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Odisha Review ISSN 0970-8669

Geography of

Odisha is a littoral state on the eastern reclaimed this area from the depths of the Bay of coast of peninsular located between the . The rivers from North to South are the parallels of 170 49' N to 220 34' N latitude and Subarnarekha, the Budha Balanga, the Baitarani, the meridians of 810 27' E and 870 29’ E the Brahmani, the and the Rushikulya. longitudes. While the swirls along The coastal plains can be termed as a land of ‘six its eastern and south-eastern boundary, on the deltas’ of the Subarnarekha and the Budha land front it is wedged between the neighbouring Balanga, the middle coastal plains the combined states of on the North East, deltas of the Baitarani, the Brahmani and the on the North and Chhatisgarh on the Mahanadi and the South coastal plains (The West, on the South. The Rushikulya plains). geographical area of the state of Odisha is The mountainous region of Odisha covers 1,55,707 sq.km. It was finalised on 1st of January about three-fourths of the area of the State. This 1949 when Mayurbhanj, the last among the region is a part of Indian peninsula. Here deep Princely States, merged in it. and broad valleys are cut by the Baitarani, the The eye-catching beauty of this land is Brahmani, the Mahanadi, the Rushikulya, the Vansadhara and the Nagavali rivers. They are enhanced by the diversity of the natural regions. fertile, well-drained and thickly populated. Morphologically Odisha is divided into five parts- Morphologically this region can be divided into the coastal plains, the middle mountainous country, the following units (a) the Simulia and the the rolling upland, the river valleys & the subdued Meghasan mountains, (b) the Baitarani and the plateaus. Brahmani interfluous, (c) the watershed between The coastal plains of Odisha stretch from the Brahmani and the Mahanadi, (d) the watershed the Subarnarekha in the North to the Rushikulya of the Rushikulya and the Vansadhara. The in the South. They are narrow in the North, widest elevation ranges from 610 to 1,068 meters. in the middle, narrowest in the lake Chilka coast The rolling uplands are lower in elevation and broad in the South. than the plateaus. They vary from 153m. to 305m. The coastal plains are the gift of six major They are the products of continued river action, rivers, which bring silt from their catchments, has are rich in soil nutrients, and are situated in the

APRIL - 2021 1 ISSN 0970-8669 Odisha Review

Koelsankh basin of the upper Brahmani in the The subdued plateaus (305–610m.) IB, the Suktel and the Tel of the middle Mahanadi reveal all the peculiarities of peninsular tablelands. and the Sabari basins. The rolling uplands may They are almost flat and the monotony of be grouped as follows : the uplands, orography is interrupted by the river valleys. the uplands, the uplands, the These features are commonly met within the upper Bolangir-Titilagarh- uplands, the uplands, the uplands Baitarani and the Sabari basins of the Keonjhar and the uplands. and Districts, respectively. In these uplands sheet erosion is most common while River valleys are net product of the action gullying is confined to the river valleys. These of rivers. They are fertile and at times present an undulating topography. The major river valleys of plateaus can be divided into the - Odisha are associated with the Brahmani, the Keonjhar- plateaus and the Mahanadi and the Vansadhara rivers. Nawrangpur- plateaus.

2 APRIL - 2021