Kolkata is located in the eastern part of India. It has spread linearly along the banks of theHooghly River. TheKolkata Municipal Corporation has an area of 205 square kilometres.[1] The city is nearsea level, with the average elevation being 17 feet.[2] The whole area is in theGanges Delta which starts within 100 km south of the city. Most of the city was originallymarshywetlands, remnants of which can still be found especially towards the eastern parts of the city.
Indo-Gangetic Plain, the soil and water are predominantlyalluvial in origin. Kolkata is located over the "Bengal basin", a pericratonic tertiary basin.[3] Bengal basin comprises three structural units: shelf or platform in the west; central hinge or shelf/slope break; and deep basinal part in the east and southeast. Kolkata is located atop the western part of the hinge zone which is about 25 km (16 mi) wide at a depth of about 45,000 m (148,000 ft) below the surface.[3] The shelf and hinge zones have many faults, among them some are active. The total thickness of sediment below the Kolkata is nearly 7,500 m (24,600 ft) above thecrystalline basement; ofthese the top 350–450 m (1,150–1,480 ft) isquaternary, followed by 4,500–5,500 m (14,760–18,040 ft) oftertiary sediments, 500–700 m (1,640–2,300 ft) trap wash ofcretaceous trap and 600–800 m (1,970–2,620 ft)permian-carboniferousGondwana rocks.[3] The quaternary sediments consist of clay, silt, and several grades of sand and gravel. These sediments are sandwiched between two clay beds: the lower one at a depth of 250–650 m (820–2,130 ft); the upper one 10–40 m (30–130 ft) in thickness.[4] According to theBureau of Indian Standards, on a scale ranging fromI to V in order of increasing susceptibility to earthquakes, the city lies insideseismic zone III.[5]
Spread roughly north–south along the east bank of theHooghly River, Kolkata sits within the lowerGanges Delta of eastern India; the city's elevation is 1.5–9 m (5–30 ft).[6] The city is fringed by extensive mangrove ecosystems and tidal flats.[7]
TheKolkata metropolitan area is spread over 1,886.67 km2 (728.45 sq mi)[8]: 7 and comprises 4 municipal corporations (Kolkata Municipal Corporation,Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation,Howrah Municipal Corporation andChandernagore Municipal Corporation), 37 local municipalities (Bally Municipality is merged withHowrah Municipal Corporation andRajarhat-Gopalpur Municipality is merged withBidhannagar Municipal Corporation, so total number of municipalities becomes 37 from 39) and 24 panchayat samitis.
The urban agglomeration encompassed 72 cities and 527 towns and villages, as of 2006[update].[9] Suburban areas in theKolkata metropolitan area incorporate parts of the following districts:Kolkata,North 24 Parganas,South 24 Parganas,Howrah,Hooghly andNadia.[10]: 15 Kolkata, which is under the jurisdiction of theKolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), has an area of 205 km2 (79 sq mi).[11] The east–west dimension of the city is comparatively narrow, stretching from theHooghly River in the west to roughly theEastern Metropolitan Bypass in the east—a span of 9–10 km (5.6–6.2 mi).[12] The north–south distance is greater, and its axis is used to section the city into North, Central and South Kolkata. East Kolkata is also a section.
