Physical features of District Hamirpur
- The district is located in the south-western part of the state.
- It forms a part of central Himachal Pradesh and is situated predominantly in outer Himalaya or Shiwalik Zone.
- It lies between 310 24′ 48″ and 310 53′ 35″ north latitudes and 760 17′ 50″ and 760 43′ 42″ east longitudes and is separated from Kangra district by Beas river in the north, Bakar and Sir khads from Mandi district in the east while Una district falls in its west and Bilaspur district touches it in the south.
- The district has a total area of 1,118 sq. kms. forming 2.01 per cent of the total area of the state.
- It ranks 12th in the area amongst the districts of the state.
Physiography
Physiographically the entire tract of this district is hilly and covered by lower Himalayas known as Shiwalik range.
The elevation of this district varies between 470 metres and 1,235 metres above the mean sea level.
Ranges/Dhars in District Hamirpur:
The district has many low hill ranges which run north-west to the south-east direction and of them Jajiar Jakh Dhar, Chaumukhi Dhar, Sola Singhi Dhar and Chabutra Dhar are prominent.
Jakh Dhar:
- Jhak Dhar runs in continuation of Kali Dhar range in Kangra district.
- It enters Hamirpur district near Nadaun and traverses it into the south-eastern direction.
Chabutra Hills:
- The Chabutra hills have the same dip and strike as in the Jakh Dhar and are continued beyond Beas river to what is known as the Changar, a mass of rugged and broken hills.
Sola Singhi Dhar:
- Sola Singhi Dhar is the longest range of the tract and is known under various names such as Chintpurni and Jaswan Dhar in Una and by Sola Singhi Dhar in Hamirpur.
- Thus Dhar enters Hamirpur to the east of Tappa Daruhi and travesses it in a south-easterly direction more or less parallel to the Jakh Dhar and terminated on Satluj river.
Khads/Rivulets in District Hamirpur:
- Main khads of this district are Bakar, Kunah, Man, Pung, Sukar and Sir.
- Sukar khad drains into Sir/Seer khad which ultimately merges in Satluj river outside the district while all other khads drain into Beas river.
- The valleys of these khads are almost flat and fertile.
- The district falls in the humid subtropical zone and the mean annual rainfall varies between 1,000 to 1,400 mm.
On the basis of physiography, climate, soil cover and geology the district is divided into 3 sub-micro regions as described below:
Western Hamirpur Forested Shiwalik:
- This region spreads over the entire western Hamirpur district (except parts of Nadaun tehsil).
- The region includes the whole of Barsar tehsil excluding north-eastern corner, southern Nadaun tehsil, a small pocket of south-western Tira Sujanpur Tehsil and south-western part of Hamirpur tehsil.
- It makes its limits with Beas basin in the north, Una district in the west, Bilaspur district in the south and eastern Hamirpur Shiwalik region in the east.
- In terms of area, this region is one of the biggest sub-micro regions of the district.
- This region has many low hills and fertile valleys with an altitude ranging from 518 metres to 1,112 metres above the mean sea level.
- According to village papers, the area of this entire region comes to 483.70 sq. kms.
- The prominent Dhars falling in this region are Chaumukhi Dhar, Sola Singhi Dhar and Jajiar Jakh Dhar.
Eastern Hamirpur Shiwalik:
- The region is situated in the eastern Hamirpur embracing the whole of Bhoranj Tehsil, major parts of Hamirpur tehsil except north-eastern and south-western parts and small pockets of Barsar tehsil.
- It is surrounded by Beas Basin from north-west Hamirpur forested Shiwalik from the west, Bilaspur district from south and Mandi district from the east.
- This region is most populous amongst all the three regions of the district.
- The region is undulating and contains fertile valleys along the streams.
- The elevation of this region varies between 710 metres and 1,235 metres above the mean sea level.
- The total area of this region comes to 318.76 sq. kms.
Beas Basin:
- This region extends over northern Hamirpur district, covering the whole of Tira Sujanpur Tehsil except its south-western part, the north-eastern fringe of Hamirpur Tehsil and the northern part of Nadaun tehsil.
- The northern boundary of this region is formed by Beas river which flows from east to westerly direction and separates it from Kangra district.
- In the east, Bakar khad makes its limit and separates it from Mandi district while in the south it is bounded by eastern Hamirpur Shiwalik and western Hamirpur forested Shiwalik regions.
- Masinh khad makes its western limit and separates it from Kangra district.
- This region is characterized by low hills and fertile valleys with an altitude ranging from 470 metres to 1,078 metres above the mean sea level.
- The total area of this region comes to 300.12 sq. kms.
- The geological structure of this district is mainly formed of Shiwalik formations.
- In this district, upper reaches of Jajiar Jakh, Sola Singhi and Chaumukhi Dhars have a fairly dense concentration of chir forests while thin vegetation cover is found in lower areas.
- In north-eastern and eastern parts of this district, scrub type of vegetation is found scattered here and there.
Drainage System in District Hamirpur
The district is drained by a number of perennial and non-perennial streams which are tributaries of either river Beas or river Satluj.
River Beas:
- Bakar khad, Pung khad, Kunah khad and Man khad drain into river Beas, while Sukar khad and Mundkhar khad drain into Sir khad which ultimately merges with river Satluj.
- Beas river enters the valley of Nadaun in Hamirpur district from Kangra district.
- Here the Jaswan chain obstructs its further passage to the south and the river flows in the north-west direction almost parallel to the strike of the hills at Murthalghat beyond Hajipur, the hills subside and the liberated water flows in an uninterrupted direction towards the plain.
- The region along Beas river is called the Beas basin.
- This region is characterized by low hills and fertile valleys. Valleys of Man, Kunah and Pung khads contain a dense concentration of villages.