Get Complete Information on the Geography of Haryana

The State of Haryana is located in the north-western part of India. The river Yamuna flows on the eastern boundary of the State. The Shivalik mountain range flanks the State on its north; the State of Himachal Pradesh is also on its northern side.

On the western side, it is flanked by the State of Punjab. At the southern side, the State is flanked by the Aravalli Hills and the desert of Rajasthan. On the eastern side, Uttar Pradesh is the neighbouring State, which touches it only for a limited length. As soon as one crosses the Yamuna River on the eastern side, one enters Uttar Pradesh.

The total area of the State of Haryana is 44,212 square kilometres. Its total population is 2, 10, 82,989 as per Census (2001). Area wise, Haryana is a moderately large State; all other States of the country are larger (in terms of area) except Kerala, Goa, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Meghalaya and Manipur. The population of Haryana is more than those of Goa, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir.

Terrain :

Haryana is at a height of 700-900 feet above the Mean Sea Level (MSL). Its terrain can be divided into four parts. The brief description of its towns, cities and terrain is as follows:

Haryana has a total of 106 cities and towns. It has 6,955 villages. For administrative purposes, the whole State has been further sub-divided into four division-Ambala, Rohtak, Gurgaon and Hissar. There are 21 districts, 51 sub-divisions, 71 tehsils, 44 sub-tehsils and 119 blocks.

Haryana is situated in the north between 27°37′ to 30°35′ Latitude and between 74°28′ to 77°36′ Longitude. Haryana has Uttar Pradesh on eastern border, Punjab on its western border, Himachal Pradesh and Shivalik Hills on its northern border and Delhi, Rajasthan and Aravalli Hills on its southern border. The altitude of Haryana varies between 700 feet to 900 feet above the Mean Sea Level. Haryana has four main types of terrain, as follows:

(A) Shivalik Hills:

Their altitude varies between 900 to 2,300 metres. These hills are a source of rivers like Saraswati, Ghaggar, Tangri and Markanda. It is a cold region, which receives rainfall in plenty.

(B) Ghaggar Yamuna Plain:

It is divided into two parts-the higher one is called Bangar while the lower one is called Khadar. This alluvium plain is made up of sand, clay, silt and hard calcareous balls like gravels; j winters are very cold whereas summers are very hot. Rainfall occurs in plenty. Trees of Sheesham, Peepal, Banyan, Mango, Neem and Jamun are found here.

(C) Semi-desert Sandy Plain:

This area borders the State of Rajasthan and includes the districts of Sirsa and parts of Fatehabad, Hissar, Bhiwani and Mahendragarh districts. Rainfall is scarce and hot dry winds blow at high speeds. Keekar, Thor, Kair and other thorny shrubs are found here.

(D) Aravalli Hills:

This is a dry area with uneven and irregular landscape. Slate is taken out of this area. There is minimum rainfall here.

Climate of Haryana:

Climate of Haryana is similar to those other States of India lying in the northern plains. It is very hot in summer (with temperature going up to a peak of 50° Celsius) and cold in winters (with temperature coming down to a lowest of 1° Celsius). The hottest months are May and June and the coldest being December and January. Rainfall is variable Shivalik Hills region having the highest and the Aravalli Hills region being the lowest. About 80 per cent of the rainfall occurs during the monsoon season (July-September) and sometimes causes local floods.