Geography of Rajasthan |
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Rajasthan, lying between 23°30' and 30°11'North latitudes and 69° 29' and 78 ° 17' East longitudes at the northwestern part of India is one of the biggest states in the country. The state shares its north-western and western boundary with the Indo-Pakistan international border that extends about 1,070 km and touches the major districts Barmer, Bikaner, Ganganagar and Jaisalmer. Rajasthan is edged by Pakistan in the west and northwest, the states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana in the north and northeast. The state of Madhya Pradesh lies in the southeast and Gujrat in the southwest. The Tropic of Cancer passes across the southern point of the state in the Banswara district. The capital city of Rajasthan is Jaipur.
Rajasthan has an area of 3, 42,239sq.km comprising of the 11% of the total geographical area of India. The extensive topography includes rocky terrain, rolling sand dunes, wetlands, barren tracts or land filled with thorny scrubs, river-drained plains, plateaus, ravines and wooded regions .A massive portion of the state of Rajasthan( about 70% of total landmass) is desiccated and encloses the biggest Indian desert- the Thar Desert known as the 'Maru-kantar'. This desert region embraces the districts of Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bikaner and Jodhpur.
Rajasthan is the largest state of India. The land of Rajasthan is basically defined as a desert but there is more to Rajasthan. What the tourists may not know is that Rajasthan is also surrounded by the Aravalli Hills runs across the state stretching from Mount Abu in the southwest to Kota and Bundi in the east. Thus the landscape of the land is blessed with a diverse geography. On the west and north-west the state is bounded by Pakistan and Punjab; in south by Haryana; in the east by Uttar Pradesh; Madhya Pradesh in the east and south-east and Gujarat in the south and south-west.
The Aravalli ranges in Rajasthan are the oldest chain of mountains in the world. On an average basis the altitude of the state varies from 100-350 meters but in some places the height can reach over 750 meters high. In the southern part of the state the average elevation is higher and the hilly area here is known as Mewar. The mighty Thar Desert lies in the northwest Rajasthan. The desert is famous worldwide for its shifting sand dunes. Jaisalmer and Bikaner are important settlements on routes to the west whereas Jodhpur lies on the edge of this arid zone. This zone also comprise of the northwest region of Barmer, the western part of Nagaur and Churu districts and the southern section of Ganganagar district. The neighboring state of Gujarat also lies in the Thar Desert region.
The landscape of Rajasthan can also be divided into semi arid zone that extends from the Aravallis in the west. This zone includes parts of the Shekhawati and the Luni River basin. At the eastern part of Rajasthan lie the states of Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. This part of the land has fertile plateaus that include regions like Bharatpur, Kota and Bundi. These places are intensively cultivated. Several districts of Rajasthan are part of the Mewar plain area. Bhilwara, Bundi, Tonk, Sawai Madliopur, Dholpur, Ajmer and Jaipur lie in the Mewar area.
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