Andhra Pradesh - Geography
Andhra Pradesh is bound on the north by Orissa and Madhya Pradesh, on the West by Maharashtra and Karnataka, on the south by Tamil Nadu and on the east by Bay of Bengal, with a coastline of 974 km. Krishna, Godavari and Pennar are the main rivers of the state. After Vindhyas, the southern India starts. So Andhra Pradesh is the link between north and south of India. The state is broadly divided into three major regions viz. the Circars or Coastal districts, which are well developed and enjoy greater degree of affluence than the other regions, Rayalaseema which is close to the coastal districts and where rainfall is less than coastal districts and drought conditions prevail sometimes, and the Telengana region of the former princely state of Nizam's of Hyderabad, which is close to Maharashtra's Marathwada region and some parts of Karnataka. The rainfall in the area is not much and the forest cover is, therefore, thin while the rocks are also porous in nature.
Geologically the state consists of igneous, metamorphic & sedimentary formations. Peninsular Geneissic Complex consisting of Archaean Group covered by complex group of Gneisses and Schists. The Precambrian Sedimentary formation of the Cuddapah Super Group, Pakhal Super Group and Kumool Group are found in Kurnool, Cuddapah, Ananthapur, Chittoor, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, Guntur, Krishna and Khammam Districts. The Bhima’s are found in the western part of Rangareddy District, the Gondwana Super Group in Khammam, Warangal, Karimnagar and Adilabad Districts. The Deccan Traps are found in Rangareddy, Nizamabad, Medak and Adilabad Districts. Outcrops of Tertiary formations are found in East and West Godavari and Vishakapatnam Districts and the Quaternary sediments as thick blankets of alluvium are found in the river valleys, deltas and along the East Coast.
The State of Andhra Pradesh abounds in a variety of mineral deposits with about 48 minerals, some of which are unique in nature like that of Barytes, Chrysotile Asbestos and Green Quartz. Most of the mineral deposits are related to the nature and composition of the country rocks in which they occur and also the geological structure. The Dharwar Schists and the associated Gnesisses and Granite contain a large variety of metallic ores such as Gold, Manganese, Chromite, Copper, Iron Ore, Bauxite and Wolframite. Deposits of non-metallic minerals like Diamond, Apatite, Corundum,Feldspar, Garnet, Quartz, Green Quartz, Amethyst, Graphite, Kyanite and Mica are also found in them. These Archaean Group of rocks is a storehouse for different varieties of Gneisses, Charnockites, Granites, Anorthosites, Dolerite Gabbro, Khondalites, Quartzites,Granulites, Migmatites, Lyptenites, Syenites and Crystalline Limestone which are useful in building, cutting and polishing industry.
Barytes, Clays, Red-ochres, Asbestos, Haematite,Steatite and Diamond are the important mineral deposits found within the Cuddapah,Kurnool and Pakhal Groups. Some of the rocks within this group, particularly the Quartzites, Limestone, Marble, Dolomite, Slates and Sand Stones are good building stone and are found in significant quantities.
The Gondwana group contains vast deposits of Coal and Refractory Clays like Fire Clay and Ball Clay. The Pleistocene formations occurring both on-shore and off-shore contain oil and natural gas. The recent formations comprising of Alluvium. Sand and Soils yield good Brick Clays and Sand for building and other purpose. The coastal heavy sands contain rich llmenite, Rutile, Monazite, Zircon, Gamet and other minerals.
Andhra Pradesh is gifted with a vast and varied decorative/dimensional stones viz, Granites, Limestone Slabs, Marble, Slate, Phyllite, Quartzite etc. Globally known for exclusive and unique Chimakurthy Black Galaxy Granite and other varieties like Warangal Jet Black, Khammam Black, Srikakulam Blue and White, Karimnagar Tan Brown, Ananthapur Chilly Red. Chittor Kuppam Green etc. The Granite varieties of Andhra Pradesh confim to the highest international standards and provide excellent uniformity, consistency and have been used in several well known buildings all over the world.
The state has a large coast line of nearly 974 kms, temple destinations, lush green forests and spicy cuisine which have led to increase in domestic tourism in the last few years. Andhra Pradesh is one of the largest producers of brackish water shrimps and freshwater prawns. Fish production in the state in 2016-17 (up to December) stood at 2,352.26 thousand tonnes. The presence of rich climatic and soil conditions make Andhra Pradesh a major agricultural belt. Few of the leading crops produced in the state include rice, chilly, oilseeds, cotton, pulses and gram. Foodgrain production in the state reached 10.366 million tonnes in 2016-17.
Andhra Pradesh is endowed with respect to rainfall and soils. It has a hot and humid tropical climate that varies from semi-arid to sub-humid, with an average rainfall of 940 m.m as against the National average of about 1150 m.m The State is dominated by red soils (less fertile) covering about 65% of area, followed by black soils (Medium fertile 25%) and alluvial soils (Most fertile 10%) as against 80% of black and alluvial soils at all India level. A variety of soils ranging from poor coastal sands to highly fertile deltaic alluviums. Red soils occupy over 66% of the cultivated area and are mostly situated in Rayalaseema and Telangana districts. These soils have a low nutrient status. Red soils can be sub classified as (a) Dubba soils (loamy sands to sandy loams) (b) Chalkas (sandy loam soils) (c) sandy clay loams (d) loams including silty soils (e) deep loamy sands and (f) sandy loams with clay sub soil. Chalkas occur mostly in the Telangana districts, while Red loams combined with sands are present in the upland regions of coastal districts.
Black soils cover nearly 25% of the cultivated area and are generally associated with poor drainage. They are also called as Regurs or vertisols and are of two types. The first category is in-situ soils. The other one is transported soils while the first category can be noticed in the coastal districts and parts of Telangana and Rayalaseema, the second category are in the valley regions of the slopes with calcareous concentrations. The in- situ soils are generally heavy in texture and high salt concentration.
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