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Geography of Bihar

Bihar is located in the eastern region[4] of India, between latitudes 24°20'10"N and 27°31'15"N and longitudes 83°19'50"E and 88°17'40"E. It is an entirely land–locked state, in a subtropical region of the temperate zone. Bihar lies between the humid West Bengal in the east and the sub humid Uttar Pradesh in the west, which provides it with a transitional position in respect of climate, economy and culture. It is bounded by Nepal in the north and by Jharkhand in the south. Bihar plain is divided into two unequal halves (North Bihar and South Bihar) by the river Ganges[5] which flows through the middle from west to east. Bihar's land has average elevation above sea level of 173 feet.

Geography of Bihar
Satellite Image of Bihar
ContinentAsia
RegionIndo-Gangetic plain, East India
Coordinates25°24′N 85°06′E / 25.4°N 85.1°E / 25.4; 85.1
Latitude :
24°-20'-10" N ~ 27°-31'-15" N
Longitude :
83°-19'-50" E ~ 88°-17'-40" E[1]
AreaRanked 13
 • Total94,163 km2 (36,357 sq mi)
Coastline0 km (0 mi)
BordersNorth Side – Nepal
South-East Side – West Bengal
West Side – Uttar Pradesh
South Side – Jharkhand
Highest pointSomeshwar Fort[2]
880 m (2,887 ft)
Longest riverGanges
ClimateA subtropical temperate zone with humid subtropical.[3]

Four seasons -
Winter
Summer (Pre-monsoon)
Rains (Monsoon)
Autumn (Post-monsoon)

Main article: Climate of Bihar
TerrainLarge central Bihar Plain - divided by the Ganges into two unequal part. Highlands and mountains of Shivalik Range in north-west with forest, low mountains and valleys in the mid-south, subtropical tropical laurel jungle in South-West Kaimur Range of Southern Plateau Region, intermittent hilly and mountainous regions in central South with few valleys.
Natural resourcesSteatite, Pyrites, Quartzite, Crude Mica, Limestone
Natural hazardsFloods

Physical and Structural Geography

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Main article: Physiographical Regions of Bihar

Bihar has three parts on the basis of physical and structural conditions: The Southern Plateau Region, Bihar's Gangetic Plain, and the Shivalik Region. [6] The Southern Plateau Region is located between Kaimur district in the West to Banka in the East. It is made up of hard rocks like gneiss, schist and granite. This region has many conical hills which are made up of batholim like Pretshil, Ramshila and Jethian hill. Bihar's Plain is located between the Southern Plateau and the Northern Mountains. It is bounded by the 150m contour line in the north as well as in the south. The vast stretch of fertile Bihar Plain is divided by the Ganges River into two unequal parts - North Bihar and the South Bihar.[7] Northern Bihar's Plain is located in East Champaran & West Champaran (Terai area with higher elevation), and plains of Samastipur, Begusarai, Saharsa and Katihar . Region is drained by Saryu, Gandak, Burhi Gandak, Bagmati, Kamla-Balan, Kosi and Mahananda and their tributaries. Southern Bihar's Plain is narrow than northern plain of Bihar and triangular in shape because many hills are located in this region such as hills of Gaya, Rajgir, Giriyak, Bihar Sharif, Sheikhpura, Jamalpur and Kharagpur hills. Third, Shivalik Region in sub-Himalayan foothills of Shivalik range's shadows the state from Northern part of West Champaran over an area 32 km long and 6–8 km wide. West Champaran district are clad in a belt of moist deciduous forest. As well as trees, this consists of scrub, grass and reeds.

