Geography of Arunachal Pradesh

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Template:Infobox place geography

File:Boleng AirView1.jpg
Boleng, Siang district

Arunachal Pradesh is primarily a hilly tract nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas in northeast India. It is spread over an area of Template:Convert.[1] 98% of the geographical area is land out of which 80% is forest cover;Template:Sfnp 2% is water.Template:Sfnp River systems in the region, including those from the higher Himalayas and Patkoi and Arakan Ranges, eventually drain into the Brahmaputra River.Template:Sfn

Elevation ranges from mountains that are above Template:Convert,Template:Sfn to the towns in the plains with an elevation of less than Template:Convert.Template:Sfnp Arunachal shares international borders with Bhutan, Tibet (China) and Burma (Myanmar). Internally, Arunachal borders the states of Assam and Nagaland. Arunachal is called the "orchid state of India"[2][3] and "dawn-lit mountain/Land of Dawn/Land of Dawn-Lit Mountains".[4]Template:Sfnp

Area and borders

Arunachal Pradesh is located in northeast India, bordering Bhutan, Tibet (China) and Myanmar internationally.[5] The border with Bhutan is Template:Convert, the China border is Template:Convert, and the Myanmar border is Template:Convert.[5] Internal borders includes the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border Template:Convert,[6] while the border with Nagaland is Template:Convert.

The territory covers Template:Convert.[1] 98% of the geographical area is land.Template:Sfnp Most of this land state is hilly terrain, with flat land covering about Template:Convert.[5] Water covers 2% of the area.Template:Sfnp It is the 14th largest among the states and union territories of India by area.[7]

Physical geography

Topography and relief

Relief range varies between plains that are a few hundred meters in height and mountains above Template:Convert.Template:Sfn The elevation of the towns of Naharlagun, Pasighat and Tezu in the south are 290 m, 155 m and 210 m respectively,Template:Sfnp while Kangto, Nyegi Kangsang and the Gorichen group of mountains are some of the highest peaks in this region of the Himalayas.Template:Sfn The southern borders of Arunachal Pradesh are encompassed by the Shivalik ranges which merge into plains.Template:Sfn The hills and mountains have associated features such as valleys and intermontane plateaus, that is plateaus between mountains.Template:Sfn

Template:OSM Location map

Major Mountains and their Peaks
Mountain name Peak Coordinates Refs
Kangto # Template:Convert Template:Coord Template:Sfn[8]
Nyegyi Kansang # Template:Convert Template:Coord [9]
Chumo # Template:Convert Template:Coord [10]
Tapka Shiri # ** Template:Convert Template:Coord Template:Sfn[11]
Gori Chen Template:Convert Template:Coord [12][13]
Shalundi Template:Convert Template:Sfn
Dapha Bum Template:Convert Template:Coord Template:Sfn[14]
Komdi Template:Convert Template:Sfn
Vorjing Template:Convert Template:Coord Template:Sfn
Ladu Template:Convert Template:Sfn
# Mountain (as compared to the peak) is located in both India and China
File:Sunrise in the Himalayas (11096205714).jpg
Gorichen group
File:Madhuri Lake.jpg
Sangetsar Tso

Parts of the Lohit district, Changlang district and Tirap district are covered by the Patkai hills. The hills extend towards Nagaland, and form a natural boundary between India and Burma.[15][16]

Namcha Barwa Himal range extends into India up to Siyom River.[17]

Major hills found in this region include:Template:Sfn

Template:OSM Location map

Drainage and river systems

Water/wetland cover is Template:Convert or 1.91% of the total area.Template:Sfnp Out of this, 86% of wetlands are rivers.Template:Sfnp Lohit district and Dibang Valley district have the highest number of wetlands in the state.Template:Sfnp

File:Lohit river, Arunachal Pradesh, India.jpg
Lohit River
File:Bong bong falls.jpg
Nuranang Falls

The major river systems are (from west to east clockwise):Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

All of these are fed by snow from the Himalayas and numerous rivers and rivulets and eventually flow into Siang/Brahmaputra. Abrasion by the rivers which flow through the mountains has created a broad valley, which is a major feature of the geography of the state.

File:River Siyom, Aalo, Arunachal Pradesh.jpg
River Siyom

Other rivers include Tawang Chu, Dikrong, Ranga, Kamala/Kamla, Kamplang, Siyum, Dihing/ Noadihing and Tirap.Template:Sfn

File:Arunachal rivers and basins.jpg
Major rivers in Arunachal and their basins

Biodiversity

Eco-regions and forest types

Arunachal consists of a number of eco-regions. At the lowest elevations, at Arunachal Pradesh's border with Assam, are the Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests. Much of the state, including the Himalayan foothills and the Patkai hills, are home to Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests. Towards the northern border with Tibet, with increasing elevation, come a mixture of Eastern and Northeastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests followed by Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows.Template:Citation needed

Climatically, the forests can be categorised as Tropical forests, subtropical forests, temperate forest, subalpine coniferous forest, alpine and secondary forests.[18][19] At the lowest elevations, densely forested areas are seen with the trees ranging from seasonal tropical forest to broadleaf and semi-alpine coniferous forests. Alpine shrubs and meadows follow, ultimately leading to ice-clad peaks.

File:Evergreen forest 1.jpg
Evergreen forest of Pakke, Aurnachal Pradesh.

