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Uttaranchal
Uttaranchal Geography
Uttaranchal lies on the south slope of the mighty Himalaya
range, and the climate and vegetation vary greatly with
elevation, from glaciers at the highest elevations to
tropical forests at the lower elevations. The highest
elevations are covered by ice and bare rock.
The Western Himalayan Alpine Shrub and Meadows ecoregion
lies between 3000-3500 and 5000 meters elevation; tundra
and alpine meadows cover the highest elevations,
transitioning to Rhododendron-dominated shrublands below.
The Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests lie just
below the tree line; at 3000-2600 meters elevation they
transition to the Western Himalayan broadleaf forests,
which lie in a belt from 2,600 to 1,500 meters elevation.
Below 1500 meters elevation lies western end of the drier
Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands belt, and the Upper
Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests. This belt is
locally known as Bhabhar.These lowland forests have mostly
been cleared for agriculture, but a few pockets remain.
Uttaranchal Districts
Uttaranchal is divided into 13 districts: Almora,
Bageshwar, Chamoli, Champawat, Dehradun, Haridwar,
Nainital, Pauri (Pauri Garhwal), Pithoragarh, Rudraprayag,
Tehri (Tehri Garhwal), Udham Singh Nagar, and Uttarkashi.
These districts form two divisions; Garhwal division
includes Chamoli, Dehradun, Haridwar, Pauri Garhwal,
Rudraprayag, Tehri, and Uttarkashi districts, and Kumaon
division includes Almora, Bageshwar, Champawat, Nainital,
Pithoragarh, and Udham Singh Nagar.
Uttaranchal Economy
Uttaranchal's gross state domestic product for 2004 is
estimated at $6 billion in current prices. After partition
of Uttar Pradesh, the new state of Uttaranchal produces
about 8% of the output of the old Uttar Pradesh state. |
