Physical Features and Major Physiographic Divisions of Assam

Physical Location & Boundaries of Assam

The present Assam state is bounded by latitudes of 24°58′ N and 27°58′ N and longitudes 89°42′ E and 96°1′ E (approximately).
Assam may be divided broadly into two river valleys and a region of hills and plateaus. They are the Brahmaputra Valley, watered by the Brahmaputra river throughout its length from Sadiya in the north-east to Dhubri in the west, and by its tributaries on both sides of its banks. The Barak valley is mainly watered by the Barak River and its tributaries, and the hilly tract of the Karbi plateau and North Cachar Hills.
The Brahmaputra valley again may be divided into three regions:
- The Uttarpar and Uttarkula.
- The Dakhinpar or Dakhinakula.
- The Majuli and other river islands were formed by the river Brahmaputra.

The length of the Brahmaputra river within Assam is about 720 km and it is on average 8 to 10 km wide.
Geographically, Assam may be divided into two parts – the plains and the hills.

Assam is situated in the northeastern part of India. It is bounded by two foreign countries and seven Indian states:
To the north of it, are Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh.
To the east, there are Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Manipur.
The southern boundary is covered by Mizoram and Meghalaya, and to the west, there lies West Bengal, Bangladesh, and Tripura.

The international boundary of the state lies in three sectors, namely:

Dhubri-Rangpur sector of Indo-Bangla boundary km, – 134

Karimganj-Cachar-Sylhet – 229 km and sector of Indo-Bangla boundary

Indo-Bhutan boundary – 269 km. Thus, there is about 532 km of the international boundary of Assam.

At the time of the 1971 census, the total area of Assam including Mizoram and excluding Meghalaya was 99,610 km².
After the creation of Mizoram as a Union Territory on 21 January 1972, Assam lost an area of 21,087 km², and accordingly, its present area is only 78,438 km².
It covers about 2.93 percent of the total geographical area of India.