Kalahandi District - Geography

Geography

Kalahandi lies in between 19.3 N and 21.5 N latitudes and 82.20 E and 83.47 E longitudes and occupies the South Western portion of Orissa, bordered to the North by the Balangir district and Nuapada district, to the South by the Nabarangpur district, Koraput district and Rayagada district, and to the East by the Rayagada district, Kandhamal district and Boudh district. It has an area of 8,364.89 square kilometers and ranks 7th in area among the 30 districts of Orissa. The district headquarter is at Bhawanipatna which stands almost in the central location of the district. Bhawanipatna and Dharamgarh are two sub-divisions of Kalahandi. Junagarh, Jaipatna, Kesinga, Lanjigarh and Mukhiguda are other major towns in Kalahandi. Tel is the main river of Kalahandi. Other notably rivers are Indravati, Udanti, Hati, Utei, Sagada, Rahul, Nagabali, Mudra, etc. The topography of Kalahandi consists of plain land, hills & mountains. Kalahandi is surrounded by hills. Its border with Nabarangpur, Koraput, Rayagada and Kandhamal districts are hilly and mountainous. The district is primarily agricultural, with over one third of the district area covered with dense jungle forest. Industry is very limited, but bauxite and graphite deposits can be commercially exploited.