Uttar Pradesh can be divided into four distinct hypsographical regions : The Shivalik foothills. Terai in the North. The Gangetic Plain in the centre – Highly fertile alluvial soils; flat topography broken by numerous ponds, lakes, and rivers; slope 2 m/km.
Uttar Pradesh, with a total area of 243,290 square kilometres (93,935 sq mi), is India’s fourth-largest state in terms of land area and is roughly of same size as United Kingdom. It is situated on the northern spout of India and shares an international boundary with Nepal. The Himalayas border the state on the north,
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But the plains that cover most of the state are distinctly different from those high mountains. The larger Gangetic Plain region is in the north; it includes the Ganges-Yamuna Doab, the Ghaghra plains, the Ganges plains and the Terai. The smaller Vindhya Range and plateau region are in the south. It is characterised by hard rock strata and a varied topography of hills, plains, valleys and plateaus.
The Bhabhar tract gives place to the Terai area which is covered with tall elephant grass and thick forests interspersed with marshes and swamps. The sluggish rivers of the Bhabhar deepen in this area, their course running through a tangled mass of thick undergrowth. The Terai runs parallel to the Bhabhar in a thin strip. The entire alluvial plain is divided into three sub-regions. The first in the eastern tract consisting of 14 districts which are subject to periodical floods and droughts and have been classified as scarcity areas.
- Uttar Pradesh is a frontier state located in the north-central of India. Latitudinally it lies between 23052’ ‘to 30024’northern latitude and Longitude wise between 77005’ ‘to 84038’ east longitude.
- From east to west, its length is 650 km and from south to north is 240 km.
- Uttar Pradesh has a total area of 243,286 km² sq km, which is 7.33% of the total area of India.
- The urban area of Uttar Pradesh: 2.70% of its total geographical area.(6,558 sq km)
- The position of Uttar Pradesh in terms of Area: 4th (after Rajasthan, MP, and Maharashtra respectively)
- The boundary of UP is touched by 9 states / Union Territories.
- Name of state whose are touching the boundary of Uttar Pradesh: Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttarakhand
- Union Territory touching the boundary of U.P.: Delhi.
- The longest border touching UP is that of Madhya Pradesh.
- Whereas the smallest border is that of Himachal Pradesh.
- 7 districts of Uttar Pradesh lie adjacent to Nepal border. They are Maharaj ganj, Sidharthanagar, Balrampur, Sravasti, Bahraich, Lakhimpur, and Pilibhit.
- Total border length of Nepal touching UP is 579 km.
- Seven districts of Uttar Pradesh touch the boundary of Uttarakhand state. They are Saharanpur, Muzaffar Nagar, Bijnor, Moradabad, Rampur, Bareli, and Pilibhit.
- Name of Six districts of Uttar Pradesh touching the boundary of Haryana state: Saharanpur, Shamli, Bag pat, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Aligarh, and Mathura.
- Name of two districts of Uttar Pradesh touching the boundary of Delhi are respectively: Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar (NOIDA).
- River determining the boundary between Haryana and UP: Yamuna.
- Name of two districts of Uttar Pradesh touching the boundary of Rajasthan are respectively: Agra and Mathura.
- Name of eleven districts of Uttar Pradesh touching the boundary of Madhya Pradesh state are Agra, Etawah, Jalna, Jhansi, Lalitpur, Mahomba, Banda, Chitrakoot, Allahabad, Mirzapur, and Sonbhadra.
- Name of seven districts of Uttar Pradesh touching the boundary of Bihar state are Sonbhadra, Chandauli, Ghazipur, Ballia, Deoria, Kushinagar (Padrauna) and Maharaj ganj.
- Districts of Uttar Pradesh touching the boundary of Chhattisgarh state is Only Sonbhadra.
- Name of the district of Uttar Pradesh touching the boundary of Jharkhand state is Only Sonbhadra.
- Number of states lying adjacent to the border of Sonbhadra district: 4 (M.P., Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Bihar).
- Number of States lying adjacent to the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh: 3 (Haryana, Himachal, and Uttarakhand).
- Name of the State touching to the southernmost point of Uttar Pradesh: Chhattisgarh.
- Name of the States touching the eastern and western parts of the state: Bihar and Haryana
- Four districts having the largest area in decreasing order: Khiri, Sonbhadra, Hardoi, Sitapur.
- P. is currently divided into three physiographic territories:
- Gangetic plain: The elevation of Ganga Yamuna is 300 m from sea level. It has been constructed from alluvium soil.
