An Introduction to Odisha

Odisha is situated on the eastern coast of India bordering West Bengal & Jharkhand in the north, Chhatisgarh in the west, Andhra Pradesh in the south and the Bay of Bengal in the east. Area :1,55,707 sq.kms (4.74% of India's land mass) The eye-catching beauty of this land is enhanced by the diversity of the natural regions. Odisha is divided into four natural regions:

• The coastal plains
• The rolling uplands 
• The plateaus 
• The hills and mountains.

The long coastline of 480 kms boasts of the coastal plains (up to 75 m. in elevation above main sea level) formed by the deposits of the six major rivers:

• Mahanadi River
• Baitarani River
• Subarnrekha River
• Budhabalanga River
• Brahmani River
• Rushikulya River

They constitute a perennially green belt of fertile land and are known as the 'granary' of Odisha. The river valley and flood plains are also the creations of the major rivers.The rolling uplands have an undulating topography with their elevation varying between 100m and 300m above mean sea level. Situated in the sea mountainous zones, they have a bed of hard soil and patches of forest growth to cover them partially. They also offer good opportunity for paddy cultivation in the wet areas.

Through insignificant from the point of view of agriculture, the plateaus are of considerable importance in respect of mineral and forest resources. The importance plateaus are:

• The Keonjhar-pan posh plateau
• The Upper Vansadhara plateau
• The Nowrangpur-Jeypore plateau 

The mountains portions of Odisha, which are also forested ,cover about three-fourths of its total areas and are inhabited mainly by the tribal populations .Geologically, Odisha is an ancient landmass constituting rocks of both old and new origins; for, geologists consider some mountains of the state as belonging to the pre-Cambrian Age and the others to the Gondwana period. The mountains of Odisha comprise mostly the Eastern Ghats and run almost parallel to the east coast. They very in elevation from 300m to 1200m in the southern part, and appear like scattered series of steep ridges by the river valleys.

Climate of Odisha:
The temperature in Tribal areas of Orissa varies between, minimum 10 degree Celsius in winter to maximum 40 degree Celsius in summer. Odisha enjoys a tropical climate .Its climate is influenced by the southwest monsoon and the retreating northeast monsoon.The climate is characterized by high temperature from March to May and high rainfall from June to September. Major source of Rainfall is the south west monsoon. 

However, the best Period to visit Odisha is from October to March. Owing to its salubrious climate, the state of Orissa has 33% of its land covered by forests. Commonly classified into two categories namely tropical moist deciduous and tropical dry deciduous, these forests are the store houses of Bamboo, Teak, Rosewood, Sal, Piasal, Sanghvan and Haldi.

Not only this, the state also has the distinction of possessing 3 mass nesting beaches of endangered Olive Ridley Sea Turtles which makes it the largest nesting ground of the species. Right from tigers, leopards and elephants, peacocks, jungle fowls and wild ducks to even Irrawady dolphins; all can be seen cradled adoringly in the lap of the state of Orissa. 


History of Odisha:
Please click on below link to know more about history of Odisha
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Odisha



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