Physical Setting

       Orissa extends from 17^o 49'N to 22^o 34'N latitude and from 81^o 29'E to 87^o 29'E longitude on the eastern coast of India. It has an area about 155,707 Sq Km. according to the Census of India 1991. It is bounded by West Bengal in north-east, Bihar in the north, Madhya Pradesh in the west, Andhra Pradesh in the south and the Bay of Bengal in the east. Orissa was separated from Bihar and came into existence on 1 April 1936. The capital was established at the historic city of Cuttack, located at the apex of the Mahanadi delta. In 1956, it shifted to Bhubaneswar, a planned modern town of the post-independence period.

Physiographically, Orissa can be divided into three broad regions

 1. The Coastal plains,

 2. The Middle mountainous country

 3. The Plateaus and rolling up lands. 

Coastal Plains:

The coastal plains of Orissa stretch on the eastern coast of India from the Subarnarekha in the north-east to the Rushikulya in the south-west. This fertile region is known as the 'rice bowl' of Orissa. This is narrow in the north, widest in the middle, narrowest in the Chilika coast and broad in the south.

The coastal plain is a gift of six major rivers. The formation of the coastal plains depends on the rivers and their catchment's area. The rivers are: From north to the south, the Subarnarekha, the Burhabalanga, the Baitarani, the Brahmani, the Mahanadi and the Rushikulya. Most of the rivers have failed to develop true deltaic characteristics because of the strong off shore current which moves from Chennai to the Andhra coast and passes through Orissa coast.  

According to the location, the coastal plain can be divided into three sub regions 

         a)  The north coastal plains - the deltas of the Subarnarekha and the Burhabalanga upto the river Baitarani

         b) The middle coastal plains - the combined deltas of the Baitarani, the Brahmani and Mahanadi

         c) The southern coastal plains - the Rukshikulya plains, it can be divided into three zones parallel to the shoreline

              i) The salt track along the coast.

              ii) The arable tract or rice country in the middle

              iii) The sub-montane tract to the west

The Salt tract:

           The salt tract is a narrow belt which stretches just beyond the shore line for about 4.8 to 9.6 Km in land. In many places it is impregnated with salt and is completely deprived of agriculture. The innumerable sluggish and blackish streams make the area difficult to traverse. In the Mahanadi delta, this salt tract is covered with tidal forest known as the  "Little Sunderbans", off Paradeep-Dhamra coast. In the Devi-Daya sector, Casuarina forests and plantations are found. The forest belt all along the coast merges with a narrow belt of pasture.

The Arable tract:

            The grass belt merges into the vast plains. The endless stretches of rice lands is the fundamental characteristic. Most of these places are occupied by village sites so as to be free from the annual inundation. The rivers have formed levees and during high floods they inundate vast areas, causing grave danger to human lives, cattle population and agriculture parts of this arable tract are protected from floods and are irrigated by gravity. 

This is the richest part of the whole of Orissa as far as agriculture is concerned.

The Sub montane tract:

               This is the meeting zone of the arable tract and the spurs of the Eastern Ghats. It is termed as the 'zone of transition'. Soil erosion is rampant here. Under this predominating red soil, blocks of laterite are buried and at times they crop up to the surface, turning the area barren and desolate. In this zone low level laterites are formed. But patches of fertile area are not uncommon having rich vegetation. The natural vegetation varies from prickly thorns and stunted shrubs to Sal forests. The absence of a coastal forest belt is most striking. This is because of the lack of a marshy  strip due to higher orography.

The Mahanadi Delta:

                 The Mahanadi delta has developed in seven different stages. The stages of development have occurred at 26, 18, 15, 9, 6 and 1.5 metre contours. After the seventh stage of delta development there is an upliftment  as a result of which three sets of parallel sand dumes developed along the coast. These raised sand ridges brought changes in the drainage pattern and in deltaic morphology. These parallel sand dumes have the maximum development between the Chilika and the Devi mouth and from there up to north of Dhamra. Several lagoons of varied sizes have been formed. The best examples are the Sar Pata and the Samagara Pata located to the north of Puri.

The Coastal Line:

                  Orissa has a coastal line of 529 Km from the marshes of Ichhapuram in the south to the east of Subarnarekha in the north-east. The Orissa coast has bulged out in the middle portion from Brahmagiri on Chilika lake in the south-west to Chandbali in the north-east where the Mahanadi, the Brahmani and the Baitarani have formed a combined delta.

Cultural and Historical Background

                Orissa was originally inhabited by the aboriginal tribes, the Buiyas and Gonds. They confined themselves to the forest and hills when the Dravidian race settled here. Orissa was known as Kalinga in the early period. Kalinga is related with the greatest Mauryan empire ruler Ashoka who on seeing the horrors of war in his battle with the Kalingan army abandoned warfare and, embraced Buddhism. In the second century AD Kharavela established a strong rule . The Guptas dominated over this region in about the 4th century AD. Till the 10th century Orissa witnessed the rule of the Bhaumakara dynasty, followed by the Soma dynasty. From the 11th to 12th century. The Gangas became prominent. The Muslims Sultanate their influence on Orissa during the 13th and 14th centuries. This continued till 1568. This was followed by the rule of the Mughals which lasted till the death of Aurangzeb. After his death the Mughal power which declined bringing in the influence  of the Nawab off Bengal who ruled it till he ceded this territory over Orissa began in about 1803 AD when the Marathas were suppressed  by the diplomatic treaty's of the East India Company. It was only in 1949 that the state of Orissa attained its present status.

