Geography of Ranchi
Ranchi, the city of waterfalls, is situated in the Chota Nagpur Plateau in Jharkhand state. It is located at 23.23o N latitude and 85.23o E longitude and is 2,140 feet above sea level. The total area covered by Ranchi Municipal area is around 175.12 sq. kms.
Ranchi is surrounded by friendly hills and a green cover of dense tropical forests. During the British rule, Ranchi was a hill station! Today, many small and big industries have been set up in Ranchi. This has generated employment opportunities for people living in Ranchi and nearby areas.
Ranchi has a humid subtropical climate. The summer temperature varies from minimum of 21o C to maximum of 37o C. During winter, the temperature varies from a minimum of 10o C to maximum of 22o C. The annual rainfall recorded in this is 1530 mm.
Subarnarekha is an important river in Ranchi. Subarnarekha River Basin comprises of Kharkai, Subernar, Raru, Kanchi, Damra, Karru, Chinguru, Garra rivers.
National Highway NH 33 and NH 23 pass by Ranchi. Ranchi district is divided into 3 administrative sub-divisions: Ranchi, Bundu and Khunti. These comprise of many villages ,Panchayats and Blocks.
Micacious soil, red soil, sandy soil, black soil, laterite soil are some types of soils found in various parts of the state. Western part of Ranchi, Palamu, some parts of Singhbhum and Santhal Parganas have laterite soil. Because of large deposits of coal and iron ore, a number of industries have been set up in Ranchi, Bokaro and Jamshedpur. Different rock formations spanning from Pre-Cambrian to Cenozoic era are found here.
The Chota Nagpur Plateau (CNP) region extends from the western part of Jharkhand to the border of West Bengal in the East. Ranchi Plateau makes for the largest part of Chota Nagpur Plateau. There are many waterfalls here formed by various rivers when they descend gracefully. The plateau is highly dissected at the edges due to this reason.