Geology
Gondia district is unique in Maharashtra in sense that the entire area of the district is occupied by metamorphic rock and alluvium.
The brief description of various lithorites is given below
| Age | Formation | Lithology |
|---|---|---|
| Pleistocene to Recent | Alluvium and Lalerite | Silt, Sand, Gravel, Laterite |
| Protozoic | Vindhyan Super Group | Quartzite and Shale |
| Doongargarh Super Group | Andesite, Sandstone granite, Ehyolite | |
| Sausar Group | Muscovite-boitite-schist, Granite, Tirodi Gneiss | |
| Sakoli Group | Schist, Phyllites, Quartzite | |
| Archaean | Amagon Group | Granite & Gneisses |
- Alluvium is developed all along major river courses such as Bagh, Chulbandh and Gadavi.
- Laterites are distributed all over the district but observed prominently in S.Arjuni and Arjuni Moregaon.
- Metamorphic rocks like various granites, Gneiss, Schists, Phylites etc. are exposed throughout district.
- Gondia district is rich in economic minerals like manganese, kyonite, sillimanite corundum and pyrophyllite.
Geomorphology
Geomorphologically the district can be divided into two parts
1) The north-Western, north eastern, south-eastern and central parts which have structural units like hills and ridges.
2) The northen, north-central, west central, south and south-west portions having undulating topography over denudational units like pediments and fluvial units
The important geomophological units identified in the are are below
| Nature of Unit | Land form |
|---|---|
| 1. Structral origin | Structral hills and structral ridges |
| 2. Denudational Origin | Pediments/Pediplains, denudational |
| 3. Fluvial Origin | Older and younger alluvium. |
Land Use Pattern
The major land use categories in district include
1) Buildup land
2) Agricultural land : which comprises of a) Kharip b) Rabi c) Double crop d) Fallow
3) Forest Land which includes a) decicuous Forest b) Degarded forest c) Forest blank d) Forest plantation
4) Waste land comprising of
a) Land with or without scrub
b) Barren rocky/stony waste.
5) Water bodies which include
a) Lakes and reserviors
b) Rivers and streams.
6) Other comprising of mining area
The largest land use category in the district is that of agriculture. Pecidious forest constitute 90% of total area under forest which is maximum in south east and central parts.
The following table gives the figures for land use in Gondia district
Land use/Land Cover Category Area in He. Percentage to the total Geographical area Built up land 1155 1.36 Agricultural land 1,98,750 41.19 Forest Land 1,36,175 35.05 Waste Land 17,511 4.51 Waterbodies 34,619 8.91 Total 5,88,209 100.00