BZ/iVA UR.
428
and on the south and south-east by Moradabdd,
The
Districts.
Tarai,
Kumaun
and
administrative head-quarters are at the town of Bijnaur.
—
Physical Aspects The District of Bijnaur, an irregular triangle, whose apex points directly northward, forms the uppermost portion of the Rohilkhand plain, stretching like a narrow wedge between the valley of .
the Ganges and the
hills of British Garhwal. Its eastern boundary low outer Himalayan range, which subsides into a submontane tract as it reaches the borders of the District, while on the north is a system of small elevations, known as the Chandi Hills, a spur of the Garhwal range, and resembling in geological formation the Siwalik range in Dehra Dun on the opposite bank of the Ganges. They cover an area of about 25 square miles. I'heir barren, rugged, and waterless slopes afford no inducements for cultivation, and they remain
consists of the
The
accordingly quite without inhabitants to the present day.
montane eastern
tract,
forest, interspersed
known
as the bhdbar,
is
from time to time with open glades of
supply rich pasturage for numerous herds of cattle from
No
District.
all
grass,
which
parts of the
tardi or marshy fringe inter’enes in Bijnaur, as in the
country to the
The whole
sub-
covered with a belt of
between
east,
this forest region
and the
cultivated plain.
of the south and west consists of an open upland, with a
general elevation of 800 feet above sea-level, covered throughout with
prosperous
The
soil
tions, but
tillage.
of this higher plateau always contains sand, in varying propor-
seldom to such an extent as to render the land uncultivable.
The Ganges bank
is
lined by a strip of alluvial lowland, the wider
valley of the sacred river,
much
of which
lies
too low for cultivation,
while the remainder produces excellent crops of
rice.
This swampy
portion, however, continually decreases from year to year,
the lowland
is
minor streams
now
available for purposes of agriculture.
and most of
Numerous
between the hills and the Ganges, the rainy season, and shrinking into narrow
intersect the country
forming furious torrents in
threads of water after long-continued drought.
The
belt of forest area
along the eastern frontier covers an average breadth of four miles, and
In some tracts the tree forest unbroken throughout the whole breadth of the belt, but in most
has a total area of 37o'03 square miles. is
places
it is
interspersed with grassy glades utilized for grazing.
d'he timber grown throughout the greater portion of the tract
is
of
dhdk (Butea frondosa), simul (Bombax Malabaricum), and other inferior trees. But east of Behar, in pargand
little
value, consisting largely of
Afzalgarh, there
is
a block of sdl (Shorea robusta) forest, measuring
over 25 square miles and a few smaller plantations of the same valuThe able trees are scattered at rare intervals over the rest of the belt. shisham or Indian rosewood (Dalbergia Sissoo) is also found in fair
quantities.
Of
the total forest area, over 100 square miles are Govern-