Political geography

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Main article: Administration in Bihar

The state is divided into 9 divisions, 38 districts, 101 subdivisions and 534 circles.[8] 12 municipal corporations, 49 Nagar Parishads and 80 Nagar Panchayats for administrative purposes.[9][10][11][12][13]

Division Headquarters Districts District map of Bihar
Patna



Patna Bhojpur, Buxar, Kaimur, Patna, Rohtas, Nalanda  
Saran Chapra Saran, Siwan , Gopalganj
Tirhut Muzaffarpur East Champaran, Muzaffarpur, Sheohar, Sitamarhi, Vaishali, West Champaran
Purnia Purnia Araria, Katihar, Kishanganj, Purnia
Bhagalpur Bhagalpur Banka, Bhagalpur
Darbhanga Darbhanga Darbhanga, Madhubani, Samastipura
Kosi Saharsa Madhepura, Saharsa, Supaul
Magadh Gaya Arwal, Aurangabad, Gaya, Jehanabad, Nawada
Munger Munger Begusarai,Jamui, Khagaria, Munger, Lakhisarai, Sheikhpura


Geology

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Bihar is in Indo-Gangetic plain so naturally fertile soil is one asset of the state.[citation needed] Thus Indo-Gangetic plain's soil is the backbone of agricultural and industrial development. The Indo-Gangetic plain in Bihar consists of a thick alluvial mantle of drift origin overlying in most part, the siwalik and older tertiary rocks. The soil is mainly little young loam rejuvenated every year by constant deposition of silt, clay and sand brought by streams but mainly by floods in Bihar[14]

This soil is deficient in phosphoric acid, nitrogen and humus, but potash and lime are usually present in sufficient quantity.[citation needed] The most common soil in Bihar is Gangetic alluvium of Indo-Gangetic plain region, Piedmont Swamp Soil which is found in northwestern part of West Champaran district and Terai Soil which is found in eastern part of Bihar along the border of Nepal.[15] clay soil, sand soil and loamy soil are common in Bihar.[16]

Natural resources

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Bihar is mainly a vast stretch of very fertile flat land. It is drained by the Ganges River, including northern tributaries of other river. The Bihar plain is divided into two unequal halves by the river Ganges which flows through the middle from west to east. Other Ganges tributaries are the Son, Budhi Gandak, Chandan, Orhani and Phalgu. The Himalayas begin at foothills a short distance inside Nepal but influence Bihar's landforms, climate, hydrology and culture. Central parts of Bihar have some small hills, for example the Rajgir hills. The Himalayan Mountains are to the north of Bihar, in Nepal. To the south is the Chota Nagpur plateau, which was part of Bihar until 2000 but now is part of a separate state called Jharkhand.

Forest

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See also: Protected areas in Bihar

Bihar has notified forest area of 6,764.14 km2, which is 7.1 per cent of its geographical area.[17] The sub Himalayan foothill of Someshwar and Dun ranges in Champaran district another belt of moist deciduous forests. These also consists of shrub, grass and reeds. Here the rainfall is above 1,600 mm and thus promotes luxuriant Sal forests in the favoured areas. The hot and dry summer gives the deciduous forests. The most important trees are Shorea Robusta (Sal), Shisham, Cedrela Toona, Khair, and Semal. This type of forests also occurs in Saharsa district and Purnia district.[18]

Minerals

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Bihar is a producer of Steatite (945 tonnes), Pyrites (9,539 tonnes/year), Quartzite (14,865 tonnes/year), Crude Mica (53 tonnes/year), Limestone (4,78,000 tonnes/year). Bihar has also some good resource of Bauxite in Jamui district, Cement Mortar in Bhabhua, dolomite in Bhabhua, Glass sand in Bhabhua, Mica in Muzaffarpur, Nawada, Jamui, Gaya and salt in Gaya and Jamui, Uranium and Beryllium are found in Gaya District, Coal in Rajmahal Coalfield, Gold In Jamui. [19]

Water bodies

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River

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Waterfall

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Spring (hydrosphere)

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Lake

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Pond

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Dams & reservoirs

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Hills and Caves

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Hills

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Source:[20]

Caves

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Source:[21]

Natural hazards

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Above: River Map of Bihar Below: flooded farmlands in northern Bihar during the 2008 Bihar flood.

