Introduction | Geography
| Topography
INTRODUCTION
Keonjhar
is a land locked district with an area of 8240 Sq. Km. It is situated in the northern
part of Orissa. It is surrounded by Singhbhum district of Jharkhand in the North, Jajpur in
the South, Dhenkanal and Sundargarh in the West and Mayurbhanj and Bhadrak in the East. It
lies between 21o1'N and 22o10'N latitudes, between 35o11'
and 86o22' longitude and at 480 meter altitude.
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GEOGRAPHY
The
National Highway-215 passing through Keonjhargarh approximately bi-sects the district into
two similar natural regions. To the East of this Highway are the planes of Anandapur and a
portion of Sadar Sub-division. To the West is a range of lofty hills which contains some
of the highest peaks of Orissa namely Gandhamardan
(3477 ft.), Mankadnacha (3639 ft.), Gonasika ( 3219 ft.) and Thakurani ( 3003 ft.). About half of the area of this
district spreading about 4043 sq.kms. is covered by forests of Northern tropical moist deciduous type
and contains Sal, Asan, Piasal, etc. The river Baitarani comes out of Gonasika Hills and
flows to the north touching the border of Singhbhum district of
Jharkhand. It again flows East
entering Anandapur Sub-division and the district of Bhadrak. The soil is mostly red
throughout the district and in the South there is a small patch of black cotton soil. The
important minerals available in huge quantity in the district are Iron-ore, Manganese and
Chromites.
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TOPOGRAPHY
The
district consists of a compact area and its extreme length from north to south is nearly
145 km. The average breadth from East to West is about 65 km. It is divided into two
widely dissimilar tracts-the lower Kendujhar and the upper Kendujhar. The former is a
region of valleys and low lands, while the latter includes mountainous highlands with a
general slope from North to South. The highlands consisting of clusters of rugged crags
afford a safe retreat to its inhabitants in troubled times. The mountaintops appear from
the low lands to be sharply ridged or peaked, but in reality they have extensive
tablelands on their summits, fit both for pasture and for tillage. The average elevation
in its central part is about 500m. At places, isolated hills rise abruptly from the
plains. But most of the areas have a general elevation of over 600m.
which forms the
watershed of some rivers. The Baitarani River takes its rise in the hilly North Western division. In between these two natural
divisions passes the State Highway from Chainbasa to Jajpur Road through the
headquarters, Kendujhargarh.
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