Orissa is a state in the Republic of India. It is stuated in the eastern part of the country. It is surrounded by West Bengal to the north-east, Jharkhand to the north, Chattisgarh to the west and north-west and Andhra Pradesh to the south. The state has an area of 155,820 km2 and extends for 800 kilometres from north to south and 500 kilometres from east to west. Its coastline is 480 kilometre long. The state is divided into 30 districts which are further subdivided into 314 blocks.
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Orissa's topography comprises fertile plains along the coast and forested highlands towards the interior. The Oriya people who inhabit the coast are generally of Indo-Aryan stock while Adivasis or tribals believed to be of pre-Dravidian stock inhabit the interior. A large number of Telugu people inhabit the southern districts adjoining Andhra Pradesh.
The Chota Nagpur plateau occupies the western and northern portions of the state, while along the coast are fertile alluvial plains and the valleys of the Mahanadi, Brahmani, and Baitarani rivers, which empty into the Bay of Bengal. These alluvial plains are home to intensive rice cultivation. A major nesting ground for the Olive Ridley sea turtles can be found in the beaches of Orissa; in Devi, Gahirmatha and Rushikulya are known nesting sites for the L. olivacea Indian Ocean population. In 2007, around 130,000 turtles nested on the beaches of Gahirmatha.
Although much of Orissa's forest cover has been denuded lately, one of the greatest attractions of Orissa is its still vast expanses of unspoiled natural landscape that offer a protected yet natural habitat to the state’s incredible wildlife. There are many wildlife sanctuaries in Orissa. The Simlipal National Park Tiger Reserve is a huge expanse of lush green forest with waterfalls, inhabited by tigers, elephants, and other wildlife. The Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary has been protecting estuarine crocodiles since 1975.
Chilka Lake, a brackish water coastal lake on the Bay of Bengal, south of the mouth of the Mahanadi River, is the largest coastal lake in India. It is protected by the Chilka Lake Bird Sanctuary, which harbors over 150 migratory and resident species of birds.
The highest mountain peak in the state is Deomali (1672 m), which is situated in Koraput district in southern Orissa. It is also the tallest peak of the Eastern Ghats. It is part of the Chandragiri-Pottangi mountain system.
The state of Orissa extends from 17.49N latitude to 22.34N latitude and from 81.27E longitude to 87.29E longitude.
The coastal plains extend all along the coast of Orissa from river Subarnarekha in the north to Rishikulya in the south and consists of the deltas of the Subarnarekha, the Budhabalanga, the Baitarani, the Brahmani, the Mahanadi and the Rishikulya. The coastal plain is sub-divided into the Mahanadi delta, the Balasore plain and the Ganjam plain. The Chilka Lake is situated on the Ganjam plains. It is separated from the mountains of the interior by a 75 metre contourlines.
The Middle Mountains cover about three-fourths of the whole state of Orissa. They comprise the hills of the Eastern Ghats and run in an east-west direction from Mayurbhanj in North-east Orissa to Malkangri in the north-west. These mountains are interspersed by river valleys. The average height is 900 metres above sea level.
The Central plateaus comprises two plateaus: Panposh - Keonjhar -Pallahara plateau and Nabarangpur - Jeypore plateau. They have an elevtaion of 610 metres.
They are less taller than the central plateaus and have an elevation of 153 to 305 metres.
The capital of Orissa is Bhubaneswar. It is famed for its magnificent temples, numbering around a thousand. Cuttack,which is the former capital of Orissa is 29 km from Bhubaneswar. With the rapid expansion of two cities and better road connectivity, the two cities are now almost conjoined and considered as twin cities. The city of Puri is nearby, at a distance of around 60 kilometers on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. Puri is a holy city and the site of the annual festival of the deity Jagannath. It is one of the four Dhams (holy places) of Hinduism. The world-famous "car festival" (rath yatra) is celebrated in Puri.
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