The Geography of Gorakhpur

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The present  district of   Gorakhpur,  265 Kms  east  of capital  Lucknow, on National  Highway -28 lies between Latitude   26° 46´ N and Longitude 83° 22´ E, covers  the  geographical  area of  3483.8  Sq. km.  It is bounded by  districts Mahrajganj  in the north, Ambedkar Nagar, Azamgarh and Mau in the south,  Kushinagar and Deoria in the east and Sant Kabirnagar in the west.

Gorakhpur city,  (260 41' to 260 50' North latitude and 830 20'  to 830 27' East longitude)  is situated in the Terai belt of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, India.  Due to pleasant climate , it was considered  a mini hill station by British. In term of population growth , it is at present the second largest city, after Varanasi, in Eastern Uttar Pradesh. Geographically the city is situated on the left bank of river Rapti at the confluence of the river Rapti and Rohin.

Gorakhpur Map

After  the 1970s with the establishment of various institutions and organization and other infrastructural developments , major changes have  taken place in every sectors.  It is a major center of socio-economic commercial, cultural and administrative activities of north eastern U.P.

To the north -east of the city a large lake named Ramgarh Tal lies and on the east lies a forest tract of kushmi. City is 815 km. north-west from Kolkatta, 272 km. north-east from Allahabad, 232 km north from Varanasi, 262 km east from Lucknow.

The roads radiate from the city to Nautanwa and Sonauli, Maharajganj and Thuthibari (both up to Indo- Nepal border)  Kasia (Kushinagar), Gopalganj to Assam in the south-east,  to Deoria Siwan- Chapra- Kolkatta; Barhalganj –Allahabad/Varanasi in the south and Lucknow, Kanpur ,Delhi in the west.

The city is well connected by road and railway from the major cities of the country where as Delhi is connected with air routes. Delhi-Kanpur-Gorakhpur- Barauni- Guwahati/Kolkatta main line of northern, north east, central north east, and north east frontier railway traverse the city from east to west with Domingarh–Gorakhpur- Gorakhpur cantt.

Two branch lines run north ward to Nautanwa and Gonda while other one broad gauge runs north Bihar. The total area of the city is 136.85 km2 . Administratively, with the extension of the area

Distance from main Cities (In Km.)

City	Distance	City	Distance
Lucknow	270	Patna	260
Varanasi	232	Guwahati	1256
Mumbai	1696	Cochin	2833
Agra	546	Ahmedabad	1738
Howrah	870	Nepal Border	90
Jammu	1260	Bangalore	2082

Topography

The topography of the city is largely plain with a marginal gradient/ slope from north to south. The slope decreases from the middle of the city to both east and westwards.  The height of the city ranges from 72 meters in south and south west to 95 meters in North above the mean sea level. In the north newly developed part of the city has elevation more than 85 mts  and decreases toward south. The least elevation is in the southern part of the city which is along the Ramgarh Tal and Hobert embankment and NH 28.

Most of the area of northern parts has the elevation between 80 to 85 mts. There are numerous water bodies within the city and the biggest Ramgarh tal is situated in the south eastern part of the city. The elevation is much irregular and gradients are also very uneven. But there are three north-south elongated low lying land which is deeper having the height less than 80 mts. It seems that these are the older beds of Rapti in west, Gorghoia  Nala in east and other channel between them.

The areas along river Rohin and  Gordhoianala have the height between 75 to 80 mts. The height from eastern bank of Ramgarh Tal to extreme east, up to city boundary, is continuously increasing. The southern part of the city has comparatively lesser height which ranges between 75 to 80 mts. It is lowest part of the city. The Ramgarh Tal and its water covered area has the height around 70 mts. Thus, the southern part from Ramgarh Tal to west ward is a low-lying area where height increases from east to west.

Hence according to the height, the city can be divided in two parts- first- northern half part of the city which has more than 79 meters height while second -half southern part has the elevation between 74 to 79 mts., except higher patches of area of civil lines and Dharmshal bazar around railway station. The area along Gordhoian nala to Ramgarh Tal and extreme southern part between river Rapti to Ramgarh Tal has lowest elevation.