File:Flowers valley of Kaas Plateu,Satara,India.jpg

English: *Kaas Plateau, is a heavenly plateau in Satara District Maharastra State, India.

• The Kaas Plateau also known as the "Kaas Pathar" is a plateau situated 25 kilometres from Satara in Maharashtra, India.It falls under the Sahyadri Sub Cluster of the Western Ghats which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a biodiversity hotspot known for various types of wild flowers which bloom annually in the months of August and September. The plateau is situated at an altitude of 1200 metres and is approximately 1,000 hectares in area.[citation needed] Kaas has more than 850 different species of flowering plants of which 624 are listed on the IUCN Red List. These include orchids, shrubs such as the Karvy, and carnivorous plants such as Drosera Indica.

• Formation of plateau

Plateaus can be formed by a number of processes, including upwelling of volcanic magma, extrusion of lava, and erosion by water and glaciers. Magma rises from the mantle causing the ground to swell upward, in this way large, flat areas of rock are uplifted. Plateaus can also be built up by lava spreading outward from cracks and weak areas in the crust. Plateaus can also be formed by the erosional processes of glaciers on mountain ranges, leaving them sitting between the mountain ranges. Water can also erode mountains and other landforms down into plateaus. Computer modeling studies suggest that high plateaus may also be partially a result from the feedback between tectonic deformation and dry climatic conditions created at the lee side of growing orogens.To control possible damage by common tourist, Government Departments have restricted the number of visitors to 2,000 per day.

• Geography

Kaas plateau is a plateau located around 25 km from Satara. There are two ways to reach Kaas. one the more direct way from Satara and another from Tapola via the link road connecting Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani to Kas Pathar. The link road facilitates tourists in staying in Tapola or Mahabaleshwar after visiting Kas Pathar rather than the Satara town or cutting the weekend picnic short and making it a one-day weekend picnic. Kas plateau is 20 km away from Northern part of Koyana Sanctuary. The major portion of the plateau is reserve Forest. Kaas lake (built 100 years ago) is a perennial source of Water supply for western part of Satara city by gravity. The flora of Kaas are around the locality of that area. The plateau is largely formed of basalt which is directly exposed to atmosphere. The basalt rock is covered by a thin cover of soil formed due to erosion and has accumulated a layer of not more than an inch or so. This soil is neither black nor lateritic. At certain places water gets accumulated because of uneven surface. The plants growing on Kas plateau are typically of herbaceous nature of like grasses. The small shrubs and trees are located at the periphery of the plateau at Kaas plateau.

The various distances of Kas plateau are as follows:

   From Satara - 25 km
   From Pune - 125 km
   From Mumbai - 280 km
   From Kolhapur - 150 km

• Bio-diversity on Kaas plateau

Kaas Plateau is rich in its Bio-diversity. Many species are observed on plateau which are new to the Botanical Science. Many of the endemic, endangered plants are found on Plateau. More than 850 species of flowering plants are reported on the plateau. 624 species have entered in the Red Data Book. Out of these 624 species, 39 are found only in Kaas Region.

• Flowers

The following is a list of some of the flowers found on at Kaas:

   Adenoon indicum (local name mothi sonaki)
   Aerids maculosum
   Aponogeton satarensis (local name Vaytura)
   Arisaema murrayi (local name Pandhara Sapkanda)
   Begonia crenata
   Ceropegia jainii (local name Somada)
   Ceropegia vincaefolia (local name Kandilpushpa/ Kandil kharchudi- कंदिल खर्चुडी)
   Ceropegia media
   Chlorophytum glaucoides (local name Musali)
   Cyanotis tuberosa (local name Abhali)
   Dendrobium barbatulum (Bharangee)
   Dioscorea bulbifera (local name dukkar kanda)
   Dipcadi montanum (Deepkadee)
   Drosera burmanni (local name Davbindu)
   Drosera indica (local name Gavati Davbindu - गवती दवबिंदू)
   Elaeocarpus glandulosus (local name Kaasa)
   Exacum tetragonum (local name Udi chirayat)
   Flemingia nilgheriensis
   Habenaria grandifloriformis
   Habenaria heyneana (local name toothbrush Orchid)
   Habenaria longicorniculata
   Habenaria panchagnesis
   Hitchenia caulina (local name Chavar)
   Impatiens oppositifolia
   Ipomoea barlerioides
   Linum mysurense (local name Undri)
   Memecylon umbellatum (local name Anjani)
   Murdannia lanuginosa (local name Abolima)
   Murdannia simplex (local name Nilima)
   Nymphoides indicum (local name Kumudini)
   Oberonia recurva
   Paracaryopsis coelestina (local name Nisurdi)
   Paracaryopsis malbarica (local name Kali Nisurdi)
   Pinda concanensis (local name Pinda)
   Pogostemon deccanensis
   Rotala fimbriata
   Rotala ritchiei (local name Paner)
   Senecio bombyensis (local name Sonki)
   Senecio grahami / bombayensis (Sonakee - सोनकी)
   Smithia agharkarii
   Smithia hirsute / hirsuta (local name Kavala - कवळा)
   Trichosanthes tricuspidata (local name Kondal)
   Utricularia purpurascens (Seetechee aasawe - सीतेची आसवे)
   Vigna vexillata (local name Halunda)

Wild Brinjal flower (kaaTe ringaNii - काटे रिंगणी)