Geographical area of Rajasthan :

Rajasthan is a state in the northwest of India. It is the second largest state in the country. Rajasthan means "the land of the rajahs (or kings)". It was also called Rajputana, "the country of the Rajputs" (a group of clans). The state has a long border with Pakistan, and contains a large area of desert.

Rajasthan shares an international border on the west and northwest with Pakistan. Punjab and Haryana border it to the north, Uttar Pradesh to the east, Madhya Pradesh to the east and southeast, and Gujarat to the south and southwest. South of Banswara, Rajasthan lies within the Tropic of Cancer.

Rajasthan, located at the northwestern part of India is the biggest state in the country. This colossal state has an area of 3, 42,239sq.km encompassing 11% of the total geographical area of the country. In fact Rajasthan’s area is similar to that of Western countries like Italy (3, 01,200 sq. km.), Norway (3, 24,200 sq. km) Poland (3, 12,600 sq. km.). 

Rajasthan has an atypical rhomboid shape and stretches lengthwise 869 km. from west to east and 826 km. from north to south. It shares its north-western and western boundary with the Indo-Pakistan international border that extends about 1,070 km and touches the major districts Barmer, Bikaner, Ganganagar and Jaisalmer. Altogether Rajasthan has 32 districts. 

The states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab bound the state of Rajasthan in the north and northeast. Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh lie on the east while the state of Gujrat is located at the southwest of the state. 

The state covers an area of 342,239 square kilometres (132,139 sq mi) or 10.4 percent of the total geographical area of India. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It comprises most of the wide and inhospitable Thar Desert (also known as the "Rajasthan Desert" and "Great Indian Desert") and shares a border with the Pakistani provinces of Punjab to the northwest and Sindh to the west, along the Sutlej-Indusriver valley.

Rajasthan’s geographical area is marked with diversity and is characterized by rolling sand dunes, fertile plains, rocky undulating land and some forested regions. The huge portion of the state of Rajasthan is desiccated and houses the biggest Indian desert- the Thar Desert known as the 'Maru-kantar'.Only 9.36% of the total geographical region lies under forest vegetation. 

The western area of Rajasthan being mostly barren encloses the Great Indian Thar desert. However the terrain is rocky and is much wetter and fertile in the southeastern part. Cotton, foodgrains, oilseeds and sugarcane are grown in the fertile tracts that are utilized as agricultural regions. The western region has also some wooded portions and water bodies. 

Large areas in the Sabhar region have rich deposits of salt and Khetri and Dariba have many copper mines

The northwestern portion of Rajasthan is generally sandy and dry. Most of this region is covered by the Thar Desert which extends into adjoining portions of Pakistan. The Aravalli Range does not intercept the moisture-giving southwest monsoon winds off the Arabian Sea, as it lies in a direction parallel to that of the coming monsoon winds, leaving the northwestern region in a rain shadow. The Thar Desert is thinly populated; the town of Jodhpur is the largest city in the desert and known as the gateway of the Thar desert. The desert has some major districts like Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bikaner and Nagour. This area is also important defence point of view. Jodhpur airbase is India's largest airbase and military, BSF bases are also situated here. A single civil airport is also situated in Jodhpur. The Northwestern thorn scrub forests lie in a band around the Thar Desert, between the desert and the Aravallis. This region receives less than 400 mm of rain in an average year. Temperatures can sometimes exceed 54 °C in the summer months or 129 degrees Fahrenheit and drop below freezing in the winter. The Godwar, Marwar, and Shekhawati regions lie in the thorn scrub forest zone, along with the city of Jodhpur. The Luni River and its tributaries are the major river system of Godwar and Marwar regions, draining the western slopes of the Aravallis and emptying southwest into the great Rann of Kutch wetland in neighbouring Gujarat. This river is saline in the lower reaches and remains potable only up to Balotara in Barmer district. The Ghaggar River, which originates in Haryana, is an intermittent stream that disappears into the sands of the Thar Desert in the northern corner of the state and is seen as a remnant of the primitive Sarasvati river.

The Aravalli Range and the lands to the east and southeast of the range are generally more fertile and better watered. This region is home to the Kathiawar-Gir dry deciduous forestsecoregion, with tropical dry broadleaf forests that include teak, Acacia, and other trees. The hilly Vagad region, home to the cities of Dungarpur and Banswara lies in southernmost Rajasthan, on the border with Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. With the exception of Mount Abu, Vagad is the wettest region in Rajasthan, and the most heavily forested. North of Vagad lies the Mewar region, home to the cities of Udaipur and Chittaurgarh. The Hadoti region lies to the southeast, on the border with Madhya Pradesh. North of Hadoti and Mewar lies the Dhundhar region, home to the state capital of Jaipur. Mewat, the easternmost region of Rajasthan, borders Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Eastern and southeastern Rajasthan is drained by the Banas and Chambal rivers, tributaries of the Ganges.

The Aravalli Range runs across the state from the southwest peak Guru Shikhar (Mount Abu), which is 1,722 metres (5,650 ft) in height, to Khetri in the northeast. This range divides the state into 60% in the northwest of the range and 40% in the southeast. The northwest tract is sandy and unproductive with little water but improves gradually from desert land in the far west and northwest to comparatively fertile and habitable land towards the east. The area includes the Thar Desert. The south-eastern area, higher in elevation (100 to 350 m above sea level) and more fertile, has a very diversified topography. in the south lies the hilly tract of Mewar. In the southeast, a large area within the districts of Kota and Bundi forms a tableland. To the northeast of these districts is a rugged region (badlands) following the line of the Chambal River. Farther north the country levels out; the flat plains of the northeastern Bharatpur district are part of an alluvial basin. Merta City lies in the geographical centre of Rajasthan.