The Narmada River, previously also known as Narbada or anglicised as Nerbudda, is the 5th longest river in India and overall the longest west-flowing river in the country. It is also the largest flowing river in the state of Madhya Pradesh. This river flows through the states of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat in India. It is also known as the "Lifeline of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat" due to its huge contribution to the two states in many ways. The Narmada River rises from the Amarkantak Plateau in Anuppur district in Madhya Pradesh. It forms the traditional boundary between North and South India and flows westwards for 1,312 km (815.2 mi) before draining through the Gulf of Khambhat into the Arabian Sea, 30 km (18.6 mi) west of Bharuch city of Gujarat.
The Satpura Range is a range of hills in central India. The range rises in eastern Gujarat running east through the border of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and ends in Chhattisgarh. The range parallels the Vindhya Range to the north, and these two east–west ranges divide Indian Subcontinent into the Indo-Gangetic plain of northern India and the Deccan Plateau of the south. The Narmada River originates from north-eastern end of Satpura in Amarkantak, and runs in the depression between the Satpura and Vindhya ranges, draining the northern slope of the Satpura range, running west towards the Arabian Sea. The Tapti River originates in the eastern-central part of Satpura, crossing the range in the center and running west at the range's southern slopes before meeting the Arabian Sea at Surat, draining the central and southern slopes of the range. Multai, the place of Tapti river origin is located about 465 kilometer far, south-westerly to Amarkantak, separated across by the hill range. The Godavari River and its tributaries drain the Deccan plateau, which lies south of the range, and the Mahanadi River drains the easternmost portion of the range. The Godavari and Mahanadi rivers flow into the Bay of Bengal. At its eastern end, the Satpura range meets the hills of the Chotanagpur Plateau. The Satpura Range is a horst mountain and is flanked by Narmada Graben in the north and much smaller but parallel Tapi Graben in the south.
The East Deccan dry evergreen forests is an ecoregion of southeastern India. The ecoregion includes the coastal region behind the Coromandel Coast on the Bay of Bengal, between the Eastern Ghats and the sea. It covers eastern Tamil Nadu, part of Puducherry and south eastern Andhra Pradesh.
The Malabar Coast moist forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of southwestern India.
The North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of southwestern India.
The South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests is an ecoregion in the Western Ghats of southern India with tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests. This biome covers the Nilgiri Hills between elevation of 250 and 1,000 m in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states.
The South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests is a tropical dry forest ecoregion in southern India. The ecoregion lies in the southernmost portion of the Deccan Plateau, and includes the southernmost portion of the Eastern Ghats.
The Khathiar–Gir dry deciduous forests is a mostly arid ecoregion in northwestern India that stretches over 103,100 sq mi (267,000 km2) across Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. The dry deciduous forests in the region are dominated by teak, and thorny trees and scrub in drier areas.
The Upper Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion of northern India.
The Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests, presently known as East Deccan moist deciduous forests, is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion in east-central India. The ecoregion covers an area of 341,100 square kilometers (131,700 sq mi), extending across portions of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Telangana states.
The Northern dry deciduous forests, presently known as the North Deccan dry deciduous forests, is a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion of east-central India.
The Lower Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion of Bangladesh and India. The ecoregion covers an area of 254,100 square kilometres (98,100 sq mi), comprising most of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Bihar and Tripura, and extending into adjacent states of Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and a tiny part of Assam, as well as adjacent western Myanmar.
Sanjay National Park is a national park in Singrauli and Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh, India. It covers an area of 1,674.55 km2 (646.55 sq mi) and is a part of the Sanjay-Dubri Tiger Reserve.
The Deccan thorn scrub forests are a xeric shrubland ecoregion of south India and northern Sri Lanka. Historically this area was covered by tropical dry deciduous forest, but this only remains in isolated fragments. The vegetation now consists of mainly of southern tropical thorn scrub type forests. These consist of open woodland with thorny trees with short trunks and low, branching crowns; spiny and xerophytic shrubs; and dry grassland. This is the habitat of the great Indian bustard and blackbuck, though these and other animals are declining in numbers; this area was at one time home to large numbers of elephants and tigers. Almost 350 species of bird have been recorded here. The remaining natural habitat is threatened by overgrazing and invasive weeds, but there are a number of small protected areas which provide a haven for the wildlife. Trees in these forests have adapted to not require much water.
The Central Highlands of India are a biogeographic region in India formed by the disjunct ranges of the Satpura and Vindhya Hills. It is given the term 6A within the Deccan zone in the Rodgers and Panwar (1988) classification. The zone adjoins 6D, the Central Plateau and 4B, the Gujarat Rajputana and extends across the states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The total area is approximately 250,000 km2 and there are 27 Protected Areas covering 4.9% of the area. There are also six Project Tiger Reserves in the region.
The word Maharashtra, the land of the mainly Marathi-speaking people, appears to be derived from Maharashtri, an old form of Prakrit. Some believe that the word indicates that it was the land of the Mahars and the Rattas, while others consider it to be a corruption of the term 'Maha Kantara', a synonym for 'Dandakaranya'. Maharashtra is the third largest state in India after Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. It covers an area of 307,713 km2 and is bordered by the states of Madhya Pradesh to the north, Chhattisgarh to the east, Telangana to the southeast, Karnataka to the south and Goa to the southwest. The state of Gujarat lies to the northwest, with the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli sandwiched between the borders. Maharashtra has coastline of 720 km.The Arabian Sea makes up Maharashtra's west coast. Maharashtra consists of two major relief divisions. The plateau is a part of the Deccan tableland and the Konkan coastal strip abutting on the Arabian Sea.
The Central Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests in Western and Southern India, containing large protected areas of natural tiger habitat.
The Geography of South India comprises the diverse topological and climatic patterns of South India. South India is a peninsula in the shape of a vast inverted triangle, bounded on the west by the Arabian Sea, on the east by the Bay of Bengal and on the north by the Vindhya and Satpura ranges.
Melghat was among the first nine tiger reserves of India to be notified in 1973 under Project Tiger. It is located in the northern part of Amravati District of Maharashtra. Melghat Wildlife Sanctuary was declared as in 1985. The total area of the reserve is 2,768 square kilometres.
Shoolpaneshwar Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area in India's Gujarat state, located in the western Satpura Range south of the Narmada River and is 607.7 km2 (234.6 sq mi) large. It shares a common boundary with Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. It encompasses mixed dry deciduous forest, riverine forest, few pockets of moist teak forest, agricultural fields and two water reservoirs. It was established in 1982.
