Chapter 8 West Bengal Introduction
West Bengal is the only state of India that extends from the Bay of Bengal to the Himalayas.
At present, there are 28 states and 8 union territories in India.
West Bengal ranks fourth in total population and second in population density among the 28 states of India.
West Bengal shares common boundaries with three independent countries namely, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal, and five
Indian states namely, Assam, Sikkim, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha. Though the state of Tripura does not share a common boundary with West Bengal, it is regarded as a neighboring state of West Bengal.
Read and Learn Also WBBSE Class 9 Geography And Environment Notes
Presently, there are 23 districts in West Bengal which are grouped into 5 administrative divisions—
Jalpaiguri division,
Malda division,
Bardhaman division,
Medinipur division,
Presidency division.
The most newly formed districts of West Bengal are Purba Bardhaman and Paschim Bardhaman which were formed on 7 April 2017 after the bifurcation of the former Bardhaman district.
West Bengal is mainly divided into three physiographic divisions—
Northern hilly region,
Western plateau region and
Plain region.
The northern hilly region of West Bengal is the extended part of the eastern Himalayas. This mountainous region covers the major part of Darjeeling district except for the Siliguri subdivision, Kalimpong district, and the northern part of Alipurduar district.
Singalila range extends along the boundary of Darjeeling and Nepal. Sandakphu, one of the peaks of the Singalila range (3665 m) is the highest peak in West Bengal.
The plain land at the foothills of the northern hilly region is known as Terai. The slope of the land is from north to south. The land at the east of Terai is known as Dooars or Duars.
WBBSE Class 9 Geography Chapter 8 West Bengal Notes
Geologically western plateau region is a part of the Chotanagpur Plateau.
Gorgaburu of Ayodhya hill is the highest peak (677 m) of the western plateau region.
The old alluvium region of North Bengal is called Barind or Barendrabhumi. Red soil can be seen in this region.
The scattered marshy land of the northern plain is locally known as Tal.
The flat land between the western plateau region and the Bhagirathi-Hooghly River is known as the Rarh region.
Sagar Island is the largest island and Purbasha or New Moore Island (currently submerged) is the newly formed island of the Sundarban region.
The main river of West Bengal is Ganga and its tributary Bhagirathi-Hooghly.
Teesta is the main river of the northern hilly region which originated from the Jemu glacier of the Himalayas.
Teesta is also known as the ‘River of Threat’ as it causes floods during monsoons in the northern hilly region.
Many rivers flow along the slope of the western plateau. Damodar is the main river among them.
Damodar originates from the Khamarpat. Hill of Jharkhand. It is also known as the ‘Sorrow of Bengal’ as it causes massive floods during the rainy season.
The combined flow of the Dwarakeswar and Shilabati rivers is known as the Rupnarayan river.
In the coastal region of West Bengal, the rivers become wider at their mouths and form funnel-shaped creeks.
Most of the rivers in a northern hilly region are snow-fed and thus, carry water throughout the year.
Most of the rivers of the western plateau region are rain-fed.
Rivers of the Sundarban region are tide-fed.
The influence of monsoon winds is maximum on the climate of West Bengal.
The four seasons summer, monsoon, autumn, and winter occur sequentially in West Bengal.
The southwest monsoon wind blows from June to September and from the end of September to the beginning of October, retreating monsoon wind or northeast monsoon wind blows over West Bengal.
In the summer season, a hot and dry wind known as ‘loo’ blows at noon over the. western plateau region, of West Bengal.
The hottest and coldest places in West Bengal are Asansol and Sandakphu respectively.
Buxaduar of the Alipurduar district is the wettest or the most humid (average annual rainfall 535 cm) place in West Bengal, whereas Mayureswar of the Birbhum district is the driest place.
During summers in West Bengal (April- May), sometimes in the evening thunderstorms and heavy rainfall or hailstorms occur, which are called Nor’wester [locally known as ‘Kalbaisakhi’]. On the other hand, in autumn (October-November) a local cyclone called ‘Aswiner Jhar’ causes rainfall in the coastal regions of West Bengal.
