Madhya Pradesh Geography

The geography of this state in the country of India mainly includes its location on
earth, area and area-wise divisions, rivers, weather, soil, crops, topography as well
as its flora and fauna.

Position of Madhya Pradesh on the globe

With its geographical location at 22.42 N and 72.54 E, Madhya Pradesh is a state
of central India. The state shares its borders with the other Indian states of Uttar
Pradesh in the north eastern side, Rajasthan in the north western side, Gujarat in
the western side, Chhattisgarh in the south eastern side and Maharashtra in the
southern side.

Area

This state, often called as the "Heart of India" stretches over an area of 3, 08, 252
sq. km. in the central part of the country. It accounts for 9.38 % of the land area of
the nation.

Different area-wise divisions of Madhya Pradesh

Area-wise, the state is divided into 10 broad divisions of Bhopal, Gwalior, Chambal,
Hoshangabad, Indore, Rewa, Jabalpur, Sagar, Ujjain and Shahdol. However, in total,
Madhya Pradesh comprises of 50 districts, which are Anuppur, Balaghat, Alirajpur,
Ashoknagar, Betul, Barwani, Bhopal, Burhanpur, Bhind, Chhatarpur, Chhindwara,
Damoh, Datia, Dindori, Dewas, Dhar, Gwalior, Guna, Harda, Hoshangabad, Indore,
Jabalpur, Katni, Jhabua, Khargone, Mandla, Khandwa, Mandsaur, Neemuch, Morena,
Narsinghpur, Raisen, Panna, Ratlam, Rewa, Rajgarh, Sagar, Seoni, Satna, Sehore,
Shajapur, Shahdol, Shivpuri, Sidhi, Sheopur, Singrauli, Umaria, Tikamgarh, Vidisha
and Ujjain.

The vast area of Madhya Pradesh makes it one of the largest states in India. It is
located at the heart of the country. The area of Madhya Pradesh has been estimated
to be 443,446 square kilometers.

The entire area of Madhya Pradesh has been politically divided into 45 districts with
Bhopal as its capital. The total strength of the population inhabiting the area is
around 66.1 million out of which around 34 millions are males and the rest are
females.
The people occupying the vast area of Madhya Pradesh have a literacy rate of
43.45% and the most widely spoken language is Hindi.Apart from the valleys of the
Narmada and the Tapti, the area of Madhya Pradesh has a plateau region in
between the mountains of the Vindhya and the Satpura ranges.
The principal river systems which traverse the enormously big area of this part of
India are the:

Chambal
Betwa
Sindh
Narmada
Tapti
Mahanadi
Indravati
Around one third of the state's area is occupied with tropical forests lying with the
rivers Chambal in the north and Godavari in the south.
If you go towards the east of Chambal, you will find the area having rocky surface
and thick forest.
The plateau area of Malwa reveals a view of waving fields of grain amongst the
trees of mango and tamarinds. The area is a predominantly agricultural field.
The low lands in the north of Malwa is different. The hilly areas include the Vindhya
and Satpura ranges inhabited by the Bhils, Gonds, Korkus.

The state is noted for the river Narmada which begins from Amarkantak, runs
through Jabalpur and Mandla. and emerges near Mandhata.
The state has got some of the known catchments, watersheds and river basins of
the country. Two most significant among them are the Narmada River, which
originates from Amarkantak and the Tapti River, which originates from Betul district.
The basins of these rivers divide this central Indian state into two parts. The
northern part drains into the Ganges while the southern part drains into the river
systems of the Mahanadi and the Godavari rivers. Rivers like Betwa, Chambal,
Dhasan, Kali Sindh, Kuno, Parbati, Shipra and Sind being river Yamuna's main
tributaries, flow towards the river Ganges. Rivers, which lie on the eastern side of
the Ganges, are the Rihand, the Tons and the Son. The Mahanadi with its tributaries
of the Mand, the Kharun and the Hasdeo flows towards southeast whereas, the
Narmada with its tributaries of the Banjar, the Denwa, the Machna, the Sonbhardra
and the Tawa flows towards west. The state even gets the water of the Tapi River.

