1. Land, Districts, Regions, Rivers and Climate
Uttar Pradesh is India's most populous state and its fourth largest by area. Most of it is the flat, fertile plain of the Ganga and its tributaries. This lesson covers the basic facts about its size, borders, divisions, regions and rivers.
Size, borders and divisions
- Area: about 2,40,928 sq km, fourth largest among states (after Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra).
- Population (Census 2011): about 19.98 crore, the largest of any state.
- UP borders Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar. It also shares an international border with Nepal.
- Seven districts touch Nepal: Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Siddharthnagar and Maharajganj.
- UP has 75 districts grouped into 18 divisions (mandals). The capital is Lucknow.
- In 2018, Allahabad district was renamed Prayagraj and Faizabad district was renamed Ayodhya.
Natural regions
- Bhabar and Terai: a narrow belt along the northern border at the foot of the Himalayas. The Terai is marshy, with tall grass and forests (Dudhwa, Pilibhit).
- Gangetic plain: the largest region, with deep alluvial soil. Newer alluvium near rivers is called khadar; older, higher alluvium is called bangar.
- Southern plateau: Bundelkhand (Jhansi, Lalitpur, Banda, Chitrakoot and nearby) and the Vindhyan area of Mirzapur and Sonbhadra. The land is rocky and dry.
- Sonbhadra has coal and limestone and many power stations, such as Anpara, Obra and Rihand. It is often called the energy capital of UP.
- The Rihand Dam in Sonbhadra forms the Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar reservoir.
Rivers
- Ganga: enters the UP plains in the west (Bijnor area) and flows east past Kanpur, Prayagraj and Varanasi into Bihar.
- Yamuna: flows past Mathura and Agra and joins the Ganga at Prayagraj (the Sangam). The Chambal, Betwa and Ken join the Yamuna from the south.
- Ghaghara (called Karnali in Nepal): a large left-bank tributary of the Ganga. The Sharda (Kali) joins it and forms part of the India-Nepal border.
- Gomti: rises near Pilibhit, flows through Lucknow and Jaunpur, and joins the Ganga near Varanasi.
- Betwa: rises in Madhya Pradesh and joins the Yamuna near Hamirpur. The Ken-Betwa river link project connects it with the Ken.
- Other rivers: Rapti (Gorakhpur), Son (Sonbhadra), Ramganga (Moradabad, Bareilly).
Quick facts
- Area rank
- 4th largest state (about 2,40,928 sq km)
- Population rank
- 1st (Census 2011: about 19.98 crore)
- Districts / divisions
- 75 / 18
- International border
- Nepal (7 districts)
- Sangam
- Ganga + Yamuna at Prayagraj
- Gomti
- Flows through Lucknow
- Rihand Dam
- Sonbhadra; Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar
- Bundelkhand
- Southern plateau: Jhansi, Lalitpur, Banda, Chitrakoot
💡 Draw a rough map of UP once and mark the Ganga, Yamuna, Ghaghara and Gomti with the cities on each. Ten minutes of map drawing saves many marks.
📝 5-question quiz on this lesson: enrol free to take it and track your score.