The Forest Research Institute of India's India State of Forest Report 2019 lists area under different forest types in the state.Template:Sfnp The major forest types as a percentage of the forest cover area are:

Forest cover varies from 54% in Tawang district to 92% in Papum Pare district.Template:Sfnp There are 110 species of trees.Template:Sfnp

Protected areas include the Dihang-Dibang Biosphere Reserve, Namdapha National Park, Mouling National Park, and 11 wildlife sanctuaries and reserves including elephant reserves, tiger reserves and an orchid sanctuary,Template:Efn covering about 12% of the geographical area of the state.[20]

Flora and fauna

Flora and fauna in the state includes over 4000 species of flowering plants,Template:Sfnp 600 bird species, 200 fish species,Template:Sfn 42 amphibian species, 85 terrestrial mammals and a wide number of insects, butterflies and reptiles.[18][21] Orchids, fern, bamboo, cane, rhododendrons, oak, hedychiums, and various medicinal plants form a diverse range of the state's green cover. Among the crops grow are rice, nigros, maize, millet, wheat, pulses, sugarcane, ginger, and oilseeds. Arunachal is also ideal for horticulture and fruit orchards. Its major industries are rice mills, fruit preservation and processing units, and handloom handicrafts Apart from them, the forests of Arunachal are also home to a large number of people belonging to the different tribes. These tribal people, aloof from urbanization, dwell in these forests where the various forest-based products form a part of their livelihood. Right from the south of the state where the altitude is low we get to see a variety of trees like teak, sal, gutjan, more.

Climatic conditions

File:Sela lake,Arunachal Pradesh.jpg
Sela

As per the Köppen–Geiger climate classification system, the most prevalent climate types in the state are humid subtropical climate and monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate.[22] Other climates include subtropical highland climate, monsoon-influenced warm-summer humid continental climate and monsoon-influenced subarctic climate.[22]

The regions in the lower belts of the state experience hot and humid climates, with a maximum temperature in the foothills reaching up to 40 °C (during the summer). The average temperature in this region in winter ranges from 15° to 21 °C while that during the monsoon season remains between 22° and 30 °C.Template:Sfn[23][24]

Arunachal Pradesh experiences heavy rainfall during May to September. The average rainfall recorded in Arunachal Pradesh is 300 centimeters, varying between 80 centimeters and 450 centimeters.Template:Sfn

Human geography

Demographics

Template:Main

Administrative divisions

Template:Main Template:Arunachal Pradesh districts

See also

References

Notes

Template:Notelist

References
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Arunachal Pradesh: Physiography, At a glance. gbpihedenvis.nic.in. ENVIS Centre on Himalayan Ecology. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  2. ↑ 4 Reasons Why Arunachal Pradesh is a Natural Wonderland. Outlook India Traveller(26 June 2018). Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  3. ↑ Launching IUCN Red-listing Process for Orchids in Arunachal Pradesh, India. IUCN(2020-12-03). Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  4. ↑ Land of the Dawn-lit Mountains{{#if:Bolingbroke-Kent|, Bolingbroke-Kent}. Simon and Schuster(2017-06-15). ISBN 978-1-4711-5657-1
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Border Area Development Programme in Arunachal Pradesh. Department of Planning, Government of Arunachal Pradesh. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  6. ↑ Boundaries of Assam. Inter-State Border Areas.. Directorate Of Border Protection And Development, Border Protection And Development, Government Of Assam. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  7. ↑ Area of Indian states. Government of Andhra Pradesh. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  8. ↑ Kangtö. Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  9. ↑ Nyegyi Kansang. Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  10. ↑ Chumo. Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Takpa Shiri. Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  12. ↑ NG 46-2 Towang. Tile of the Map India and Pakistan 1:250,000. Series U502, U.S. Army Map Service, 1955(1955).
  13. ↑ North-East Frontier of India (Arunachal Pradesh) and eastern Tibet, exploration in 1913 by Morshead and Bailey(1913).
  14. ↑ Dapha Bum. Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  15. ↑ Tirap District, Arunachal Pradesh, Gazetteer of India.{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. R.N. Bagchi, Director of Information and Public Relations, Government of Arunachal Pradesh, Shillong(1980). ISBN 9788190658713
  16. ↑ North East India: People, History and Culture. National Council of Educational Research and Training(April 2017). Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  17. ↑ Classification of the Himalaya. American Alpine Journal({Template:Date).
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Climate change and its impact on biodiversity; some management options for mitigation in Arunachal Pradesh. Current Science({Template:Date).
  19. ↑ Arunachal Pradesh Geography.
  20. ↑ Arunachal registers decline in forest cover for second year in a row, Rina, Tongam. The Arunachal Times(31 December 2019). Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  21. ↑ Arunachal Pradesh at a Glance.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Climate Arunachal Pradesh: Temperature, climate graph. en.climate-data.org. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  23. ↑ Par Monthly Climate Averages, Arunachal Pradesh, IN. WorldWeatherOnline.com. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  24. ↑ Arunachal Pradesh. Weatherbase. Retrieved 2021-06-23.

Bibliography

Books
  • Geography and Development of Hill Areas: A Case Study of Arunachal Pradesh{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Mittal Publications(1992). ISBN 9788170993834
  • Paths of Development in Arunachal Pradesh{{#if:Singh|, Singh}. Northern Book Centre(2005). ISBN 9788172111830
  • Himalayan Nature and Tibetan Buddhist Culture in Arunachal Pradesh, India: A Study of Monpa{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Springer(2015). ISBN 9784431554929
  • Biodiversity of Fishes in Arunachal Himalaya{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Academic Press, Elsevier(2019). ISBN 978-0-12-815837-1
Government

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