Indian and Chhattisgarh Geography
Indian and Chhattisgarh Geography tests physical features, drainage, climate and resource mapping, with a clear weightage for the state's own rivers, divisions and minerals.
India
- Latitudinal extent 8°4′N to 37°6′N; the Tropic of Cancer at 23.5°N passes through eight states, including Chhattisgarh.
- Physical divisions: Himalayas, Northern Plains, Peninsular Plateau, Coastal Plains, Islands.
- Southwest monsoon runs June to September; Mawsynram and Cherrapunji record the heaviest rainfall.
Chhattisgarh
- Located in central-east India, bordered by seven states: Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
- Three divisions: the Chhattisgarh Plains in the centre, the Bastar Plateau in the south, and the Northern Hills of Surguja, Jashpur and Korea.
- The Mahanadi rises near Sihawa in Dhamtari district and drains the central plains; other rivers are the Sheonath, Hasdeo, Arpa, Pairi, Jonk and the Indravati of Bastar.
- Forest cover is among the highest of any state, close to 44% of the geographical area.
- Mineral belt: iron ore at Bailadila in Dantewada, coal in Korba and Raigarh, plus bauxite, tin and limestone.
Worked example
Question: The Mahanadi originates in which district of Chhattisgarh? Reasoning: the river starts in the Sihawa hills of Dhamtari district, flows east across the Chhattisgarh plains into Odisha and reaches the Bay of Bengal. Raipur is a common wrong answer because it is the capital region. Answer: Dhamtari.
Traps
- Naming Raipur as the source of the Mahanadi.
- Mixing the Indravati, a Godavari tributary, with the Mahanadi system.
- Forgetting that Chhattisgarh sits on the Tropic of Cancer belt.