Geography Topography Climate

Geography

Tripura is a landlocked state in North East India, where the seven contiguous states – Arunachal Pradesh,Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura – are collectively known as the Seven Sister States.

Spread over 10,491.69 km2, Tripura is the third-smallest among the 29 states in the country, behind Goa and Sikkim.It extends from 22°56'N to 24°32'N, and 91°09'E to 92°20'E.Its maximum extent measures about 178 km from north to south, and 131 km east to west.

Tripura is bordered by the country of Bangladesh to the west, north and south; and
the Indian states of Assam to the north east; and Mizoram to the east.It is accessible by national highways passing through the Karimganj district of Assam and Mamit district of Mizoram.

Topography

The physiography is characterised by hill ranges, valleys and plains. The state has five anticlinal ranges of hills running north to south, from Boromura in the west, through Atharamura, Longtharai and Shakhan, to the Jampui Hills  in the east.

The intervening synclines are the Agartala–Udaipur, Khowai–Teliamura, Kamalpur–Ambasa, Kailasahar–Manu and Dharmanagar–Kanchanpur valleys.At an altitude of 939 m, Betling Shib in the Jampui range is the state's  highest point.

The small isolated hillocks interspersed throughout the state are known as tillas, and the narrow fertile alluvial valleys, mostly present in the west, are called lungas.A number of rivers originate in the hills of Tripura and flow into Bangladesh.The Khowai, Dhalai, Manu, Juri and Longai flow towards the north; the Gumti to the west; and the Muhuri and Feni to the south west.

The lithostratigraphy data published by the Geological Survey of India dates the rocks, on the geologic time scale,between the Oligocene epoch, approximately 34 to 23 million years ago, and the Holocene epoch, which started 12,000 years ago.

The hills have red laterite soil that is porous. The flood plains and narrow valleys are overlain
by alluvial soil, and those in the west and south constitute most of the agricultural land.According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, on a scale ranging from I to V in order of increasing susceptibility to earthquakes, the state lies in seismic zone V.

Climate

The state has a tropical savanna climate, designated Aw under the Köppen climate classification.
The undulating topography leads to local variations, particularly in the hill ranges.
The four main seasons are winter, from December to February; pre-monsoon or summer, from March to April;monsoon, from May to September; and post-monsoon, from October to November.

During the monsoon season, the south west monsoon brings heavy rains, which cause frequent floods.The average annual rainfall between 1995 and 2006 ranged from 1,979.6 to 2,745.9 mm.During winter, temperatures range from 13 to 27 °C, while in the summer they fall between 24 and 36 °C.

According to a United Nations Development Programme report, the state lies in "very high damage risk" zone from wind and cyclones.