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For all one’s
inclination to believe that Rajasthan is a desert, it is difficult to ignore the fact
that the region, in fact, has a varied topography, and includes from semi-arid,
desert-like conditions to among the oldest mountains in the world, and lush,
water-filled valleys. No wonder too that its wildlife is so rich in variety, including
from the tiger and leopard to endless varieties of deer, rhesus monkeys, reptiles
including the python, and a profusion of bird-life that includes water-birds.
The Thar desert, also
referred to as the Great Indian Desert, falls for most part within the state, though
parts of it do stretch into other states such as Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana, and this
is what gives Rajasthan its unique topographical character. Unlike the typical desert,
it does not have oasis, palms or cactii, and is densely populated. Sand dunes
characterise it, just as much as saline depressions and lakes.
Interestingly, since
legends refer to this area as under water aeons ago, scientists have now proved that
some 25 million years ago, this was indeed the case. Fossils unearthed in the Akal area
point to the remains of ferns and forests of cycades that existed some 180 million years
ago, pointing to a possible hot, humid climate. In fact, the area has a geological
history that places it under the sea on four different occasions, and evidence is
profuse in the wood fossil park of Akal, and in other areas around Jaisalmer that
together constitutes the Desert National Park.
Another distinguishing
natural feature in Rajasthan is the Aravalli mountain chain, often referred to as hills
because the height is rarely beyond a thousand metres. The folds of the
Aravallis were used successfully by the Rajput princes to establish their
citadels, but the mountains are among the oldest in the world, the result of early
volcanic activities also responsible for
their mineral wealth of copper, zinc, cobalt manganese, asbestos, soapstone, garnet, and
marble. Since the Aravallis tended to be heavily forested, they became a natural refuge
for birds and animals. Even though human degradation of the environment has led to
deforestation, in areas where the forests are still thick, the reserves continue to
offer sanctuary to their original, resident and migrant specie.
Two other topographical
conditions typify Rajasthan. The first is the Vindhyan or Deccan Trap where the Vindhyan
hill system comes in
contact with the Aravallis, creating a ‘fault’ that, most characteristically,
can be detected in the Sawai Madhopur area with its Ranthambhor National Park. The
Vindhyan hills consist mostly of sandstone that, even though it may occasionally vary in
colour, has resulted in the building materials for many of the state’s forts and
palaces. The resulting topography is a landscape consisting of hard-topped
plateaus made form tough, compact rocks. It is the creation of the ‘fault’ where the
two mountain chains meet that the mixed topography provides the ideal shelter for the
tiger and its various prey species. Large, shallow lakes have also resulted, so that
crocodile are not unusual in the desert state either.
A last, distinguishing
feature are the wetlands of the Indo-Gangetic plains, such as in the regions around
Mathura and Agra. Close to which Bharatpur is located. Excess water in the monsoons
causes vast areas to be flooded, simply because the rivers cease to flow when they
overflow their banks, instead of which they simply spread out and inundate the flat
terrains around like a vast sea. Part of this topography is shared by the Bharatpur
wetlands as a result of the Jamuna that passes close by, and the other part by the
Chambal which, as a tributary of the Jamuna, originates in the Vindhyas in Madhya
Pradesh and skirts through its ravines to form Rajasthan’s eastern boundary with that
state. This may occasionally result in marshy eco-systems ideal for sustaining a variety
of birdlife in these aquatic habitats.
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