Geographical Features & Climate of Haryana

Unit – 2

CHAPTER 4: GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES AND CLIMATE OF HARYANA

 

Haryana lies under the northern plain region of the country. Haryana is a landlocked state of northern India. It is located between 27°37′ to 30°35′ N latitude and between 74°28′ and 77°36′ E longitude. The altitude of Haryana varies between 700 to 3600 ft (200 metres to 1200 metres) above sea level. An area of 1,553 km2 is covered by forest. Haryana has four main geographical features.

• The Shivalik Hills to the northeast.
• Semi-desert sandy plain to the southwest.
• The Aravalli Range in the south.
• The Yamuna-Ghaggar plain forming the largest part of the state.

 

The land of Haryana majorly known for agriculture purposes due to the presence of alluvial soil. Such environmental conditions contribute to the optimized harvesting of various grains and lentils. However, on the contrary, the forest cover of Haryana is very less. It has just a 4% area under the forest.

One of the striking geographical features of the state is its blend of mountains and plains. Some of these are Yamuna Ghagar Plain, Shivalik Hill range, and the Aravali range. The Haryana region welcomes various rivers and tributaries such as Yamuna (a tributary of Ganges), Sarsuti, Dangri, Somb River, etc. The climate of the Haryana state varies from breezy to hot in different seasons. In summers, the temperature usually shoots up to as high as 45°. In shape the state of Haryana is uneven quadrilateral. The state has a total area of 44,212 sq km which is 1.34% of the total area of India. In terms of area, it is the 21st largest state of India.

 

Boundary of Haryana

Haryana is bounded by Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and the Union Territory of Delhi in the East, Punjab and the Union Territory of Chandigarh in the North-West, Himachal Pradesh in the North-East and Rajasthan in South-West. The state does not form any international boundary with any country. The borders of Haryana are mostly connected with the state of Rajasthan and least connected with the state of Himachal Pradesh.

The districts of Haryana share boundaries with the following states:

State	Phase	Districts
Himachal Pradesh	North-East	Panchkula, Yamunanagar and Ambala
Punjab	North-West	Panchkula, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Fatehabad and Sirsa
Rajasthan	South-West	Sirsa, Fatehabad, Hisar, Bhiwani, Mahendragarh, Rewari and Mewat
Uttar Pradesh	East	Mewat, Palwal, Faridabad, Sonipat, Panipat, Karnal and Yamunanagar
Delhi	South-West	Faridabad, Gurugram, Jhajjar and Sonipat
Uttarakhand	East	Yamunanagar
Chandigarh		Panchkula
Boundary lock district		Rohtak and Charkhi Dadri

 

 

Geological History of Haryana

The geological formation that resulted in the formation of Haryana state starts from the Mesozoic-Cenozoic era. The Mesozoic-Cenozoic era saw the emergence of rivers, rivulets, hills and hillocks. The state is covered by Quaternary Sediments of alluvial origin to a large extent.

 

Geographical Divisions of Haryana

Around 93% of the land area in Haryana consist of plains. Rest of the area consist of low hills. Haryana may be divided into five natural topographic divisions which provide a suitable framework upon which a systematic study of landform environment may be founded. These are :

• The Bagar and the undulating sandy plains-the sand dunes and the tals(230-350 metres
• The Alluvial Plain or the Ghaggar-Yamuna Plain comprising Bangar, Khadar, Naili and Bet (below 300 metres).
• The Aravali outliers (300-600metres)
• The Shiwaliks-The hills (over 400 metres), and
• The Foot Hill Zone-The piedmont plain (300-400 metres).

 

The Lower Shivalik Hills

The Shivalik hills are structure of Himalayas which formed as the third and last upliftment of Himalayan mountain in the post-Pliocene Age. The Shivalik hills cover the North-Eastern part of Haryana.

These hills form the outermost part of the Himalayas. Average elevation of these hills is 600-1500 m. It covers mainly the district of Ambala, Panchkula and Yamunanagar. These hills are the source of rivers like Saraswati, Ghaggar, Tangari and Markanda. Panchkula is the only hill station situated in these hills. Kalka and Pinjore are the two famous valleys of this region.

Morni hills are a branch of Shivalik hills and lies in the district of Panchkula, with an average elevation of 1065 m. The highest point on these hills is the Karoh peak (1467 m). Karoh peak is also the highest point in Haryana. Tipra hills form the Northernmost boundary of Haryana adjoining Nahan, a place on the border of Himachal Pradesh. Tipra hills lie North of the river Ghaggar in Panchkula district.

 

Piedmont Plains

These plains lie in Ambala, Panchkula and Yamunanagar districts as an extension of the Shivalik hills. These plains extend up to 25 kms beyond the Shivalik hills. These plains are locally known as Ghar. Average elevation of these plains is 300-375 m. These plains are drained by Ghaggar and Yamuna rivers and thus also known as Ghaggar-Yamuna Plains.

