Geography of Bihar, Download PDF

Geography of Bihar

Longitudinal extent - 83º19’ E to 88°7’ E
Latitudinal extent - 24°20’ N to 27°3’ N
Distance from east to west - 483 km
Distance from north to south - 345 km
Bihar has boundaries with the states of UP, Jharkhand and West Bengal. It also borders Nepal in the north.
Length of Nepal border - 601 km
7 Districts that border Nepal in the west to east direction - West Champaran, East Champaran, Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Supaul, Araria, and Kishanganj
8 Districts that border UP in north to south direction - West Champaran, Gopalganj, Siwan, Saran, Bhojpur, Buxar, Kaimur, and Rohtas
8 Districts that border Jharkhand in the west to east direction - Rohtas, Aurangabad, Gaya, Nawada, Jamui, Banka, Bhagalpur, and Katihar
3 Districts that border WB in the north to south direction - Kishanganj, Purnia, and Katihar
Ganga, Ghaghara and Gandak form boundary with UP in some parts
Sone river forms a boundary with Jharkhand in Rohtas district

Geological Structure of Bihar

Younger rocks to the north, older rocks to the south
North-west is Terai, Central is Gangetic plain and south is a plateau region
Bihar plain is the youngest to be formed
Dharwar rocks - South-eastern Bihar - Jamui, Nawada, Munger districts
Vindhyan rocks - South-western Bihar - Kaimur, Rohtas districts
Plateau region - extends as a narrow belt from Kaimur district to Banka district

Climate of Bihar

Continental Monsoon type climate
The northern part is cooler compared to the southern part
Eastern part receives 200 cm of rainfall while the western part receives 100 cm.
April month has the lowest humidity
The temperature of the eastern part is reduced due to the impact of the Nor’wester showers.
Nor’wester - tropical cyclonic thunderstorm, extremely helpful for pre-Kharif crops
Gaya is hottest in May while coldest in January.

Soils of Bihar

Piedmont Swamp Soil - West-Champaran, supports rice, rich in organic matter
Terai Soil - found in the Northern belt bordering Nepal, Champaran to Kishanganj, sugarcane, jute
Bhangar - older alluvial soil -loamy, sticky, rich in lime, good for paddy and sugarcane, Patna and Gaya
Khadar - younger alluvial soil - rich in nitrogen, good for paddy and wheat, Purina, Saharsa, Darbhanga
Karail-Kewal soil - heavy clay, alkaline, from Rohtas to Bhagalpur, brown to yellow
Tal soil - poor drainage, grey, high yield, from Buxar to Banka
Balthar soil - the presence of iron, red and yellow, less fertile, in the transitional zone between Chhotanagpur plateau and Ganga plain, Kaimur to Rajmahal hills
Bal Sundari - alkaline, Saharsa and Champaran, maize and tobacco

Ganga

Enters at Chausa forming boundary of Bhojpur and Saran
Northern tributaries - Ghaghra in Saran, Gandak at Sonepur, Bagmati at Munger, Kosi at Kursela, Kali-Kosi at Manihari
Southern tributaries - Sone at Maner, Karmanasa at Chausa, Punpun at Fathua
It has the largest catchment area in Bihar
Mahatma Gandhi Setu - connects Patna in the south to Hajipur in north

Ghaghra / Saryu

Gandak

Burhi Gandak

Kosi

Bagmati

Kamla

Mahananda

Originates in Sikkim
Enters Bihar in Kishanganj
Joins Ganga at Nawabganj in Bangladesh
In upper course forms an important linguistic boundary between Hindi and Bengali speaking area.

Sone

Punpun

Phalgu

Waterfalls in Bihar

Hot Springs

Flora and Fauna

Total forest area - 7299 sq. km, 7.75% of total area (1.04% of India’s forest) (IFR2017)
Maximum forest area - Kaimur district
Minimum forest area - Sheikhpura
The total area under very dense forest is in West Champaran
The moist deciduous forest is found in Kishanganj, West Champaran, Kaimur, Gaya etc.
Dry Deciduous - most abundant in Bihar, Kaimur, Purnia, Raxaul etc.
Valmiki National Park -located in West Champaran, established on 2^nd August 1989
Valmiki Tiger Reserve consists of Valmiki National Park and Valmiki Wildlife Sanctuary
Bhimbandh Wildlife Sanctuary - Munger, south of Ganga, has several hot springs like Sita Kund and Rishi Kund, more famous for birds than land animals, established on 25 June 1976
Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary - Kaimur, Bengal Tigers are also found here, several waterfalls like Karkat and Telhar waterfall, the famous lake is Anupam Lake, established on 25 July 1979
Gautam Buddha Wildlife Sanctuary - located in Gaya and Hazaribagh (Jharkhand), previously it was private hunting reserve, established on 14 September 1971
Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary - Bhagalpur stretching from Sultanganj to Kahalgaon, only protected area for Gangetic Dolphins, established on 28 August 1990
Sanjay Gandhi Jaivik Udyan - located in Patna, biological park combining a botanical garden with the zoo, established on 8^th March 1983