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Gujarat, state ofIndia, located on the country’s western coast, on theArabian Sea. Itencompasses the entireKathiawar Peninsula (Saurashtra) as well as the surrounding area on the mainland.
The state is bounded primarily byPakistan to the northwest and by the Indian states ofRajasthan to the north,Madhya Pradesh to the east, andMaharashtra to the southeast. Gujarat also shares a small segment of its southeastern border with the Indianunion territory ofDadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. The coastline of Gujarat is 992 miles (1,596 km) long, and no part of the state is more than 100 miles (160 km) from the sea. The capital isGandhinagar, on the outskirts of the north-central city ofAhmedabad—the former capital, the largest city in the state, and one of the most-important textile centers in India. It was in Ahmedabad thatMahatma Gandhi built hisSabarmati ashram (Sanskrit:ashrama, “retreat” or “hermitage”) as a headquarters for his campaigns against British rule of India.
Gujarat draws its name from theGurjara (supposedly a subtribe of the Huns), who ruled the area during the 8th and 9th centuriesce. The state assumed its present form in 1960, when the former Bombay state was divided betweenMaharashtra and Gujarat on the basis of language. Area 75,685 square miles (196,024 square km). Pop. (2011) 60,383,628.
Land
Relief, drainage, and soils
Gujarat is a land of great contrasts, stretching from the seasonal salt deserts of the Kachchh (Kutch) district in the northwest, across the generally arid and semiarid scrublands of theKathiawar Peninsula, to the wet, fertile, coastal plains of the southeastern part of the state, north ofMumbai. TheRann of Kachchh—including both the Great Rann and its eastern appendage, the Little Rann—are best described as vast salt marshes, together covering about 9,000 square miles (23,300 square km). The Rannconstitutes the Kachchh district on the west, north, and east, while theGulf of Kachchh forms the district’s southern boundary. During the rainy season—slight though the rains may be—the Rann floods, and the Kachchh district is converted into an island; in the dry season it is a sandy, salty plain experiences dust storms.
To the southeast of Kachchh, lying between the Gulf of Kachchh and theGulf of Khambhat (Cambay), is the largeKathiawar Peninsula. It is generally arid and rises from the coasts to a low, rolling area of hill land in the center, where the state reaches its highest elevation, at 3,665 feet (1,117 meters), in theGirnar Hills. Soils in the peninsula are mostly poor, having beenderived from a variety of old crystalline rocks. Rivers, except for seasonal streams, are absent from the area.
To the east of the Kathiawar Peninsula, small plains and low hills in the north merge with fertile farmlands in the south. The richness of the southern soils is attributable to their partial derivation from the basalts of theDeccan, the physiographic plateau region that constitutes most of peninsular India. Southeastern Gujarat is crossed from east to west by theNarmada andTapti(Tapi) rivers, both of which empty into theGulf of Khambhat. Toward the eastern border with Maharashtra, theterrain becomes mountainous; the region is the northern extension of the WesternGhats, the mountain range that runs parallel to theArabian Sea on the western edge of southern India.
Climate
Winter (November through February) temperatures in Gujarat usually reach a high in the mid-80s F (about 28 °C), while lows drop into the mid-50s F (about 12 °C). Summers (March through May) are quite hot, however, with temperatures typically rising well above 100 °F (38 °C) during the day and dropping only into the 90s F (low 30s C) at night.
Gujarat is drier in the north than in the south. Rainfall is lowest in the northwestern part of the state—in the Rann of Kachchh—where it may amount to less than 15 inches (380 mm) annually. In the central portion of the Kathiawar Peninsula as well as in the northeastern region, annual rainfall typically amounts to about 40 inches (1,000 mm). Southeastern Gujarat, where the southwestmonsoon brings heavy rains between June and September, is the wettest area; annual rainfall usually approaches 80 inches (2,000 mm) along the coastal plain.
Plant and animal life
Forests cover only a small portion of Gujarat, reflecting human activity as well asmeager rainfall. Scrub forest occurs in the northwestern region and across the Kathiawar Peninsula, the main species being babul acacias, capers, Indianjujubes, and toothbrush bushes (Salvadora persica). In some parts of the peninsula and northeastern Gujarat, deciduous species such as teak, catechu (cutch), axlewood, andBengalkino (butea gum) are found. Deciduous forests are concentrated in the wetter southern and eastern hills. They produce valuable timbers, such as Vengai padauk (genusPterocarpus; resembling mahogany), Malabarsimal, andhaldu (Adina cordifolia). The west coast of the peninsula is known for itsalgae, and the east coast produces papyrus, or paper plant (Cyperus papyrus).
Gir National Park, in the southwestern region of the Kathiawar Peninsula, contains rareAsiatic lions (Panthera leo persica), and endangered Indian wild asses (Equus hemionus khur) are protected in asanctuary near the Little Rann of Kachchh. The Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary, nearAhmedabad, attracts many species of birds migrating from theSiberian plains and elsewhere in winter. Sarascranes, Brahminiducks,bustards,pelicans,cormorants,ibises,storks,herons, andegrets are among the most-notable species. The Rann of Kachchh is India’s only nesting ground of the greaterflamingo. There is excellent offshore and inland fishing in Gujarat. Catches includepomfret,salmon,hilsa (a type ofshad), black-spotted croaker (locally called ghol fish),prawn,Bombay duck (a food fish), andtuna.