Bihar Mixed Quiz: Set 1

Bihar covers 94,163 square kilometres, which makes it the twelfth largest state of India by area, although it stands third in population after Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.

The Kosi earns the name because it brings an exceptionally heavy load of silt down from Nepal, drops it the moment it reaches the flat North Bihar plain, raises its own bed above the surrounding land and then breaks out into a new channel.

Bihar lies in the northern plain, where summers are hot, the rain comes in a single spell from the south-west monsoon between mid-June and early October, and winters are cool and dry with occasional cold waves.

Stated exactly, Bihar lies between 24 degrees 20 minutes 10 seconds north and 27 degrees 31 minutes 15 seconds north latitude, and between 83 degrees 19 minutes 50 seconds east and 88 degrees 17 minutes 40 seconds east longitude.

The Ganga comes into Bihar from Uttar Pradesh near Chausa, flows from west to east for about 445 kilometres and leaves the state for West Bengal near Rajmahal, splitting Bihar into the North Bihar plain and the South Bihar plain on the way.

The rain comes to Bihar with the Bay of Bengal branch of the south-west monsoon, which enters from the east and loses moisture as it moves inland.

Bihar has an international boundary of about 726 kilometres with Nepal along its entire northern edge, and the rivers that make north Bihar fertile and flood-prone, the Gandak, Bagmati, Kamla Balan and Kosi, all cross that boundary into the state.

The Gandak rises in Nepal, where it is called the Narayani or the Sapt Gandaki, enters Bihar at Valmikinagar in West Champaran and flows south-east to meet the Ganga at Sonpur, across the river from Patna.

Kishanganj lies in the extreme north-east of the state, in the corner nearest the Darjeeling hills and the moist Bengal duars, and it is the first part of Bihar the monsoon current reaches.

The Ganga enters Bihar near Chausa in Buxar district, flows from west to east for about 445 kilometres and leaves the state near Rajmahal.

The Son rises at Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh, the same plateau that gives birth to the Narmada, flows north-east through Rohtas and joins the Ganga near Maner, a little west of Patna.

This branch of the south-west monsoon strikes the Bengal coast, is deflected west by the Himalaya and moves up the Ganga plain, reaching Bihar in the second week of June.

The Someshwar hills form the narrow Shivalik belt in the extreme north-west of Bihar, with flat valleys called duns lying between the ridges, and Someshwar peak, about 880 metres, is the highest point of the state.

Kabartal, also called Kanwar Jheel, lies in Begusarai district and is an ox-bow lake left behind by the Burhi Gandak.

For agricultural planning Bihar is divided into Zone I, the north-west alluvial plain, Zone II, the north-east alluvial plain, and Zone III, the South Bihar alluvial plain, which is further subdivided into III A and III B. The division follows the two things that actually differ across the state: the…

The Kosi rises in the Himalaya, carries an enormous load of silt and deposits it on the almost flat plain of north Bihar, raising its own bed until it breaks out and takes a new course.

The Kosi project that followed the 1954 agreement between India and Nepal has three parts: a barrage at Bhimnagar on the border, long embankments on both banks of the river downstream, and canals, of which the Eastern Kosi Main Canal is the largest.

The rivers of North Bihar come down from the young Himalaya and spread fresh silt over the plain at every flood, and that silt carries a high proportion of lime.

The Son rises on the Amarkantak plateau in Madhya Pradesh, flows north-east through the hard rock country of the south and joins the Ganga near Maner, west of Patna.

The Karmanasa rises on the Kaimur plateau, flows north along part of the boundary between Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and meets the Ganga near Chausa in Buxar district, the same place at which the Ganga enters Bihar.