• Population: 2,318,822
• Capital: Shillong
• Area: 8,660 square miles (22,429 sq km)
• Capital: Shillong
• Area: 8,660 square miles (22,429 sq km)
One of the North Eastern states of India,
Meghalaya is a sylvan beauty of breathtaking beauty. It is bounded on the south
and southwest by Bangladesh and on all other sides by the state of Assam. The
area is 22,429 square kilometres. The capital is the hill town of Shillong.
Meghalaya--literally "Abode (alaya) of
the Clouds (megha)"--occupies a mountainous plateau of great scenic beauty
where the average elevation is just under 2000 m (6500 ft). One of the wettest
regions on earth, Cherrapunji lies 56 km from Shillong; it has mind-boggling
annual rainfall average of 450 inches (11,430 mm) over a 74-year period, the
highest ever recorded in Asia and the second highest in the world. The climate
of Meghalaya is generally mild. In August the mean temperature at Shillong (in
the Khasi Hills) is 70° F (21° C); it falls to 49° F (9.5° C) in January.
Annual rainfall in Shillong, only 50 miles from Cherrapunji, is 92 inches.
Meghalaya has a single-chamber Legislative
Assembly of 60 seats. The state sends three members to the Indian national
parliament: one to the RajyaSabha (upper house) and two to the LokSabha (lower
house). The state has seven administrative districts--the East and West Garo
Hills, the East and West Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills, Ri-Bhoi and the South Garo
Hills.
The state of Meghalaya covers a total area
of 22,720 km2 or 8,700 sq miles. The state shares its borders with Assam to the
north and Bangladesh to the south. The breadth of the mountainous band named
Meghalaya is about 100 km and the length of the strip is approximately 300 km
from east to west.
Approximately 33% of the territory is
wooded. The characteristics of the jungles in the hills are different from that
of the rain forests in the plains or valleys in the south and north. The
jungles of the state are famous for their biodiversity of avifauna, animals,
and trees. Earlier, the entire territory formed a portion of the state of
Assam. Nevertheless, on January 21, 1972, the following districts formed the
new state of Meghalaya:
Garo
Khasi
andJaintia hills district
The state is one of the Seven Sister States
of the Republic of India. It is also named as the Meghalaya Plateau and is made
up mostly of Archean stony structures. These stony structures include abundant
accumulations of precious minerals such as the following:
Limestone
Coal
Sillimanite
Uranium
Granite
Kaolin
The altitude of the highland differs
between 1961 meters and 150 meters. The middle portion of the highland
consisting of the Khasi Hills has the tallest altitudes and the eastern part
consisting of the Jaintia Hills area comes next. Situated at an elevation of
1961 meters, the Shillong Peak is the tallest summit in the state. It is a
major Indian Air Force post in the Khasi Hills area. The Garo Hills area in the
western part of the highlands is almost flat. The Nokrek Peak is the tallest
peak in the Garo Mountains and its elevation is 1515 meters
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