Lohardaga district

Lohardaga district is one of the twenty-four districts of the Indian state of Jharkhand. The district is named after the town of Lohardaga, the administrative headquarters of the district. The district was created from a portion of Ranchi district in 1983. This district is surrounded by Latehar district in the north, Gumla district in south and west and Ranchi district in the east. The district is situated between 23°30' and 23°40' north latitudes and 84°40' and 84°50' east longitudes. The district covers an area of 1,502 km2. As of 2011, it is the least populous district of Jharkhand (out of 24). It is currently a part of the Red Corridor. District has a number of small hill blocks covered with forests. The general slope of the district is from west to east. Latehar district is situated in the north of this district, Ranchi district in the east and Gumla district in the south-west. Lohardaga district consists of two broad physiographic divisions – the hilly tract and the plateau region. The hilly tract extends over the western and north-western parts of the district. The high hill tops of this region are known as pat. The plateau region is a part of the Gumla Plateau, which lies in the southern portion of Chota Nagpur Plateau. Lohardaga and Bhandra CD blocks are entirely in the plateau region. Other administrative areas, such as Kisko, Senha and Kuru CD blocks are partly in the plateau region and partly in the hilly tract. The main rivers of the district are South Koel, Sankh, Nandni, Chaupat’s and Fulijhar etc. These are mainly rain fed rivers which dry up in the summer months. Some springs are also seen in the hilly tract of the district. Geologically the area in comprised with Archean Granites and Gneisses. In the uplands considerable thickness of late-rite of Pleistocene age is found in the Granite and Gneisses tracts. Alluvium of recent to sub-recent age is found in the river valleys. The major part of the district is covered with Golden Alluvium, Red and Sandy and Red and Gravelly soils.