The Geographical conditions of Madhya Pradesh

Geography of Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh has a word meaning that it is the central province and is also the geographical heart of India. The state has major river waters from the Narmada which flows from the Eastern side of the state to the western side and is bound in between the Vindhya Mountain Range and the Satpura Mountain Range. These mountain ranges also form the traditional boundaries which divide the country into two halves – the north and south of India.

The Geographical richness of Madhya Pradesh comprises of Rivers, soil, climate and the flora and fauna.

The Rivers of Madhya Pradesh

The Narmada river has great river basins has shedding of water from numerous small rivers. The state of Madhya Pradesh having vast flat areas thus serve as catchment areas for many rivers.

The Narmada river has its origin from the Amarkantak and the Tapti river originating from the Multai of Betul District divide the state of Madhya Pradesh into two divisions – the Northern region and the Southern region. The northern part of the basins drains into the Ganges basin and the southern part drains into the Godavari river and the Mahanadi.

The southern boundary of the Ganga river basin is formed by the Vindhya Range. The western part of the basin drains into the Yamuna river while the eastern part of the basin drains into the Ganga river. Also the rivers which ultimately amalgamate into the Ganges flow from South to North, while the main tributary rivers for the Yamuna are : - Chambal, Shipra, Kali Sindh, Parbati, Kuno, Sind, Betwa, Dhasan and Ken. The draining areas of the basin are very rich in humus and are very fertile for agricultural purposes. The naturally occurring vegetations that grow over here are grass, dry deciduous tree types of the forest which are mostly thorny.

The rivers like Son, Tons and Rihand are contained in the eastern part of the Ganges basin. Son is the biggest tributary of all. Here the Maikal and Kaimur hills get in a hinge shape with each other and the Satpura and the Vindhya Ranges have a junction near the Son river.

The birth of the three rivers – The Narmada, Mahanadi and the Son are born in these hills and the Son being the largest of all the tributaries is the major feeder to the Ganges during the monsoons apart from the Snow feed. Again these three rivers are some of the fewer ones which flow from North to South directions.

The Mahanadi river along with its tributaries – Hasdeo, Mand and the Kharun rivers flows in the southeast direction towards the state of Orissa which gave it a Lush Green boon and the state of rice!

Again, the Mahanadi has beautiful catchment areas with one of the finest forests of the state of Madhya Pradesh comprising of deciduous trees to Teak, Bamboo and Sal.

The big river Narmada flows through valley rifts alongside the Vindhya mountain range on the north and the Satpura to the south to which join the Banjar, the Tawa, the Machna, the Denwa and the Sonbhardra rivers.

The rivers like Indrawati, Wainganga, Wardha, Pench, Kanhan, Penganga give a large input for the Godavari River flow which is a major boon for the state of Andhra Pradesh. These areas still have virgin forests till date, the best of which are found in the Bastar area along the Indravati river and in the Kanger valley in the state of Chhattisgarh.

Captain Forsyth who had written and remarked the importance of the Central Province of India in his book, "The Highlands of Central India", which he had published in the year 1889. He mentions his thoughts by saying that there exists quite a big considerable region which are said to be the Highlands, the central province where exist big peaks and vast ranges where but other surveyers and other countries would term as mountains. He said the mightiness of these highlands lie in that it gives origins to many rivers and these rivers merge into seas on both sides of the country - The Indian Peninsula, vizually, the Son river into the north amalgamating with the Ganga river, the Mahanadi flowing towards the east to merge into the Bay of Bengal. WHile some rivers are the feeders for the Godavari river in the south, The mighty Narmada, The Tapti, known later as Tapi and the Basli Dam Gohad - Bhind - flow parallel to each other before finally merging into the Arabian sea.
He also said that these mammoth water bodies not only favor the highlands but also the other states of India forming huge lands good for Agricultural projects.

Climatic Conditions of Madhya Pradesh

The climate of the state of Madhya Pradesh is like those of the Sub Tropical areas of the world. It has a dry weather, hot temperatures in Summer in between the months of April to June, monsoons are in between the months of July to September with an average rainfall up to 1370 mm – 53.9 inches and given the vastness of the spread of the state, a variation in the rains is observed by decrement from east to west. The South-eastern parts of Madhya Pradesh have the highest rainfall of up to 2150 mm – 84.6 inches and the rainfall is the least in the western and the north-western parts of the state with a total rainfall only up to 1000 mm – 39.4 inches or even less.

Soil of Madhya Pradesh

The third beauty of the Geographical conditions of the state of Madhya Pradesh is the soil.

The soil of Madhya Pradesh is Black, utterly black which is understood as the richest soil in Humus and the best soil for agricultural. Black soil is found in the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. Red and Yellow soil is found in the Baghelkhand region. Alluvial soil is found in the Northern areas of Madhya Pradesh. Laterite soil is found in the highland areas of the state.

The divisions of Gwalior and the Chambal region have mixed type of soil.