Assam - Geography
Bordering six States [Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura] and two countries [Bangladesh and Bhutan], the State of Assam constitutes about 2.4 percent of the country’s geographical area.
Revered and respected, the Brahmaputra River is the most important natural feature of the State. Originating in Tibet as the Tsang-po, it journeys eastwards for hundreds of kilometres before breaking through the Himalayas. Then known as the Siang, it traverses 300 kilometres of the forested hills of Arunachal, before it is met by the Lohit, a river with deep associations for the Assamese people. From this union is born the Brahmaputra, the ‘Son of God’. It now commences its regal passage of almost 800 kilometers in Assam. Sweeping southwards beyond Dhubri, it then enters Bangladesh, moving powerfully towards the Bay of Bengal.
The Brahmaputra River flows through Assam from east to west over a length of approximately 650 kilometers. Its main branch originates in the Tibetan plateau, flowing from west to east as the Tsangpo River, and then turns south through theeastern Himalaya as the Dihang River to enter Assam, where it is joined by other branches to form the Brahmaputra. The Barak River rises in the Indian state of Nagaland at an elevation of approximately 2,300 meters and passes through theManipur Hills of Manipur state over a river length of nearly 400 kilometers. It then flows generally westward from Lakhipur through the Cachar Plains region of Assam over ariver length of approximately 130 kilometers to enter Bangladesh near Bhanga. Each flood season the Brahmaputra forsakes its earlier channels to cut new swathes through the soil. As the water recedes, alluvial deposits remain in the river, giving rise to sandy islands. Some of these islands are very large, and the annually enriched soil has attracted cultivation and semi-permanent settlement. Among the largest is Majuli Island, steeped in culture and tradition, and almost a thousand square kilometers in area.
Located in the middle of mighty river Brahmaputra, Majuli is the largest inhabited river Island in the world. The River Island, which is the top seat of Neo-Vaishnavite movement started by 15th Century scholar and reformer Srimanta Sankardeva, is also the first Island district of India. According to the statistics with the Assam government, there were 65 Vaishvavite Satras in the Island. However, most of them had to shift to other places due to the recurrent erosion problem every year and only 22 Satras exists in the Island now. The erosion had already eaten up more than one-third of the Island’s landmass over the years. While Majuli comprised over 1,256 square km of land in the beginning of 20th century, the Island is reduced to a mere 352 square km in 2014.
Assam is blessed with fertile soil and a climate conducive to agriculture. The State has the potential to expand its agricultural production manifold. The State possesses an estimated 320 million tonnes of coal reserves, oil and natural gas reserves, sufficient to sustain current production levels for at least another fifty years, and a vast, though largely untapped, potential for power generation.
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