Pariksha SaathiLesson 4 of 10 · Uttar Pradesh General Knowledge
Geography of Uttar Pradesh: Location, Borders and Physiography
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Location and size
Uttar Pradesh lies in northern India, in the middle part of the Ganga basin, roughly between 24°N and 30°N latitude and between 77°E and 84°E longitude. Its southernmost point lies just north of the Tropic of Cancer, so the Tropic does not pass through the state, while the 82.5°E meridian used for Indian Standard Time passes near Mirzapur. With an area of 2,40,928 square kilometres, about 7.33 per cent of India, it is the fourth largest state after Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra; it was bigger before Uttarakhand was separated in 2000. By the Census 2011 it is the most populous state, with 19.98 crore people (about 16.5 per cent of India) and a density of 829 persons per square kilometre.
Borders
Uttar Pradesh has an international border with Nepal along its northern districts, from Pilibhit and Lakhimpur Kheri through Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur and Siddharthnagar to Maharajganj. It touches more Indian states than any other state: Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh in the north-west, Haryana and the National Capital Territory of Delhi in the west, Rajasthan in the south-west, Madhya Pradesh in the south, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand in the south-east, and Bihar in the east, that is eight states and one union territory. Madhya Pradesh shares the longest boundary, while Himachal Pradesh touches only Saharanpur district. Sonbhadra is the one district that borders four states (Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar). Among the extreme districts, Saharanpur is the northernmost, Sonbhadra the southernmost and Ballia the easternmost.
The three physical regions
The relief falls into three parts. In the north is a narrow strip at the foot of the Himalaya, in the middle the great Gangetic plain covering roughly three-quarters of the state, and in the south the old rocks of the peninsular plateau in Bundelkhand and the Vindhyan hills. The northern strip begins with a small part of the Shivalik hills in Saharanpur. Below them lies the Bhabar, a porous belt of boulders and gravel where small streams sink underground, and then the Terai, a low, marshy, badly drained belt where the water comes up again, once covered with tall grass and sal forest. Most of the Bhabar went to Uttarakhand in 2000, but the Terai still runs along the Nepal border through Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Siddharthnagar and Maharajganj.
The Gangetic plain
The plain is built of alluvium brought down by Himalayan rivers and is among the most fertile and densely settled lands in the world. It slopes very gently from north-west to south-east, which is why the Ganga and its tributaries flow in that direction. Two kinds of alluvium are distinguished: bhangar, the older alluvium on higher ground above flood level, often with kankar (lime nodules), and khadar, the new alluvium of the flood plains, renewed by floods and more fertile. Other features are bhur, sandy patches and low dunes along the Ganga in the upper Doab and Rohilkhand; usar or reh, barren saline and alkaline patches; oxbow lakes and tals left by meandering rivers; and the ravines (beehad) of the Yamuna and Chambal around Agra, Etawah and Jalaun. By culture and history the plain is divided into the Doab between the Ganga and Yamuna, Rohilkhand to the north-east of the Ganga, Awadh in the centre and Purvanchal in the east.
The southern plateau
South of the Yamuna and the Ganga the land rises into the northern edge of the peninsular plateau. In the south-west is Bundelkhand (Jhansi, Lalitpur, Jalaun, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Banda and Chitrakoot), an undulating upland of very old granite and gneiss with scattered rocky hills and thin soils, drained northwards towards the Yamuna by the Betwa, its tributary the Dhasan, and the Ken. In the south-east the Vindhyan range, with its sandstone scarps, and the Kaimur hills extend through Prayagraj, Mirzapur, Chandauli and Sonbhadra, where the Son flows in a valley south of the Kaimur. The plateau is drier than the plain and holds most of the state's forests, minerals and waterfalls, such as Wyndham Falls near Mirzapur and Rajdari and Devdari in Chandauli.
Highest and lowest land
Because almost the whole state is plain, its relief is low. The highest ground lies at the edges, in the Shivalik foothills of Saharanpur in the north-west and in the plateau hills of the south. The lowest land is in the east, along the Ganga and Ghaghara around Ghazipur and Ballia, before the rivers pass into Bihar. This explains a pattern that exams often test: floods are most frequent in the low-lying eastern and Terai districts, while Bundelkhand in the south-west is the most drought-prone part of the state.
Key facts
- Area 2,40,928 sq km (about 7.33% of India): fourth largest state after Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
- Census 2011: population 19.98 crore (about 16.5% of India), the most populous state; density 829 persons per sq km.
- The Tropic of Cancer does not pass through UP; the 82.5°E IST meridian passes near Mirzapur.
- Neighbours: Nepal, eight states (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar) and Delhi.
- Nepal-border districts: Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Siddharthnagar, Maharajganj.
- Himachal Pradesh touches only Saharanpur; Sonbhadra touches four states; Madhya Pradesh has the longest border with UP.
- Extreme districts: Saharanpur northernmost, Sonbhadra southernmost, Ballia easternmost.
- Bhabar: porous gravel belt where streams vanish; Terai: marshy belt below it where they reappear.
- Bhangar: old alluvium above flood level with kankar; Khadar: new flood-plain alluvium, more fertile; Bhur: sandy patches; Usar/Reh: saline-alkaline land.
- Bundelkhand: old granite-gneiss plateau, drought-prone; Vindhyan-Kaimur hills in Mirzapur and Sonbhadra; ravines along the Chambal and Yamuna.
Quick revision
Lies about 24-30°N, 77-84°E; Tropic of Cancer does not cross it; 82.5°E passes near Mirzapur; area 2,40,928 sq km (7.33%), fourth largest; Census 2011 population 19.98 crore, density 829; borders Nepal, 8 states and Delhi; MP longest border; HP touches only Saharanpur; Sonbhadra touches 4 states; regions: Bhabar-Terai, Gangetic plain (bhangar, khadar, bhur, usar), southern plateau (Bundelkhand, Vindhya-Kaimur); land slopes NW to SE.