984) remainedonly discovery of hominid fossil in last two and half decade due inconsistency and concealed nature of fosilifrous horizon due faulting, and subsidence of Quaternary blanket of Narmada rift system as such researcher and scientist failed to add any further knowledge to hominid discovery.in Narmada valley...