Geography of Yavatmal
The city of Yavatmal is located at the eastern part of Maharashtra. Its geography and climate are greatly influenced by its location. The district of Yavatmal shares its boundaries with Washim and Hingoli districts in the west, Amravati district and Wardha districts in the north and Chandrapur district lining the east. To the south of the district lies Nanded district and the state of Andhra Pradesh.National highway 7 passes through Yavatmal connecting Varanasi and Kanyakumari. The important places along this highway are Wadki, Karanji, Pandharkawda and Patanbori.
The city’s geography is characterized by hills and broad valleys. The Yavatmal taluka which lies in the heart of the district has a plateau on its southern border. During the British the city was considered a hill station. But the city’s climate could become unforgivably hot in the peak of summer.
Climate of Yavatmal
The climate of the city of Yavatmal is generally hot despite its height from the sea level. The weather of the city could be divided into four seasons. The summer season starts in March and ends in the first week of June. The month of May is the hottest of the summer season with maximum temperature rising up to 42 degrees Celsius. The south west monsoon season follows the summer and extends up to the last of September. The rain brings the temperature considerably down. The rivers of the district often flood in these heavy rains.October and November witness the withdrawal of the monsoon and the last season is the winter which extends to February. December is the coldest month of the winter season with an average temperature of 13 degree Celsius.
Rivers in Yavatmal
The district of Yavatmal has two rivers- Wardha and Penganga, flowing along the city’s boundaries. Both the rivers have various tributaries. Wardha is the only navigable river. Wardha is also known by the name Vasishtha, the name of a sage who is said to have created the river. The river is navigable in the rainy season and there was actually a steamer about forty years ago which went up to the town of Chinchamandal in the Wani taluka. The two major tributaries of the Wardha River are Bembala and Nirguda.The Painganga River is very vital to the geographical peculiarity of the district. It provides plains along its path in the southern border of the district. Some of these strips of plains stretch up to several miles in breadth. The painganga is a rough river flowing in curves and turns. It has a great curve to the north west of Pusad Taluka.
Dams at Yavatmal
Till date there are eight major dams at Yavatmal district. Most of these dams are located in either the two major rivers of Wardha or Painganga or in their tributaries. The eight ones are:- Isapur dam in the Painganga river
- Pusad dam on the Pus river
- Waghadi Dam on the Waghadi river, a major tributary of River Painganga,
- Kayar dam on the Vidharbha river
- Saikhed on the Khunni river
- Navargaon on the Nigurna river
- Devagaon on the Arunavati river
- Gokhi on the Adan river
Forests and Wildlife Sanctuaries in Yavatmal
The Yavatmal district has two wild life sanctuaries that attract many tourists every season. The Painganga wildlife sanctuary is located in the Umerkhed taluka of the district. The river Painganga encloses the sanctuary by flowing along three of its four sides. The sanctuary boasts of a wide variety to plant species and animals like black buck, Chinkara, the Nilgai Sambar, Leopards and four horned antelope. The best time to visit the sanctuary is between January and June.The second wildlife sanctuary – Tipeshwar wildlife sanctuary is located in the Pandhakawada takuka of Yavatmal district. With an area of 148 sq. km, the sanctuary is home to rare plant and animal species that are found only in these parts of the country. Summer season is the best time to enjoy here. You can avail the rail service from Yavatmal railway station to reach the sanctuary.
Yavatmal has one fifth of its area covered by forests of various kinds. Most of these forests are found in Digras, Ghatanji, Pusad and Yavatmal talukas. Umbarda and Bitargaon are two well-known forests of the district. One of Yavatmal's prime export goods – teak wood - grows in abundance in these forests. They are also home different varieties of plants and animal species like tiger, blue antelope and Indian bear.