Geography of Haryana

• Haryana is a landlocked state in the North Western region of India and consists 1.34% of the total geographical area of country.
• It is surrounded by Himachal Pradesh from North, Rajasthan from South, U.P and Delhi from East and Punjab from North West.
• Area wise the largest district of Haryana is Sirsa while Faridabad is the smallest district.
• Haryana has four main geographical features:
  • The Yamuna-Ghaggar plain forming the largest part of the state.
  • Shivalik Hills to the northeast in foothills of Himalayas.
  • Semi-desert dry sandy plain to the south-west.
  • Aravali Hills in the south.

Major canals

• Western and Eastern Yamuna Canal is the oldest canal of the state which emerges from the Tajewala barrage. These branches feed water, for irrigation purposes, to the land areas of Karnal, Panipat, Sonepat, Jind and Rohtak districts.
• Gurgaon Canal has been drawn at the Okhla barrage from the Yamuna.
• Bhakra Canal has been drawn form Sutlej river near Nangal. The fields of Sirsa, Rohtak and Hissar districts are supplied water through this canal.
• Bhiwani Canal is a small canal, drawn out of Bhakra Canal it passed through district of Bhiwani.
• Jawahar Lal Canal has also been drawn from Bhakra Canal and passes through Mahendragarh.

• Climate

• Haryana is extremely hot in summer at around 45 °C (113 °F) and mild in winter. The hottest months are May and June and the coldest are December and January.
• The district of Karnal, Ambala and a portion of Kurukshetra district lying under the climatic type Cwa, Sirsa and Hisar district has got climatic type Bwh. The rest of the State belongs to the climatic type Bsh.
• The year is divided into four seasons. The winter season from November to March is followed by summer season from April to June. The period from July to middle of September constitutes the south-west monsoon season and the period from the latter half of September to October forms the post-monsoon period.
• Winter prevails over the entire State during the period from November to March and is generally very unpleasant due to biting cold. In this season a series of western disturbances affect the climate of the State. In the summer months from April to June, weather is very dry and uncomfortable.
• The maximum rainfall is 216 cms and the minimum rainfall ranges from 25 to 38 cms.

• Soils Of Haryana

• Soil is formed almost entirely of alluvium, the state is situated towards the depressions of the rivers Ganges and Indus.
• It is a broad level plain standing nearly on the watershed between the basins of the two rivers. It is a vast ground of moist land. In the whole of the region except the flood plains of the Yamuna and the Ghaggar, the alluvium is of the old type containing sand, clay, silt and hard calcareous concentrations about the size of nuts known as 'Kankars'.
• In the Khaddar the deposits of the alluvium are of the recent type. They consist of coarse sand and some silt, regularly deposited by the rivers and small mountain streams of the Indo-Gangetic watershed.
• In the south-western part, a great deal of wind-blown sand has been piled up in the form of sand dunes. These dunes are sometimes many metres high. The alluvium is covered by sand, making the region as arid and unproductive as a desert.

• Important Lakes of Haryana

• Badkhal Lake is situated near Faridabad in Haryana, about 32 kilometers from Delhi. Fringed by the hills of the Aravalli Range it is a man-made embankment. Owing to unchecked mining in neighbouring areas, the lake has now totally dried up. Close to Badkhal Lake, is the Peacock Lake, which is another picturesque spot. It is an important biodiversity area contiguous to Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary within the Northern Aravalli leopard wildlife corridor.
• Brahma Sarovar Lake is one of Asia's largest man-made pond. It is 3600 ft long, 1500 ft broad and 45 ft deep. Brahma stands for Lord Brahma, the creator of universe in Hinduism, and Sarovar in Hindi means 'pond'. The pond is named such because myths say that Lord Brahma created the universe from the land of Kurukshetra, after performing a huge yagya. A giant black stone chariot of Lord Krishna and Arjuna is located in its premises. The ghats of the sarovar are named after the most prominent characters of the Mahabharata.
• Karna Lake is a manmade lake in Karnal city of Haryana.
• Sannihit Sarovar, believed to be the permanent abode of Lord Vishnu, is situated at a distance of 3 kms from Kurukshetra on Pehowa Road. It is supposed that entire range of Tirthas assembles here on the day of Amavasya and as per the legends, if a man performs Shradhs at the time of solar eclipse and takes bath in this tank, he acquires the fruit of 1000 Ashwamedh sacrifices. Sikh Gurus too have visited this holy place from time to time.
• Surajkund Lake also known as 'Lake of the Sun', is an artificial Kund built in the backdrop of the Aravalli hills near Faridabad. It is said to have been built by the Suraj Pal, King of Tomar dynasty in the 10th century.
• Tilyar Lake, situated 42 Kms from Delhi, is located in Rohtak District of Haryana.
• Blue Bird Lake is a resident and endangered migratory fowl wetland habitat, lake and exercise area in the Hisar city of Haryana. It is close to Deer Park and Shatavar Vatika Herbal Park of Hisar.

