The Deccan Traps are a main cause of the special geography and geology of South India. They are a large igneous province on the Deccan Plateau of west-central India (between 17–24N, 73–74E) and one of the largest volcanic features on the planet. They consist of multiple layers of solidified flood basalt that are more than thick and cover an area of . The term 'trap', used in geology for such rock formations, is derived from the Dutch word for stairs, referring to the step-like hills forming the landscape of the region.