- Bhabar – Terai region: This area extends from Saharanpur in the northwest to Kushinagar in the east. This area is flat and moist. Swamp Field is found here due to excessive rainfall.
- Plateau of the South: The total area of this area is 45200 square kilometers. The terrain of Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand is included in the plateau region of the south.
- The climate of Uttar Pradesh is predominantly Tropical monsoon type. However, due to the different abnormalities and different heights of different places from the sea level, there is an inequality in the climate.
- There three seasons: Summer, Rainy, and winter.
- Summer season: Summer season is from mid-March to mid-June.
- The average high temperature in summer is 360C to 390 C. And average low is 210C to 230 C minimum.
- The highest average temperature is found in Bundelkhand. The reason for this is its position near the line of the Tropic of Cancer.
- Rainy Season: The rainy season is from the last week of June to October.
- The highest rainfall occurs in the months of July and August. Average temperature ranges from the maximum of 320C to 340C and minimum of 250C.
- The district with highest and lowest rainfall: Gorakhpur (184.7 cm), Mathura (54.4 cm)
- Average annual rainfall of different parts of the state: Lowland area 150 cm, Eastern plains 112 cm, Intermediate plains 94 cm, Western plains area 84 cm, Southern hill plateau area 91 cm.
- Winter season: The winter season is from November to February. The coldest month of this season in January.
- The temperate, tropical, deciduous and thorny forests are found in the state.
- In Uttar Pradesh first forest policy was declared in the year 1952 and second forest policy in the year 1998.
- Forest Corporation was established in Uttar Pradesh on November 25, 1974.
- Total Forest area in is 14,461 sq km, which is 6.00% of the total area of Uttar Pradesh, in which 2195 sq km is dense forests (0.91%), 4060 sq km is medium density forest (1.69%), and 8206 sq km is open Forest (3.41%).
- Plantation area in the state is 7044 sq km, which is 2.92% of the total area of Uttar Pradesh.
- Area of shrubs in Uttar Pradesh is 803 sq. Km, which is 0.33% of the total area of Uttar Pradesh.
- Forest area between 2013 (13th report) and 2015 increased by 112 sq km
- 5 districts having the highest forest area (in descending order): Sonbhadra, Khiri, Mirzapur, Pilibhit, Chitrakoot
- 5 districts having the lowest forest area (increasing order): Bhadohi, Sant Kabir Nagar, Mau, Mainpuri, Varanasi·
- 5 districts having the highest forest percentage (in descending order): Sonbhadra, Chandauli, Mirzapur, Pilibhit, Chitrakoot.
- 5 districts having the lowest one percent (in ascending order): Bhadohi, Mainpuri, Sant Kabir Nagar, Deoria, Mau
Important schemes related to forests
- Social Forestry Scheme was started in 1976.
- P. Forestry project was started on March 1998.
- Operation Green Yojana started in 2001
- The supreme organization of the conservation of wildlife in the country is Indian wildlife board; the Prime Minister is the chairperson of this board.
- Zoo in Uttar Pradesh is in Lucknow and Kanpur.
- India’s first-night Wildlife Park (Night Safari Park) is in Greater Noida.
- National Lion Safari Park is in Etawah.
- National Elephant Safari Park is also located in Etawah.
- Rescue and rehabilitation center of elephants is in Etawah.
- Rescue and rehabilitation center of bears is located at Mathura.
- The country’s largest alligator sanctuary is in the Chambal river area.
- Peacock protection center is proposed for Vrindavan.
- National Park of Uttar Pradesh is in Dudhwa, which was declared in 1977.
- The first tiger reserve of the state is Dudhwa, which was declared in 1987.
- Second Tiger Reserve is in Pilibhit-Shahjahanpur districts, which was declared on June 2014.
- State declared its eco-tourism policy in 2014.
- There are total 11 wildlife sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh.
- There are total 13 bird sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh.
- The first wildlife sanctuary of the state is Chandraprabha Wildlife sanctuary which was established at Chandauli in 1957.
- Uttar Pradesh’s largest wildlife sanctuary is Hastinapur Wildlife sanctuary, which has an area of 2,073 sq km.
- Uttar Pradesh’s smallest wildlife sanctuary is Mahavir Swami Wildlife sanctuary, which has an area of 5.40 sq km and is located in Lalitpur.· Uttar Pradesh’s first bird sanctuary of the state is located at Nawabganj. Which was established in 1984.
- Uttar Pradesh’s largest bird sanctuary is Lakh Bahashi located at Kannauj.
- Uttar Pradesh’s smallest bird sanctuary is Patna bird sanctuary which is located at Eta