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Maharashtra is the third largest state in India both in area and population.
The state is bounded by the Arabian Sea in the west, Gujarat in the north
west, Madhya Pradesh in the north and the east, Andhra Pradesh in the
south east and Karnataka and Goa in the south.
Physiography
Maharashtra consists of two major relief divisions. The
plateau which is a part of the Deccan tableland and the Konkan coastal
strip abutting on the Arabian Sea. The state of Maharashtra forms a huge
irregular triangle with its base on the west coast of India, overlooking
the Arabian Sea. The coastal strip, about 720 km, long and not more than
80 km wide, is the Konkan dotted with paddy fields and coconut gardens.
The Sahyadris or the western ghats running almost parallel to the sea
coast flank the Konkan on its east. To the east of the Sahyadris stretches
a vast plateau forming the apex of the triangle. The major parts of Maharashtra
is underlined by rocks of volcanic origin the lavas. These lava beds are
a distinctive feature
of landscape in Maharashtra and many of them present as black and massive
girdles a spectacular display on the scarp face of the Sahyadri.
The drainage system of Maharashtra consists of both
west-flowing rivers draining to the Arabian Sea and east flowing one which
drain to the Bay of Bengal after traversing Andhra Pradesh and Mysore.
The major rivers of the plateau are Tapi, The Godavari, the Bhima, the
Krishna, the Wardha, and Wainganga. The Godavari is the principal river
of Maharashtra.
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