Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924073057352).pdf/349

 SIT 341 SITAPUR DISTRICT ARTICLE. ABSTRACT OF CHAPTERS. 1. GENERAL ASPECTS. II.-AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE. III.—THE PEOPLE. IV.-ADMINISTRATION. V.-HISTORY CHAPTER PHYSICAL FEATURES. Boundaries, aren-General aspect--Soii - Subdivisions-Rivers-Graves, Jhils ---Jungleg Vegetable products-Wild animals-Mineral products-Fauda-Game birds - Tempera- ture-WindsClimate--Rainfall --Medical aspects. Boundaries and area. The district of Sitapur wbich takes its name from the country town of the same name, lies between the parallels of 27°53' and 27°7' north latitude, and 80° 21' and 81°26' east longitude. Situated in the interior of Oudh, it is bounded on the north by the Kheri district on the east by that of Bahraich, from which it is separated by the great river Gogra; on the south by districts Bara Banki and Luck- now; and on the west by Hardoi; the river Gumti being the common boundary of both. In shape like an ellipse, its greatest length from south-east to north- west is 70 miles, and its extreme breadth from north-east to south-west 55; its area is 2,250* square miles. Its population is 932,959, being at the rate of 414 to the square mile. There have been no changes in the area of the district; its capital bears the same name. Physical features and characteristics of the soil.-Without hills or val- leys, devoid of forests and lakes, properly so called, the district presents the appearance of a vast plain; well wooded through the numerous groves and scattered trees with which it is covered; well cultivated save in those parts where the soil is barren and cut up by ravines; intersected by numerous streams, and possessing many of those shallow ponds and natural reservoirs of water which in the rains are full to overflowing, but in the hot season become dry, and which are called jhíls in the vernacular tongue. A plain, it slopes imperceptibly from an elevation of 505 feet above the level of the sea in the north-west to 400 feet above the level, in the south- east, the fall being just 11 foot in each mile. Soil.—With the exception of the eastern parganas, which lie in the duab of the Gogra and Chauka, the soil of the district is as a rule dry. In many parts, especially in the neighbourhood of the larger rivers, we meet with tracts of sand, barren land "úsar" is found all over the district; the lands close to the smaller streams are much cut up by the ravines
 * By census report: by settlement returns the area is 2,914,