• Flora and Fauna of State

  Forests

• Haryana is rich in various kinds of flora. In the state there is a general type of flora but some pockets of the region give a special types of herbs and bushes. There are hardly any hilly tracts in Haryana except a few in Panchkula district-its sub-montane area and the range of Aravalli chain in Gurgaon, Rewari, Faridabad and Mahendragarh districts.
• In Panchkula, the hilly areas are generally devoid of vegetation other than rough scrub, and the low bleak hills are of little use except as grazing grounds. The tract around Kalesar and Morni, however, is more valuable.
• Formed almost entirely of alluvium, the state is situated towards the depressions of the rivers, Ganges and Indus.It is vast ground of moist land. So, under the situations, flora also differs.
• Thorny, dry, deciduous forest and thorny shrubs can be found all over the state. During the monsoon, a carpet of grass covers the hills. Mulberry, eucalyptus, pine, kikar, shisham and babul are some of the trees found here.
• Forest cover in the state is near 3.6% of the total geographical area of Haryana while total forest and tree Cover is 6.79%. Forest Cover in the state in 2017 was 1588 km2 and the Tree Cover in the state was 1415 km2. In 2016-17, 18,412 hectares were brought under tree cover by planting 14.1 million seedlings.
• Panchkula district has maximum forest cover while Palwal district has minimum forest cover.

• Wildlife

• In olden times, lions and tigers were not uncommon in the state. The Nardak area of the then Karnal district was once a favourite spot of the Mughal emperors for hunting lions and tigers.These species have completely disappeared now.
• The species of fauna found in the state of Haryana include black buck, nilgai, panther, fox, mongoose, jackal and wild dog. Apart from this more than 450 species of birds are also found.
• Haryana has two national parks, eight wildlife sanctuaries, two wildlife conservation areas, five animal and bird breeding centers, one deer park and three zoos, all of which are managed by the Haryana Forest Department of the Government of Haryana.

• National parks of Haryana

  The Forests Department of Haryana maintains 2 National parks:

• Sultanpur National Park (142.52 hectares),25 km from Gurugram, is a bird paradise for bird watchers. It is famous for its migratory as well as resident birds. Migratory species reach here after covering incredible distance, since their home land in Europe, Siberia and Central Asia becomes uninhabitable due to cold temperature, snow covered ground and frozen lakes. Migratory birds start arriving in the park in September.
• Kalesar National Park (4682.32 hectares), 15 km from Yamunanagar, has got lot of significance in terms of biodiversity and ecological stability in this part of the country. In terms of biodiversity, it is store house of numerous medicinal plants. It houses many threatened animals like Leopard, Ghoral, Barking deer, Sambar, Chital, Python, King Cobra, Monitor lizard etc. Occasionally, Tigers and Elephants visit this park from Rajaji National Park situated in Uttarakhand.

• Wildlife Sanctuaries of Haryana

  The Forests Department, Haryana of the Government of Haryana maintains the following Wildlife Sanctuaries:

• Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary, Jhajjar
• Khaparwas Wildlife Sanctuary, Jhajjar
• Nahar Wildlife Sanctuary, Rewari
• Chhilchhila Wildlife Sanctuary, Kurukshetra
• Kalesar Wildlife Sanctuary, Yamunanagar
• Abubshahar Wildlife Sanctuary, Sirsa
• Khol Hi-Raitan Wildlife Sanctuary, Panchkula
• Bir Shikargah Wildlife Sanctuary, Panchkula

• Animal & Bird Breeding Centers of Haryana

  The Forests Department of Haryana runs the following breeding centres in the state:

• Chinkara Breeding Centre, Kairu, Bhiwani
• Crocodile Breeding Centre, Bhor Saidan, Kurukshetra
• Peacock & Chinkara Breeding Centre, Jhabua, Rewari
• Pheasant Breeding Centre, Morni, Panchkula
• Vulture Conservation and Breeding Centre, Pinjore

• Conservation Reserves

• Saraswati Conservation Reserve, Kaithal
• Bir Bara Ban Conservation Reserve, Jind

• *The Forests Department of the Government of Haryana runs Deer Park located next to Hisar Airport.