Climate

               Orissa, on the eastern sea board of India, enjoys a tropical monsoon type of  climate like most other parts of the country. Its annual average rainfall is about 200cm. The south-west monsoon normally sets in between 5th June in the coastal plain, and by 1st July the whole of the state is under the full sway of the south-west  monsoon. By 15th October, the south-west monsoon withdraws completely from Orissa. Orissa, on the eastern coast of India, is not directly influenced by south-west monsoon branch from the Bay of Bengal like the west coast, but the annual cyclones from the Bay of Bengal influence it and bring copious rain with two seasonal peaks, July-August and October-November. During the winter, except Northern Orissa, all other parts remain almost dry.

Rainfall

         Monsoon rainfall is of highest importance as it directly controls the crop condition in Orissa. Monsoon rainfall is considered 'high' when it is above 140cm and 'low' when it is less than 120 cm as this is barely sufficient for a good paddy harvest. Winter rainfall helps the growth of the second crop in Orissa and hence is of importance. A total rainfall of above 5 cm during the winter has been taken to be 'high' while less than 2.5cm is 'low' in Orissa.

Cyclones

         Flood and drought are common to many states in India, but only a few states are subject to cyclones and tornado. Orissa is one of the few. Cyclone has in recent years become a regular feature like flood and drought.

         The cyclonic storms during the monsoon which originate in the Bay of Bengal often cross the east coast between Paradeep and Chandbali and make a north-west ward journey. They proceed over Kendujhar and head towards Sambalpur and then decrease in intensity. There are two cyclonic peaks in their occurrence, one during May-July and the other during October-November. As far as the periodicity of the occurrence of the storms is concerned, the maximum number of cyclones occurred during south-west monsoon period (154) followed by the post-monsoon period of the north-east monsoon (70) and pre-monsoon period (57).

Seasonal Divisions

  Orissa experiences three main seasons, but the year is locally divided into six seasons.

1.      Grishma (Summer), Baisakha and Jyestha (mid-April to mid-June)

2.      Barsa (Rainy season), Ashadha and Sravana (mid-June to mid-August)

3.      Sharad (Autumn), Bhadraba and Aswina (mid- August to mid-October)

4.      Hemanta (Winter), Kartika and Margasira (mid-October to mid-December)

5.      Sisira (Winter), Pausa and Magha (mid-December to mid-February)

6.      Basanta (Spring), Falguna and Chaitra (mid-Feb to mid-April

  These six local seasons are grouped into three main seasons:

• Basanta and Grishma (Summer)

• Barsa and Sharad (Rainy season)

• Hemanta and Sisira (Winter)

       Orissa is facing environmental degradation worse than any other states in the country. The root cause of the disaster is the large-scale deforestation over the past few decades.

    Forests cover nearly 37 percent of the total area of the state. It is mainly divided into four:

1) Dense forest

2) Sparse dense forest

3) Tidal forest

4) Almost devoid of trees and fallow forest land.

NATIONAL PARKS

• North Simlipal National Park 

       Set up in 1956, the North Simlipal National Park became one of the Project Tiger reserves of India in 1973. It is spread over 2750sq.km in Mayurbhanj district adjoining Bihar and West Bengal. The park consist of hills and valleys, traversed by brooks, perennial rivers and waterfalls. Influenced by the ecology of both the eastern and western parts of the subcontinent on account of its position, the confluence makes the forest home to exceedingly rare and diverse flora and fauna.

       The vegetation ranges from semi-evergreen to moist deciduous and extreme dry deciduous forests. There are extensive grasslands, Sal forests and innumerable medicinal and aromatic plants also. The Simlipal national park is a treasure house of 501 species of plants belonging to102 families. 82 species of orchids have also been identified here. The park is famous for elephants and singing hill myena. Other fauna found are tiger, leopard, pangolin, sloth bear, Indian wolf gaur, chital, mouse deer, flying squirrel, mugger crocodile, python, hornbill, peafowl etc. Hyena, Jackal and Vultures constitute the Scavengers. The best months for visiting the park are October to June. The park remains open from 15th Oct to 15th June. Winters are severe and park also have heavy rainfall. The entrances to the park are at Lulung (20km from Baripada) or on the western side at Jashipur (95km from Baripada). Jeeps and private cars are allowed inside the park. The Barehipani Waterfall (399 mtrs) and the Joranda fall (150 mtrs) are well worth a visit as is the mugger crocodiles at Jashipur.The entry permit is issued from forest offices at Jashipur or Range Officer, Pithabata at Pithabata Check Gate. The entry timing are from 0600 to 1400 hours. 
 

• Bhitar Kanika National Park

    Bhitar Kanika National Park in Balesore district in an area of 167sq.km is better known as a marine park. The park with its mangrove forests in the rivers Brahmani- Bhaitarani Delta and  creeks, estuaries, back water, accreted land and mud flats was mainly established to protect the saltwater crocodile and other marine inhabitants of the region. It was notified as a Crocodile sanctuary in 1975 and a crocodile breeding centre has been established by the Orissa Government.

    The park contains tidal swamp forests consisting of an abundance of mangrove, saltwater and brackish water mixed species such as Causarinas, Thespia, grasses like indigo bush etc. It is the second largest viable stretch of mangrove forest in the Indian mainland. The Fauna of the park include Olive ridley turtles (sea turtle), saltwater crocodiles, wild pigs, rhesus monkeys, leopard, wild boar, hyena, jungle cat, sambar, giant squirrel, water monitor, chitals, king cobra, python, fishes besides insects and other micro fauna. Birds found are strokes, ibis, white necked sea eagle and fish eagle etc. The best season for visiting the park is winter (November to February). The park situated along the Gahiramatha Coast is a haven for thousands of marine species especially the Olive ridley turtles which come here to lay eggs during the nights in winter. The giant Pacific Ridley sea turtles believed to come as far away as South America nest on the Gahirmatha Coast.