BELGAUM. The
revenue (gross) ;^i79,37o.
total
231
lands of the District are greatly
interlaced with those of the neighbouring Native States,
and within the
District are large tracts of native territory.
Physical Aspects
.
—The
country forms a large plain studded with
and broken here and there by low ranges of Many of the peaks are crowned by small but well-built hill forts.
solitary
peaks,
ranges of low
some
hills
hills.
The
are generally covered with wild brushwood, but in
cases their sides are carefully cultivated almost to the very summits.
The most
elevated portion of the District lies to the west and south, along the line of the Sahyadri Hills or Western Ghdts. The surface of the plain slopes with an almost imperceptible fall eastwards to the
borders of
KaMdgi
open and well
District.
On
the north
cultivated, but to the south
the Sahyadri range, thickly covered in
some
and
it is
east, the District is
intersected by spurs of
places with forest.
Except
near the Sahyadri range, and in other places where broken by lines of
low
the country is almost a dead level. But especially in the and along the banks of the larger rivers, the surface is pleasantly varied by trees, solitary and in groups. From March to June the fields are bare, and but for the presence of the mango, tamarind, jack, and other trees, reared for their fruit, the aspect of the country would be hills,
south,
desolate in the extreme.
The
principal rivers are the Kistna (Krishna), flowing through the
north, the Ghatprabha, flowing through the centre,
and the Malprabha
through the south of the District. From their sources among the spurs of the Sahyadri range, these rivers pass eastwards through the plain of Belgaum on their way to the Bay of Bengal. They are bordered by deeply-cut banks, over which they seldom flow. serviceable for purposes of navigation.
brackish,
of the rivers are
good water but towards the east they and the water-bearing strata lie far below the surface.
wells yield a sufficient supply of
become
None
In the west, these rivers and
Except the Kistna, which
at all times
maintains a considerable flow of
water, the rivers sink into insignificant streams during the hot season,
and the supply of water
The
falls
short of the wants of the people.
general character of the geology of Belgaum District
described as a trap formation overlaid with laterite detritus. is
may be Iron ore
found in some places. In the north are rocks of sandstone and in the south is found a fine red sandstone, near the Sahyddri
quartz Hills
and
farther east a grey granite,
mica
schist,
and
laterite in large
quantities.
In the west of the
District,
among
the spurs of the Sahyadri range,
a considerable area of forest-bearing land.
Formerly large
were yearly destroyed by the indiscriminate practice of cultivation of shifting patches of fire-cleared woodland. tillage
has
now been
placed under restrictions.
is
forest tracts
ku;/id? 7 , or the
This form of
The most important
