Yavatmal district lies in the South-Western part of the Wardha Penganga-Wainganga plain. The district lies between 19.26’ and 20.42’ north latitudes and 77.18’ and 79.9’ east longitudes. It is surrounded by Amravati and Wardha district to the north. Chandrapur district to the east. Andhra Pradesh State and Nanded district to the south and Parbhani and Akola district.
The district has an area of 13582 sq. km
(4.41 percent of the state) and a population of 2077144 (2.63 percent of the
State). The density of population is 153 persons per km2 with is less than 257
persons per km2 for the state as whole. Amongst the 30 district in the state,
Yavatmal ranks 6th in terms of area and 19th in terms of
population.
The district headquarters are located at
Yavatmal a town with a population of 108578 as per the 1991 census. It is well
connected by roads to the different tahsil headquarters and is also connected
to Achalpur by a narrow gauge railway line.
The district consists of masses of hilly
country broken by broad valley and partially surrounded by plains. The whole
district is occupied by a number of east west ranges. The central portion is a
plateau with very steep sides and attains an elevation of between 300 and 600
meters above the mean sea level. Here and there it rises into ridges or into
flat-topped or pointed hills. All this country belongs to the Balaghat, the
southern hills of Berar. In the north the district extends into the Payanghat,
the valley of Berar. This valley varies between 65 and 80 kilometers in width.
The small part of it that belongs to Yavatmal districts forms a belt of plain
from 8 to 22 km in width along the northern district boundary. The district may
be broadly divided into the following six geographical regions.
1.
The
Bembla basin in the northern parts of New and Babulgaon tahsils.
2.
The
Wardha plain which spreads along the Wardha river in Kalamb, Ralegaon, Maregaon
and Wani tahsils;
3.
The
Yavatmal plateau which covers major part of Yavatmal, Kalamb, Kelapur and
Ghatanji tahsils and small part of Babhulgaon
Ralegaon and Maregaon tahsils.
4.
The
Darwha plateau which covers the entire tahsil of Darwha, major part of Digras Tahsil, and parts of Ner, Yavatmal
and Ghatanji tahsils.
5.
The
Pusad hills in Pusad, Mahagaon and Umarkhed tahsils and
6.
The
Penganga valley along the southern district boundary and consisting of small
part of Pusad, Umarkhed, Mahagaon Darwha, Ghatanji, Kelapur, Maregaon and Wani tahsils.
The chief rivers
of the district are the Wardha and Penganga both of which flow
along the north
eastern and southern district boundaries respectively. The Wardha River
rises to the east of Multai in Madhya Pradesh. It flows in general south-easterly
direction along the north-eastern boundary of the district. The Wardha is the
only river of the district, which is partly navigable. The bed of the river is
broad and deep, but the banks are sometimes overflowed in times of exceptional
floods. During the monsoons the river flows with a strong current but is summer
the river is fordable at a number of places. The Bembla and the Nirguda are the
main tributaries of the Wardha within the district and both are perennial. The
Bembla rises in Amravati district and only the last 30 km or so of drain
Yavatmal district. The Nirguda River rises with in the district itself and has
a length of about 165 km.
The Penganga River rises in the Ajantha range
a little to the South west of Buldhana town. It is a major tributary of the Wardha River. The river is deeply
entrenched and has a meandering course. The Penganga forms the southern district boundary throughout its long sinuous
course. The river changes twice from one longitudinal valley to a parallel
longitudinal valley northwards by marking big ‘S’ shaped curves. The Pus, Arha,
Aran, Waghavi and Kunj are the major tributaries of the Penganga River within
the district.
Its
greatest length, from east to west, is about 120 miles, and its greatest
breadth, from north to south, nearly 100 miles. It occupies the south eastern
quarter of berar on the west are Washim and Akola District. On the north is the
Amravati to the east where the Wardha river forms the boundary, lie two
Districts of the Central Provinces Wardha and Chandrapur . along the south lie
the Nanded District and Andhra pradesh. The Penganga River, which flows in
great curves and loop, marks the whole of the southern boundary and unites at
the southeastern extremity with the Wardha River. The District is divided in
old five talks and now sixteen talk.
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