Some of the other rivers flowing through the state of Madhya Pradesh are as
follows:
Kanhan
Ken
Pench
Penganga

Soil and Vegetation

Soil and vegetation of Madhya Pradesh is an important arena of its natural wealth.
The dense forests stretching over one-third of the state is the producer of India's
best teak wood.
Special mention should be made of the soil and vegetation of Gwalior, Bundelkhand
and Baghelkhand in the Malwa region of the state. The region is rich in rich black
soil. If you go to Chattisgarh, you will find a lighter sandy soil. The composition of
soil and vegetation is absolutely different when one moves to the Narmada valley.
Here there is rich alluvial deposits.
Madhya Pradesh has a distinctly diverse topography and hence a wide range of
variation in the soil and vegetation.The forest forms include:

dry thorn forests

tropical moist deciduous forests
tropical evergreen forests
The vegetation at the Bandhavgarh national Park in Madhya Pradesh, is quite
luxuriant. The dominant vegetation in this region consists mostly of moist deciduous
forests along with the bamboo thickets as well as the mixed forests. The most
common tree in the the dry deciduous forests of this area is the Sal.The soil and
vegetation lying on the riverbanks of the Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya
Pradesh, is extremely fertile.If you make a tour to the the Kanha National Park you
will find it covered with bamboo thickets, Sal forests, grasslands and streams.The
diversity in vegetation at the Kanha National Park enables a large variety of
mammals, reptiles and birds to select the right natural abode.
The vegetation species commonly seen at the Kanha National Park include

Acacia torta
Bauhinia retusa
Butea menosperma
Anogeissus latifolia
Emblica officinalis
Maughania stricta
Pennisetum alopecurus
Cassia fistula
Phoenix acaulis
Shorea robusta
Dendrocalamus strictus
Among the vegetation of Madhya Pradesh mention should be made of the cash
crops like

rice
wheat

pulses
sugarcane
soya bean
mustard
Topographical condition of Madhya Pradesh

Geographically, the state has got varied geo-structural divisions. Being located
towards the northern part of the Deccan Plateau, this state is mainly a land of
plateaus and mountain ranges. Towards the northern side of the river Chambal and
Son, lie the medium highland that got created by the Vindhya rocks, Granite Gneiss
and Deccan Trap. This is a triangular shaped plateau between the Aravalli range and
the valleys of the Son and the Narmada rivers. River Yamuna forms its northern
boundary. The southern and southeastern part is covered by steep escarpments,
which are famously known as the Bhander, Kaimur and Vindhyachal ranges. The
mountain range of Vindhyachal has got an elevation of 881 and 150 metres
whereas, that of Kaimur and Bhander ranges are 686 metres and 752 metres
respectively. Apart from these, this highland in the central part of the state even
includes Vindhyan Escarpment, Middle Indian Plateau, Bundelkhand Plateau and
Malwa Plateau.
Based on the climatic conditions and physical features, the topography of Madhya
Pradesh includes the following agro-climatic zones:

Northern Plain
Narmada Valley
Wainganga Valley
Malwa Plateau
Kaimur Plateau
Nimar Plateau
Vindhyan Plateau
Jhabua Hills

