Regional Geography of Bangladesh
Core concepts
Bangladesh geography rewards systematic physical-human linkage. Know the physiographic divisions: Tertiary hills (Chittagong, Chittagong Hill Tracts, Sylhet), Pleistocene uplifted terraces (Madhupur and Barind tracts), and the vast Holocene deltaic plains, plus the estuarine and coastal belt. Understand the drainage system: the Ganges-Padma, Brahmaputra-Jamuna, Meghna and their distributaries, and the role of the Ganges-Kobadak and Teesta systems. Rivers are braided and shifting; the Jamuna has migrated westward historically. Climate is tropical monsoon with three seasons, high humidity, and cyclone exposure in the coastal belt. Population distribution is densest in the deltaic plains; urban primacy centres on Dhaka. Agriculture is rice-dominant with jute, tea (Sylhet), shrimp (Khulna-Bagerhat) and horticulture. Administrative geography includes eight divisions and sixty-four districts. Coastal hazards include cyclones, storm surge, salinity intrusion, and riverbank erosion.
Traps
Do not call the Madhupur Tract a floodplain: it is an uplifted Pleistocene terrace. The Sundarbans is tidal halophytic forest, not tropical evergreen. A frequent error is placing tea in the Barind or jute in the Chittagong Hills. Also distinguish storm surge from tidal bore and note that the Meghna estuary receives combined Ganges-Brahmaputra flow.
Worked example
Why does Sylhet receive more rain than Rajshahi? Rule of thumb: moisture source plus orographic barrier. Sylhet lies on the path of the Bay branch of the monsoon and faces the Meghalaya-Sylhet hills, forcing ascent and heavy orographic rain; Rajshahi lies in the lee of the Barind and western plain, receiving less monsoon rainfall and experiencing greater drought risk.