North Kolkata is the oldest part of the city. Characterised by 19th-century architecture, all include areas such asDum Dum,Shyambazar,Hatibagan,Maniktala,Kankurgachi,Rajabazar,Shobhabazar,Shyampukur,Tala,Sonagachi,Kumortuli,Bagbazar,Jorabagan,Burrabazar,Jorasanko,Phoolbagan,Ultadanga,Chitpur,Nagerbazar,Lake Town,Bangur Avenue,Pathuriaghata,Cossipore,Belgachia,SintheeBaranagar,Kamarhati,Belgharia,Agarpara,Sodepur,Panihati,Barrackpore,Khardaha and other parts of North 24 Parganas.[13]: 65–66
Central Kolkata hosts the central business district. It containsB. B. D. Bagh, formerly known as Dalhousie Square, and theEsplanade on its east;Strand Road is on its west.[14] TheWest Bengal Secretariat,General Post Office,Reserve Bank of India,High Court,Lalbazar Police Headquarters, and several other government and private offices are located there. Another business hub is the area south ofPark Street, which comprises thoroughfares such asChowringhee,Camac Street, Wood Street, Loudon Street,Shakespeare Sarani andA. J. C. Bose Road.[15] TheMaidan is a large open field in the heart of the city that has been called the "lungs of Kolkata"[16] and accommodates sporting events and public meetings.[17] TheVictoria Memorial andKolkata Race Course are located at the southern end of the Maidan. Other important areas of Central Kolkata arePark Circus,Sealdah,Beliaghata,College Street,Burrabazar,Bowbazar,Taltala,Janbazar,Entally,Chandni Chowk,Lalbazar,Chowringhee,Dharmatala,Rabindra Sadan,Tiretti Bazaar,Bow Barracks,Babughat,Princep Ghat andHastings. Another important park isMillennium Park onStrand Road, beside the Hooghly River. Fort William, on the western part of the city (besidesMaidan), houses the headquarters of theEastern Command of theIndian Army.[18]
South Kolkata developed mainly after India gained independence in the year 1947. It includes upscale neighbourhoods such asBallygunge,Alipore,New Alipore,Lansdowne,Bhawanipore,Kalighat,Gariahat,Southern Avenue,Chetla,Jodhpur Park,Lake Gardens,South City,Jadavpur,Dhakuria,Tollygunge,.[19]
East Kolkata is largely composed of newly developed areas likeTopsia,Picnic Garden,Tangra, Gobra,Kustia,Tiljala,Anandapur, East Kolkata Twp,Panchasayar,Garia, Madurdaha, Nayabad, Kalikapur, Purbalok,Mukundapur,Ajoy Nagar,Hiland Park,Chak Garia,Patuli. In the pace of rapid urbanization and growing demand for housing and commercial spaces, theNew Town, Kolkata was created on the eastern outskirts of Kolkata to serve the dual purpose of establishing a new business centre to reduce the mounting pressure on the existing Central Business Districts (CBD) and increasing housing stock supply by creating new residential units.
Technically Howrah and the urban part of Hooghly all have individual identities alongside they are the part of Kolkata Metropolis. Likewise Howrah city is a twin city of Kolkata city. Nabanna, Santragachi, Belur, Bally, Uttarpara, Konnogar, Rishra, Serampore, Bhadeswar, Chinsurah, Hooghly, Chandannagor and Bandel all cities under Kolkata Metropolitan Area, having their fragrance of history, culture. This area is called "Little Europe Of India". All areas are well connected with the city centre.
Kolkata has atropical savanna climate, with summer monsoons. The annual mean temperature is 29.2 °C (84.6 °F); monthly mean temperatures range from 19 to 30 °C (66 to 86 °F) and maximum temperatures can often exceed 45 °C (113 °F) during May–June. Winter tends to last from December to early-February, with the lowest temperatures hovering in the 12 °C — 14 °C range during December and January. The highest recorded temperature is 43 °C (109 °F) and the lowest is 5 °C (41 °F).[20]
Monsoon is the most notable phenomenon in the climate of the city. Maximum rainfall occurs during the monsoon in August (306 mm) and the average annual total is 1,582 mm. Early morning mists and eveningsmog occur often due to temperature inversions. Summer is dominated by strong southwesterly monsoon winds. The city's total duration of sunshine is 2,528 hours per annum, with the maximum insolation occurring in March.[21] Often during early summer, spells of thunderstorms and heavy rains lash the city, bringing some relief from the heat and intolerable humidity. These thunderstorms are locally known asKalbaishakhi (Nor-wester). According to aUnited Nations Development Programme report, its wind and cyclone zone is a "very high damage risk".[5]
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)With the Camac Street-Park Street-Shakespeare Sarani commercial hub located smack in the middle of the affected zone ...
To Kolkata, it is the 'lungs of the city,' a recharge zone for the soul.
22°34′22″N88°21′50″E / 22.5726723°N 88.3638815°E /22.5726723; 88.3638815