Satpura Hills
Gird Region
Bundelkhand Region

Weather of Madhya Pradesh

Characterized by the pattern of monsoon weather, this state experiences subtropical climatic condition. Madhya Pradesh weather can be divided into the three
distinct climatic seasons, which are mentioned below:
Summer season: Summer in this central Indian state starts during the month of
April and continues till June with temperature going as high as 42 C. The state has
got a hot and dry type of summer season.
Monsoon season: Rainy season stretches there from July to the month of September
with an average rainfall of 1, 370 mm per year. The eastern part of the state
receives comparatively high precipitation (112 cm on an average) from the state's
northern and western part (50 cm to 62.5 cm on an average). However, sometimes,
the southeastern districts of the state receive quite heavy rainfall of about 2, 150
mm.
Winter season: The winter season of the state mainly comprises of the months of
December and January. Madhya Pradesh, especially towards the northern part,
experiences a relatively cold and dry winter. During this season, temperature can
fall down to even -10 C.
Mineral found in Madhya Pradesh
The state of Madhya Pradesh has got varied mineral resources found in different
parts of the state. Iron ore and coal are two of the most important minerals found
there. Besides these, following are some of the major minerals found in the state:

Sl. No.Mineral

Area

Bauxite

Jabalpur's Katni tehsil

Iron ore

Bastar, Dury, Gwalior and Jubalpur

Manganese Balaghat and Chhindwara

The state is even rich is limestone and marbles. The Panna area of the state is
known for diamond production since it has a diamond bed.

Flora and Fauna

The present day is the day of 'Green Revolution' when the country is intensely
concerned with the biodiversity or the flora and fauna conservation. Madhya
Pradesh is a pioneer in this movement. There are 9 national parks and 25
sanctuaries for the welfare of the flora and fauna in Madhya Pradesh. Kanha
National Park of the state is one of the first nine protected areas nominated under
the Project Tiger policy. The maximum concentration and diversity of the flora and
fauna is seen in:
Kanha
Panna
Bandhavgarh
Pench
Satpura

Madhya Pradesh is designated as the 'Tiger State' as it houses 19% of India's tiger
population and 10% of the global tiger population. Sal forest form a major part of
the flora of the state. It is seen throughout the valley. It gives way to the mixed
forest generally occupying the places where the soil is of considerably poor quality.
Grassy meadow patches are found in the valley and along the nalas.
The state also has got extensive lush greenery spreading over an area of 95, 221
sq. km. This forest land of the state covers almost 31 % of Madhya Pradesh's total
area. As opposed to the eastern, central and southern areas of the state, the
northern and western regions have got a deficiency of forest lands.

The forests of this state of central India can be broadly categorized into the
following types:
Broadleaved Subtropical Hill Forests
Dry Tropical Forests

Moist Tropical Forests

Thorny Tropical Forests
All of the above types of forests are reserved, protected or unclassified forests.
Madhya Pradesh forests can even be classified on the basis of terrain and forest
composition. The three main kinds of such forests are sal, teak and miscellaneous
forests. These forests are home to varied species of flora and fauna, which makes
the state a reservoir of bio-diversity. Apart from the kinds of plants mentioned
earlier, the forest lands with Bamboo plants are spread all over the state. Rosewood
is another popular plantation of the state. Plantations are done even in some nonforest areas so as to decrease the pressure on the natural type of forests. These
kinds of plantations mainly increase the availability of wood for fuel, fodder and
small timber.
The species of flora generally seen here are:

Acacia torta
Bauhinia retusa
Butea menosperma
Anogeissus latifolia
Emblica officinalis
Maughania stricta
In Madhya Pradesh you can find more than 22 species of mammals. They include
Common Langurs, Rhesus Macaque, the Asiatic Jackal, Striped Hyena, Jungle Cat,
Leopard,Tiger,Wild Pigs, Spotted Deer, Sambar, Chausingha, Nilgai, Chinkara and
Gaur. There are 250 species of birds. The common ones are Little Grebe, Egret,
lesser Adjutant, Sarus Crane, Crested Serpent Eagle, Black Vulture, Egyptian
Vulture, Common Peafowl, Red Jungle Fowl, Dove, Parakeets, Kingfishers and Indian
Rollers. Reptilian fauna found over here are Cobra, Krait, Viper, Rat-snake, Python,
Turtle and Varanus. There are also some 30,000 insect species including some
stunning butterflies.