Gujarat: Physical Features and Resources · GPSC (Gujarat)

What the official syllabus says

General Studies-III (Main Examination, Paper VI), (C) Geography:
Physical Features and Resources: India and Gujarat: Major landforms, climate, soil, rivers, vegetation, etc.

This page takes the Gujarat part of the line, region by region: the State's three natural regions (Kachchh, Saurashtra and mainland Gujarat), its climate, soils, rivers and vegetation.

Topics in detail

Location and extent

Western India: the Arabian Sea to the west and south-west, Pakistan (Sindh) to the north-west, Rajasthan to the north and north-east, Madhya Pradesh to the east, Maharashtra to the south-east; the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Daman and Diu on its coast, Dadra and Nagar Haveli inland in the south)
Formed on 1 May 1960 out of the bilingual Bombay State
The fifth-largest State by area; the longest coastline of any Indian State
The Tropic of Cancer crosses northern Gujarat
Districts and their regions; newer districts such as Vav-Tharad (carved out of Banaskantha in 2025)

Kachchh

The Great Rann of Kachchh and the Little Rann: salt marshes flooded in the monsoon, dry and white in winter
Kachchh mainland: ridges and hills (Kala Dungar, Dhinodhar), the Banni grassland
Islands in the Rann (bets), such as Khadir; Dholavira on Khadir bet
The Gulf of Kachchh with its islands, coral reefs and mangroves
Desert soils, very low and uncertain rainfall, seasonal rivers

Saurashtra (Kathiawar peninsula)

A central plateau of Deccan Trap basalt with hills around it
Hills: Girnar (the highest in Gujarat), Gir hills, Barda hills, Shetrunjaya (Palitana), Chotila
Radial drainage from the centre: Bhadar (the longest river of Saurashtra), Shetrunji, Machhu, Aji, Bhogavo, Ozat
Coast: Ghed lowlands near Porbandar, the Sorath coast; ports and fishing harbours

Mainland Gujarat

North Gujarat plains: sandy and alluvial; rivers Banas, Saraswati and Rupen ending in the Little Rann
Central Gujarat: the alluvial plains of the Sabarmati and Mahi, the fertile Charotar tract
South Gujarat: the plains of the Narmada, Tapi, Purna, Ambika, Auranga, Par and Damanganga; heavy rainfall
Eastern hills: spurs of the Aravalli (Arasur hills, Ambaji) in the north, Vindhya and Satpura in Panchmahal, Chhota Udaipur and Narmada, the Sahyadri in the Dang (Saputara)
The Gulf of Khambhat: very high tides, mudflats; the Kalpasar proposal
Islands: Bet Dwarka, Pirotan, Piram, Aliabet

Rivers, dams and lakes

Narmada: rises at Amarkantak, enters the Gulf of Khambhat near Bharuch; Sardar Sarovar Dam at Ekta Nagar (Kevadia), Narmada district
Tapi: Ukai dam and Kakrapar weir; Surat on its estuary
Mahi: crosses the Tropic of Cancer twice; Kadana and Wanakbori
Sabarmati: rises in the Aravalli; Dharoi dam; Ahmedabad on its banks
Banas: Dantiwada dam; Saraswati and Rupen of North Gujarat
Lakes and wetlands: Nal Sarovar, Thol, Narayan Sarovar, Kankaria (Ahmedabad), Sudarshan lake (historic, Junagadh)

Climate

Arid in Kachchh and the north-west, semi-arid in Saurashtra and North Gujarat, sub-humid to humid in the south
Rainfall from the south-west monsoon, rising from under 400 mm in parts of Kachchh to over 2,000 mm in the Dang and Valsad
Hot summers, heat waves in the interior; mild winters; cold waves in Kachchh
Cyclones from the Arabian Sea; frequent droughts in Kachchh and Saurashtra

Soils and vegetation

Black soils (medium in Saurashtra, deep in South Gujarat) suited to cotton and groundnut
Alluvial soils (goradu) of central and North Gujarat
Sandy and desert soils of Kachchh and North Gujarat; saline and alkaline soils (khar lands) along the coasts and the Rann
Hill and forest soils of the eastern belt
Vegetation: moist deciduous (Dang), dry deciduous (Gir, Panchmahal), thorn scrub (Kachchh, North Gujarat), mangroves, grasslands

Overlaps

Gujarat: Natural Resources and Industrial Location on this paper.
Gujarat: Biodiversity, Forests and Wildlife on this paper.
Prelims General Studies: Physical Geography in relation to World, India and Gujarat.