 

Alluvial Plains

This region extends in between the rivers Markanda, Saraswati Chotang and Yamuna. Kaithal, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar, Karnal, Jind, Panipat, Rohtak and Sonipat lies in this region. Yamuna river forms the Eastern boundary and runs from Yamunanagar to Faridabad to make the flood plains. These plains are divided into two parts, the higher one is called Bangar, while the lower one is called Khadar.

These plains are made up of sand, clay, silt and hard calcareous gravels locally known as Kankars. Average elevation of these plains is 220-280 m. The trees of Shisham, Peepal, Banyan, Mango, Neem and Jamun are found here.

 

Flood Plains

These plains are made by Yamuna river and its tributaries in the Eastern region of the state. Marshy lands are also found within these flood plains. Flood plains made by Markanda river is called Bet and flood plains made by Ghaggar river is called Nelli.

 

Semi-Desert Plains

It lies in the South-Western part of the state made up of extended sand dunes upto several kilometers. Average elevation of these plains is 200-300 m. These sand dunes are the result of the deposition of sand in this area which is carried by the hot dry winds blown from Rajasthan.

These sand dunes move with the flow of wind. In Haryana, it covers the parts of Sirsa, Fatehabad, Hisar, Bhiwani, Mahendragarh, Rewari and Nuh districts and lies along the border with Rajasthan. This plain region is infertile due to sand dunes, but a green belt is planted here that helps to check the further extension of these dunes. Rainfall is very low in these plains. Ground water of the region is far below the surface and very salty in taste. Keekar, Khair, thorn and other thorny shrubs grow here.

 

The Aravalli Hills

These hills lie in the Southern part of Haryana. These are an example of residual hills in India. These hills are locally known as Mewat hills. These hills are extended approximately 800 km from North-West to South-West across states of Rajasthan, Haryana and Gujarat. Average elevation of these hills is from 200-500 m.

In Haryana, these hills mainly cover the area of Gurugram, Faridabad, Rewari, Bhiwani and Mahindragarh districts. These hills are found as lower, sporadic and dilapidated condition in Haryana. The highest elevated area of these hills is found in the South-West part of Narnaul town, which is 652 m high. It is called as Dhansi hills.

 

Floating Sandy Plains

These plains lie in the Mahendragarh, Rewari and Gurugram districts of Haryana. These plains are formed due to deposition of sand. In these plains, troughs are found in several places which are filled by water duriny rainy season.

 

Marshy Land

This region is found in the Western region of the state in the district of Sirsa. It is the region with lowest elevation in the state i.e. below 200 m. It is result of water logging which has now turned into a wasteland.

 

Climate of Haryana

The climate of Haryana is influenced by sub-tropical wet climate of Himachal and Uttar Pradesh and semi-arid climate of Rajasthan. It has sub-tropical continental type of climate. Climate of Haryana is continental, characterised by very hot in summers and very cold in winters. South-Western Haryana has semi-arid type of climate while North and North-Eastern region has humid sub-tropical type of climate. The hottest months are May and June with temperature reaching upto 45° C.January is the coldest month with the lowest temperature that may reach upto freezing point.

 

Seasons in Haryana

There are three types of seasons in the state. These are as follows: Summer Season

It is from April to June. Average temperature in this season is 35°C (minimum) and 45°-46°C (maximum). The state experiences hot winds called loo in this season. Narnaul is the hottest district in Haryana.

 

Rainy Season

It is from July to September. Average temperature is 25°C (minimum) to 32°C (maximum). The rainfall in the state is low and erratic except in parts of Karnal and Ambala districts. The Average rainfall is 45-60 cms. About 80% of the rainfall received by the state is during the monsoon season due to the South-West Monsoon winds. It occurs in the months of July-September. The remaining 20% of the rainfall is received from Western Disturbances in the months of January-February. This is locally known as Mawath rain. It is significant for the rabi crops. Shivalik region consisting of districts Ambala, Panchkula and Yamunanagar gets maximum rainfall of about 216 cm. Southern Haryana gets minimum rainfall of25-40 cm.

The Ambala district of the state receives the highest average rainfall, which is around 120 cm in a year, followed by Yamunanagar (1170-110 cm). The reason of highest rainfall here is that, it is surrounded by small hills. The district of Sirsa receives the lowest rainfall in Haryana, which is less than 35 cm. Chhachhrauli town in Yamunanagar is also known as Cherrapunji of Haryana, as it gets highest rainfall (110 cm) in the state.

 

Winter Season

It is from mid-September to mid-March. Average temperature is 12°-30°C while the months of December and January gets freezing cold with average temperature of 3°-4°C. In the North Shivalik area of Haryana, the average temperature in this season goes below the freezing point.