Flood

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Main article: Floods in Bihar
Total human deaths is 5874 and animal deaths is 19044 in Bihar due to floods between 1979–2006[22][23]

Bihar is India's most flood-prone state, with 76% of the population in the north Bihar living under the recurring threat of flood devastation.[24] According to some historical data, 16.5% of the total flood affected area in India is located in Bihar while 22.1% of the flood affected population in India lives in Bihar.[25] About 68,800 square kilometres (26,600 sq mi) out of total geographical area of 94,160 square kilometres (36,360 sq mi) comprising 73.06% is flood affected. Floods in Bihar are a recurring disaster which on an annual basis destroys thousands of human lives apart from livestock and assets worth millions.[24]

Drought & Famine

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See also: Bengal famine of 1770, Bihar famine of 1873–74, and Golghar

Climate

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Main article: Climate of Bihar

Bihar has cool winters, the lowest temperatures being around 0–10 degrees Celsius (33 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit). Winter months are December and January. It is hot in the summer with average highs around 35–45 Celsius ( 95–105 Fahrenheit). April to mid June are the hot months. The monsoon months of June, July, August, and September see good rainfall. October & November and February & March have cool, pleasant climate.

See also

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References and footnotes

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  1. ^ "State Profile". Archived from the original on 2009-04-09. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
  2. ^ Fort Someshwar, West Champaran district, Bihar
  3. ^ Singh, Pradyuman (19 January 2021). Bihar General Knowledge Digest. Prabhat Prakashan. ISBN 978-93-5266-769-7.
  4. ^ "GSI – Eastern Region". Geographical Survey of India, Government of India. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  5. ^ "Bihar Area". mapsofindia.com. Archived from the original on 24 June 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  6. ^ by (2017-12-20). "Geographical location of Bihar". Bihar PSC Exam Notes. Retrieved 2021-05-09.
  7. ^ "Geographical Structure of Bihar: Geology | Physiology | Plain |Plateau". Jagranjosh.com. 2020-12-10. Retrieved 2021-05-09.
  8. ^ "Indexing Gender Parity and Estimation of Child Marriage: A comprehensive study of 534 Blocks in Bihar". Business Standard India. 25 September 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-09-25.
  9. ^ "Bihar Civic elections likely in May 2017". Archived from the original on 2017-03-31.
  10. ^ "बिहार : नगर विकास एवं आवास विभाग की पहल, पुनर्गठन से नगर परिषदों की बढ़ जायेगी संख्या". Archived from the original on 2017-03-24.
  11. ^ "पहली बार कोई महिला बनेगी पटना नगर निगम की मेयर". Archived from the original on 2017-03-24.
  12. ^ "Ward delimitation begins in Chhapra". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 2017-02-27.
  13. ^ "छपरा को निगम बख्तियारपुर को मिला नगर परिषद का दर्जा". Archived from the original on 2017-03-24.
  14. ^ Das, K.K.L.; Das, K.N. (1981), "Alluvial Morphology of the North Bihar Plain – A study in applied geomorphology", in Sharma, Hari Shanker (ed.), Perspectives in geomorphology, vol. 4, New Delhi: Naurung Rai Concept Publishing Company, pp. 85 ff, retrieved April 9, 2011
  15. ^ Soil of Bihar Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ other common soil in Bihar Archived 2008-07-06 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ "State Profile". Gov. of India. Archived from the original on 2008-12-18.
  18. ^ "Forest in Bihar". Forest Ministry of Bihar. Archived from the original on 2009-04-10.
  19. ^ "Bihar Mineral Map, Mineral Resources of Bihar". Archived from the original on 2008-12-26. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
  20. ^ "Bihar". Archived from the original on 2021-02-26. Retrieved 2021-04-06.
  21. ^ "Bihar". Cpreecenvis.nic.in. 2020-08-28. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  22. ^ Disaster Management in Bihar Archived 2008-10-23 at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ Disaster Management in Bihar – Statistics Archived 2008-10-19 at the Wayback Machine
  24. ^ a b Flood Management Information System – History of Flood in Bihar Archived 2010-04-19 at the Wayback Machine
  25. ^ India Water Portal – Bihar Floods 2008 Archived 2009-02-01 at the Wayback Machine
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