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Assam
Assam Geography
T-shaped, the state consists of the northern Brahmaputra
valley, the middle Karbi and Cachar hills and the southern
Barak Valley. It experiences heavy rainfall between March
and September, with very high humidity in the summer
months. The temperatures are generally mild, never extreme
during any season.
Assam is very rich in vegetation, forests and wildlife.
Lumber was once a lucrative business, until it was
declared illegal by the Supreme Court of India. The region
also has a number of reserved forests, and one of them,
Kaziranga, is the home of the rare Indian Rhinoceros.
The state produces a lot of Bamboo, although the bamboo
industry is still nascent. The wildlife, forests and
flora, rivers and waterways, have great natural beauty,
providing growth in tourism.
High rainfall, deforestation, and other factors have
resulted in annual floods that cause widespread loss of
life, livelihood and property. An earthquake prone region,
Assam has experienced two large earthquakes: 1897 (8.1 on
the Richter scale) and 1950 (8.6).
Assam is divided into 23 districts: Barpeta, Bongaigaon,
Cachar, Darrang, Dhemaji, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Goalpara,
Golaghat, Hailakandi, Jorhat, Kamrup, Karbi Anglong,
Karimganj, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur, Marigaon, Nagaon, Nalbari,
North Cachar Hills, Sibsagar, Sonitpur, and Tinsukia.
Assam Economy
Assam's gross state domestic product for 2004 is estimated
at $13 billion in current prices.
Assam Tea
Assam's biggest contribution to the world is its tea.
Assam produces some of the finest and most expensive teas
in the world (see Assam tea). Other than the Chinese tea
variety Camellia sinensis, Assam is the only region in the
world that has its own variety of tea, called Camellia
assamica.
Assam tea is grown at elevations near sea level, giving it
a malty sweetness and an earthy flavor, as opposed to the
more floral aroma of highland (e.g. Darjeeling, Taiwanese)
teas.
The tea industry developed by the British planters brought
in labour from as far as Bihar and Orissa and their
descendents form a significant demographic group in the
state.
Assam oil
Assam also produces crude oil and natural gas. Assam is
the second place in the world (after Titusville in the
United States) where petroleum was discovered. Asia’s
first successful mechanically drilled oil well was drilled
in Makum (Assam) way back in 1867.
The second oldest oil well in the world still produces
crude oil. Most of the oilfields of Assam are located in
the Upper Assam region of the Brahmaputra Valley. Assam
has four oil refineries located at Guwahati, Digboi,
Numaligarh and Bongaigaon with a total capacity of 7 MMTPA
(Million Metric Tonnes per annum). |
