Geographical Location of Himachal Pradesh
Meaning of the Word “Himachal”
“Him” stands for Snow and “achal” means Mountain. Therefore, “Himachal” is formed by combining “Him+Achal”. It is a sanskrit word which means “Abode of snow”.
Location of Himachal Pradesh
Latitudes of Himachal Pradesh:- 30°22’N to 33°12’N
Longitudes of Himachal Pradesh:- 75°47’E to 79°04’E
States/ Countries touching borders of Himachal
There are 4 States, 2 Union Territories and 1 country that share the borders with Himachal Pradesh.
North:- Jammu and Kashmir (U.T.), Ladakh (U.T.)
South:- Haryana
East:- China (Tibet)
West:- Punjab
South-East:- Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh
Punjab State is situated to west of Himachal Pradesh. Haryana is situated to the Southern Side of Himachal Pradesh. Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh are the states which are located to the South-eastern side of Himachal Pradesh. Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh are located in the northern side of Himachal Pradesh. China is located in the eastern side of Himachal Pradesh.
Altitude/ Elevation of Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state with great altitude variation. Its elevation ranges from 350 metres to 7000 metres from the Mean Sea Level.
Area of Himachal Pradesh
What is the Area of the Himalyan State Himachal Pradesh ?
Total Geographical area of Himachal Pradesh is 55,673 Sq.Km. This is only 1.7 percent of the geographical area of India. In term of Area, Himachal Pradesh ranks 17th in 28 states. Its area is greater than following states:- Sikkim, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Goa.
The Rank is 18th when we consider both States and Union Territories. The only Union Territory which has area greater than Himachal is Ladakh.
Borders and Territorial Extension of Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh shares 1170 km Long border with other states and Countries. Internation boundary i.e. with China (Tibet) is about 200 kms.
Maximum length of Himachal Pradesh is 355 Km which extends from North-West edge of Chamba to South-East edge of Kinnaur.
Maximum width of Himachal Pradesh is 270 Km which extends from South-West edge of Kangra to North-East edge of Kinnaur.
Districts of Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh has 12 districts. These are Lahaul & spiti, Kinnaur, Shimla, Solan, Sirmaur, Kullu, Mandi, Bilaspur, Una, Hamirpur, Kangra and Chamba.
Borders of Districts with Neighbouring states and countries
China:- Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur
Uttar Pradesh:- Sirmaur
Uttarakhand:- Sirmaur, Shimla, Kinnaur
Haryana:- sirmaur, Solan
Punjab:- Solan, Bilaspur, Una, Kangra, Chamba
Jammu and Kashmir:- Chamba, Lahaul and Spiti
Ladakh:- Lahaul and Spiti
Mandi and Kangra are the two districts which share borders with maximum number of districts. Both touch 6 other districts.
Mandi:- Kullu, Shimla, Solan, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra
Kangra:- Chamba, Lahaul and Spiti, Kullu, Mandi, Hamirpur, Una
Kullu:- Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Shimla, Mandi, Kangra
Shimla:- Kinnaur, Kullu, Mandi, Solan, Sirmaur
Hamirpur:- Kangra, Mandi, Bilaspur, Una
Bilaspur:- Hamirpur, Mandi, Solan, Una
Lahaul and Spiti:- Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Kinnaur
Solan:- Bilaspur, Mandi, Shimla, Sirmaur
Una:- Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra
Kinnaur:- Lahaul and Spiti, Kullu, Shimla
Chamba:- Lahaul and Spiti, Kangra
Sirmour:- Solan, Shimla