Most of the region in West Bengal is covered by alluvial soil. It is fertile soil with a high water-holding capacity. Alluvial soil is found on both banks of the Bhagirathi-Hooghly River.
Natural Resources And Economy Of West Bengal Notes WBBSE Class 9
Sandy saline soil is found in the coastal regions of Purba Medinipur and South 24 Parganas.
Red, hard lateritic soil is found in the districts of Purulia, Birbhum, Bankura, and Paschim Medinipur. All these districts fall under the plateau region of West Bengal. Laterite soil is rich in iron and aluminum oxide.
Duricrust forms the top hard layer of laterite soil.
Brown podsol soil is found in the northern hilly region of West Bengal. This soil is favorable for the cultivation of tea, cinchona’, oranges, pineapple, etc. Coniferous trees also grow in this type of soil.
Terai soil, which is found at the foothills of the northern hilly region in West Bengal, is full of pebbles and has high nitrogen content.
A characteristic type of landform has developed by soil erosion caused due to rainfall and streamflow near, Shantiniketan in the Birbhum district. This type of topography is called khoai or badland topography.
Only 13% of the total land in West Bengal is under forest cover, out of which 60% of the forest is restricted to the northern hilly region.
Most of the area in West Bengal is covered by deciduous forests. However, the terai-duars region and the high-altitude areas of the northern hilly region are covered by dense evergreen forest and coniferous forest respectively.
The deciduous forest cover of the western plateau region of West Bengal has considerably reduced due to deforestation.
Mangrove or tidal forest is found on the southern coast of North and South 24 Parganas. This mangrove forest is known as Sundarbans for the predominance of Sundari trees.
Sundarbans. mangrove forest was enlisted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
Two-thirds of the whole population of West Bengal is directly or indirectly dependent on agricultural work.
The main agricultural food crop of West Bengal is rice and different types of cash crops grown here are tea, jute, etc.
The variety of paddy that is mainly cultivated in West Bengal is Aman.
Purba Bardhaman district is called the ‘Rice Bowl of West Bengal’.
Rice Research Institute of West Bengal is located at Chinsurah in the Hooghly district.
Jute is known as golden fiber and tea is known as a golden drink.
An institute on jute research is located at Barrackpore in North 24 Parganas.
A tea auction center is located in Siliguri.
Tea Board India is located in Kolkata.
The main source of power for electricity generation in West Bengal is thermal power (heat produced by the burning of coal).
The largest thermal power station in West Bengal is Mejia (estimated total capacity is 2340 MW). Another important power station is Farakka (estimated total capacity is 2100 MW).
Durgapur and Kulti-Burnpur are the main centers of the iron and steel industry in West Bengal. Durgapur is called ‘Ruhr of India’.
The first jute mill in India was set up in 1854 at Rishra. Most of the jute mills in India are found in the Hooghly industrial belt,
The first cotton textile factory in West Bengal as well as in India was established in 1818 at Ghusuri in the Hooghly district.
The cotton textile industry is also called the footloose industry.
Class 9 WBBSE Geography West Bengal Key Concepts And Study Guide
Edward Food Research and Analysis Centre Limited has been established at Barasat in North 24 Parganas to assess the quality of products in the food processing industry.
Software Technology Park has been established in Salt Lake to promote software technology. The Intelligent Complex has also been formed for the same purpose and it covers an area of over 3 lakh square feet.
The state government of West Bengal has launched a campaign named ‘Beautiful Bengal’ to promote tourism in West Bengal in India and also across the world.
The second largest city in West Bengal is Asansol. It is the district headquarters of Paschim Bardhaman and is also called ‘the City of Black Diamond’.
Recently, the construction of the third largest port of West Bengal has been initiated near Sagar island in South 24 Parganas.
Some noteworthy historical places of West.’Bengal is Hazarduari, Plassey, Gour, etc.