Geography

Uttar Pradesh shares an international border with Nepal and is bounded by the Indian states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar. The state can be divided into two distinct hypsographical regions.

The larger Gangetic Plain region is in the north: it includes the Ganges-Yamuna Doab, the Ghaghra plains, the Ganges plains and the Terai. It has highly fertile alluvial soils and flat topography (slope 2 m/km) broken by numerous ponds, lakes and rivers.

The smaller Vindhya Hills and Plateau region is in the south: it is characterised by hard rock strata and varied topography of hills, plains, valleys and plateau; limited availability of water makes the region relatively arid.

Flora and fauna

Uttar Pradesh has 5.86% land under forest cover now. In spite of alarming deforestation and poaching of wild life, a diverse flora and fauna exists. Several species of trees, large and small mammals, reptiles and insects are found in the belt of temperate upper mountainous forests; medicinal plants are also found wild here, or are now grown on plantations. Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands support cattle. Moist deciduous trees grow in the upper Gangetic plain, including its riverbanks. In fact, this vast plain is so fertile and life supporting that any thing, which can live or grow anywhere, will do so here. Ganges and its tributaries are the habitat of a variety of large and small reptiles, amphibians, fresh-water fish and crabs. Mostly scrubs, trees like babool and animals like chinkara are found in the arid Vindhyas. The state’s important plants and animals include the following:

Trees: pine, rhododendrons, silver fir, deodar, saal, oak, teak, sheesham, mango, neem, banyan, peepal, imli, jamun, mahua, semal, gular and dhak.

Medicinal plants: hingan, Dhak, rauwolfia, sepentina, hexandrum, podophyllum.

Large vertebrates: elephant, tiger, bear, neelgai, wild pig, deer, wolf, jackal, fox, langoor, porcupine.

Birds: peacock, gray quail, pigeon, swallow, maina, Indian parakeet, crow and duck. The saras crane is the state bird of Uttar Pradesh.

Reptiles: crocodile, gharial, goh, snakes, chameleon and other lizards.

Fish: Rohu, catla, khusa, parhan, patra, moi, korouch and singhi.

According to Hindu legend, Lord Rama’s warrior devotee Hanuman had brought life saving Sanjivani herbs from a mountain of this, or possibly the breakaway Uttarakhand, region.

Climate

The climate of Uttar Pradesh is predominantly subtropical, but weather conditions change significantly with location and seasons:

Temperature: Depending on the elevation, the average temperatures vary from 12.5–17.5 °C (55–64 °F) in January to 27.5–32.5 °C (82–91 °F) in May and June. The highest temperature recorded in the State was49.9 °C (121.8 °F) at Gonda on 8 May 1958.

Rainfall: Rainfall in the State ranges from 1,000–2,000 mm (39–79 in) in the east to 600–1,000 mm (24–39 in) in the west. About 90% of the rainfall occurs during the southwest Monsoon, lasting from about June to September. With most of the rainfall concentrated during this four-month period, floods are a recurring problem and cause heavy damage to crops, life, and property, particularly in the eastern part of the state, where the Himalayan-origin rivers flow with a very low north-south gradient.

Snowfall: In the Himalayan region of the State, annual snowfall averaging 3 to 5 metres (10 to 15 feet) is common between December and March.

Droughts: Periodic failure of monsoons results in drought conditions and crop failure.