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Tropography |
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Location
Orissa is one of the States
of India.It is located between the parallels
of 17.49N and 22.34N latitudes and meridians
of 81.27E and 87.29E longitudes. It
is bounded by the Bay of Bengal on the
east; Madhya Pradesh on the west and
Andhra Pradesh on the south. It has
a coast line of about 450 kms. It extends
over an area of 155,707 square kms.
Accounting about 4.87 of the total area
of India. According to the 1991 census,
it has a total population of 31,512,070
(3.73 percent of the total population
of India) out of which about 16,237,000
are male and 15,275,070 are female.
Relief
On the basis of
homogeneity, continuity and physiographical characterstics,
Orissa has been divided into five major morphological regions
: the Orissa Coastal Plain in the east, the Middle Mountainous
and Highlands Region, the Central plateaus, the western
rolling uplands and the major flood plains.
The Orissa
Coastal Plains
The Orissa Coastal Plains are the
depositional landforms of recent origin and geologically
belong to the Post-Tertiary Period. The 75 metre contourline
delimits their western boundary and differentiates them from
the Middle Mountainous Region. This region stretches from the
West Bengal border, i.e. from the River Subarnarekha in the
north to the River Rushikulya in the south.
This region is the combination of several
deltas of varied sizes and shapes formed by the major rivers
of Orissa, such as the Subarnarekha, the Budhabalanga, the
Baitarani, the Brahmani, the Mahanadi, and the Rushikulya.
Therefore, the coastal plain of Orissa is called the
"Hexadeltaic region" or the "Gift of Six Rivers". It stretches
along the coast of the Bay of Bengal having the maximum width
in the Middle Coastal Plain (the Mahanadi Delta), narrow in
the Northern Coastal Plain (Balasore Plain) and narrowest in
the Southern Coastal Plain ( Ganjam Plain). The North Coastal
Plain comprises the deltas of the Subarnarekha and the
Budhabalanga rivers and bears evidences of marine
transgressions. The Middle Coastal Plain comprises the
compound deltas of the Baitarani, Brahmani and Mahanadi rivers
and bears evidences of past back bays and present lakes. The
South Coastal Plain comprises the laccustrine plain of Chilika
lake and the smaller delta of the Rushikulya River.
The Middle
Mountainous and Highlands Region
The region covers about three-fourth of the
entire State. Geologically it is a part of the Indian
Peninsula which as a part of the ancient landmass of the
Gondwanaland. The major rivers of Orissa with their
tributaries have cut deep and narrow valleys. This region
mostly comprises the hills and mountains of the Eastern Ghats
which rise abruptly and steeply in the east and slope gently
to a dissected plateau in the west running from north-east
(Mayurbhanj) to north-west (Malkangirig). This region is well
marked by a number of interfluves or watersheds. The Eastern
Ghats is interrupted by a number of broad and narrow river
valleys and flood plains. The average beight of this region is
about 900 metres above the mean seal level.
The Central
Plateaus
The plateaus are mostly eroded plateaus
forming the western slopes of the Eastern Ghats with elevation
varying from 305-610 metres. There are two broad plateaus in
Orissa : (i) the Panposh - Keonjhar -Pallahara plateau
comprises the Upper Baitarani catchment basin, and (ii) the
Nabrangpur - Jeypore plateau comprises the Sabari
basin.
The Western Rolling
Uplands
These are lower in elevation than the
plateaus having heights varying from 153 metres to 305
metres.
Rivers
Rivers in Orissa though not
perennial, serve the basic requirement of the state. All the
rivers of Puri distict have a common characteristics . In the
hot weather they are beds of sand with tiny streams or none at
all , while in the rains they recieve more water than they can
carry Responsible for the state being an
agrarian economic, these rivers are divided into
four groups which flow through Orissa into the Bay of
Bengal (Table-2). They are :
1. Rivers that
have a source outside the State (the Subarnarekha, the
Brahmani and the Mahanadi).
2. Rivers having a source inside the
State(the Budhabalanga, the Baitarini, the Salandi, and
the Rushikulya).
3. Rivers having a source inside the Orissa,
but flow through other states (the Bahudu, the
Vansadhara, and the Nagavali).
4. Rivers having a source inside Orissa, but
tributary to rivers which flow through other states (the
Machkund, the Sileru, the Kolab, and the Indravati).
River Mahandi
It is the major river of Orissa and the
sixth largest river in India. It originates from the
Amarkantak hills of the Bastar Plateau in
Raipur district of Madhya Pradesh. It is about 857 kms. Long
(494 kms. In Orissa) and its catchment area spreads over
141,600 sq.kms. (65,580sq.kms.) in Orissa). The river carries
on an average about 92,600 million m of water.
The
Brahmani
It is the second largest river in Orissa.
It originates as two major rivers like the Sankh and the Koel
from the Chhotanagpur Plateau of Bihar and both join at veda
Vyasa near Rourkela of Sundargarh district of Orissa forming
the major River Brahmani. It flows through the Easter Ghats in
Sundargarh, Kendujhar, Dhenkanal, Cuttack and Jajpur districts
into the Coastal Plains and enters into the Bay of Bengal
along with a combined mouth with the Mahanadi known as the
Dhamra. The Brahmani is 799 kms. Long (541 kms. In Orissa) and
its catchment area spreads over 39,033 sq.kms. in
Orissa).
The
Baitarani
It originates
from the Gonasika hills of the keonjhar districts. It is 365
kms long and its catchment area spread over 12,790 sq. kms. It entres into the Bay of Bengal after joining of the
Brahmani at Dharma mouth near Chandabali Subarnrekha.
The
Subarnarekha
It orginates
from the Chhotnagpur plateau of Bihar. It is 433kms (70kms in
Orissa ) and has a catchment area of 19,500 kms (3,200kms in
Orissa ) with a mean annual flow of 7,900 million.
The
Budhabalanga
It orginates
from the easterns slops of the Similipala massif. It is about
175 kms long having a total catchment area of 4840 sq. kms
with an annual flow of 2177 million m . It is major
tributaries are the Sone, the Gangadhar, the Catra etc.
The
Rushikulya
It originates
from the Rushyamala hills of the eastern ghats in Phulbani
district. It is 165 kms long with 8900 sq. kms of catchment
areas. Its tributaries are the Baghua the Dhanei Badanadi etc.
It has no delta at its mouth.
The
Bahuda
It originates
from the Ramgiri hills of the eastern ghats in Gajapati
districts and joins the bay of Bengal in Andhra Pradesh . Its
length 73 kms having a catchment area of 1250 sq. kms
.
The
Bansadhara
It originates
from the Flanks of the Durgakangar hills (Lingaraj hills) of
the eastern ghats in Kalahandi districts. It is 230 kms long
out of which only 150 kms in Orissa. It entres in to the Bay
of Bengal at Kalingapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. It has a
catchment area of 11500 sq. kms .
The Nagabali
It originates
from the Bijipur Hills of the eastern ghats near Lanji garah .
It is 210 kms long out of which 100 kms is in Orissa. It has a
total catchment area of about 9410 sq. kms.
The
Salandi
It originates
from the Meghasani Hills of the Similipal massif in Keonjhar
district. It is 144 kms long with a catchment areas of 1793
sq. kms .
The
Indirabati
It originates
from the eastern ghats in Kalahandi districts. It is 530 kms
long with a catchment area of 41700 sq. kms as a tributary it
flows into the Godabari river.
The
Kolab
It originates
from the Sinkaran hills of the eastern Ghats in koraput
districts. It has catchment areas of 20400 sq. kms
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