In this guide
If you travel from Pilibhit on the Nepal border to Lalitpur in Bundelkhand, you cross all of Uttar Pradesh's physical regions: forested, once-marshy lowlands at the foot of the Himalaya; then the immense, flat, fertile Ganga plain; and finally, rocky uplands with thin soils and scattered hills. Almost everything about UP — its crops, its population density, its floods and its droughts — follows from this layout.
Location and extent
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Area | About 2.41 lakh sq km — the fourth-largest state |
| Latitude | Roughly 23°52′N to 30°25′N |
| Longitude | Roughly 77°05′E to 84°38′E |
| Neighbours | Nepal (international border, north); Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar |
| States bordering UP | UP borders more states than almost any other state |
The three physical regions
| Region | Location | Share of area | Main features |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Bhabar and Terai | Along the northern border with Nepal and Uttarakhand | Small | Foothill zone; porous gravel (Bhabar) and marshy lowland (Terai) |
| 2. Ganga plain | Most of the state | The largest share — roughly three-quarters | Flat, fertile alluvium; dense population |
| 3. Southern plateau | Bundelkhand and the Vindhyan–Kaimur uplands | Small | Rocky, uneven; thin soils; lower rainfall |
1. The Bhabar and Terai
- Bhabar — a narrow belt at the foot of the Shivaliks (much of it now in Uttarakhand), made of pebbles and boulders brought down by rivers; streams disappear underground here.
- Terai — south of the Bhabar; the streams re-emerge, creating marshy, waterlogged land with tall grasses and forests.
- Much of the Terai has been reclaimed for agriculture (sugarcane, rice, wheat) since the mid-twentieth century.
- Districts: Saharanpur, Bijnor, Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Siddharthnagar, Maharajganj.
- Home to UP's tiger reserves — Dudhwa and Pilibhit (see our guide on forests and wildlife).
2. The Ganga plain
- Formed by alluvium deposited by the Ganga, Yamuna, Ghaghara and their tributaries.
- Slopes gently from north-west to south-east.
- Bhangar (older alluvium, on higher ground, with kankar nodules) and khadar (newer alluvium in flood plains, renewed by floods).
- Doab — the land between two rivers; the Ganga–Yamuna Doab in western UP is one of the most fertile regions in India.
| Sub-region | Features |
|---|---|
| Upper Ganga plain (western UP) | Doab; canal irrigation; sugarcane, wheat; relatively prosperous |
| Middle Ganga plain (central UP, Awadh) | Rice and wheat; Lucknow, Kanpur |
| Lower / eastern Ganga plain (Purvanchal) | Heavier rainfall; floods; very dense population |
Features include ox-bow lakes, natural levees, tals (low-lying seasonal lakes) and usar (saline–alkaline) patches.
3. The southern plateau
- Bundelkhand — Jhansi, Lalitpur, Jalaun, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Banda, Chitrakoot: granite and gneiss uplands, rocky hills, undulating terrain, thin soils, low rainfall and frequent drought.
- Vindhyan and Kaimur uplands — Mirzapur, Sonbhadra, parts of Prayagraj: sandstone plateaus, forests, minerals, and the Son valley.
- Higher and older than the plain; part of the Peninsular plateau.
How physiography shapes UP
| Feature | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Fertile alluvial plain | High agricultural output; very high population density |
| Doab with canal irrigation | Prosperous western UP agriculture |
| Low-lying eastern plain | Floods; waterlogging; high density; migration |
| Terai | Forests and wildlife; reclaimed farmland; floods from Nepal rivers |
| Rocky Bundelkhand | Drought; low productivity; water scarcity |
| Vindhyan–Kaimur uplands | Minerals (coal, limestone), forests, power plants (Sonbhadra) |
| Proximity to the Himalaya | Earthquake risk in the north |
Practice
Prelims-style:
- Name the three physical regions of UP.
- What is the difference between Bhabar and Terai?
- What is a doab?
- Which districts form UP's Bundelkhand?
- In which region are Dudhwa and Pilibhit tiger reserves?
Mains-style:
- "UP's physiography explains its regional disparities." Discuss.
- Compare the agricultural potential of the Ganga plain and Bundelkhand.
Map exercise
On a blank map of UP, mark the three regions, the Doab, the Terai districts, Bundelkhand districts, and the Vindhyan–Kaimur uplands.
A note on dates and numbers. Exam patterns, vacancies and schedules change from year to year. Always confirm the current details in the latest notification on the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission website .
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