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.).
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.
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.
Last Updated on : 01 December 2011