| Bangalore is situated in the southeast
of the South Indian state of Karnataka. It is located
in the heart of the Mysore Plateau (a region of
the larger Precambrian Deccan Plateau) at an average
elevation of 920 m (3,018 feet). |
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| It is positioned at 12.97° N 77.56°
E and covers an area of 2190 km² (1,360 mi²).
Bangalore District borders with Kolar District in
the northeast, Tumkur District in the northwest,
Mandya District in the southwest, Chamarajanagar
District in the south and the neighbouring state
of Tamil Nadu in the southeast. The Bangalore Urban
district is divided into three taluks: Bangalore
North, Bangalore South and Anekal. The Bangalore
North taluk is a relatively more level plateau,
while the Bangalore South taluk has an uneven landscape
with intermingling hills and valleys. |
The topology of Bangalore is flat except for a central
ridge running NNE-SSW. The highest point is Doddabettahalli,
which is 962 m (3,156 ft) and lies on this ridge. No
major rivers run through the city, though the Arkavathi
and South Pennar cross paths at the Nandi Hills, 60
km (37 mi) to the north. River Vrishabhavathi, a minor
tributary of Arkavathi, arises within the city at Basavanagudi
and flows through the city. Together, rivers Arkavathi
and Vrishabhavathi carry much of Bangalore's sewage.
A sewerage system, constructed in 1922, covers 215 km²
(133 mi²) of the city and connects with five sewage
treatment centers located in the periphery of Bangalore.
In the 16th century, Kempe Gowda I constructed many
lakes to meet the town's water requirements. The Kempamundi
Kere, since overrun by modern development, was prominent.
Later in the 20th century, the Nandi Hills waterworks,
commissioned by Sir Mirza Ismail (Dewan of Mysore, 1926–41
CE), provided adequate water supply to the growing city.
Bangalore currently relies heavily on water reservoirs
from the Kaveri basin and on Vrishabhavathi and Arkavathi
water treatment plants to meet the water needs of its
population of six million. Bangalore receives 800 million
litres (211 million US gallons) of water a day, more
than any other Indian city. However, water shortages,
especially during summer, are commonplace. A random
sampling study of the Air Quality Index (AQI) of twenty
stations within the city indicated scores that ranged
from 76 to 314, suggesting heavy to severe air pollution
around areas of traffic concentration. For purposes
of comparison, India's metropolitan cities Ahmedabad,
Delhi and Kolkata were classified as having heavy pollution,
while Bangalore and Mumbai were categorised as having
moderate pollution.
The Agara Lake, at sunset. Bangalore has a large number
of lakes — of these Sankey lake, Ulsoor lake and
Yediyur lake are the most prominent.Bangalore has a
handful of freshwater lakes and water tanks, the largest
of which are Madivala tank, Hebbal lake, Ulsoor lake
and Sankey Tank. Groundwater occurs in silty to sandy
layers of the alluvial sediments. Bangalore receives
adequate rainfall from the Northeast Monsoon as well
as the Southwest Monsoon. The Peninsular Gneissic Complex
(PGC) is the most dominant rock unit in the area and
includes granites, gneisses and migmatites, while the
soils of Bangalore consist of red laterite and red,
fine loamy to clayey soils. Vegetation in the city is
primarily in the form of large deciduous canopy and
minority coconut trees. Bangalore has not been affected
by major seismic activity due to it being located in
a seismically stable zone (Zone II). Only mild tremors
have been recorded in the city.
Because of its elevation, Bangalore enjoys a pleasant
and equable climate throughout the year. The highest
temperature recorded is 39°C (102°F) and the
lowest is 11°C (52°F). Winter temperatures rarely
drop below 12°C (54°F), and summer temperatures
seldom exceed 38°C (100°F). The wettest months
are August, September and October, in that order. The
summer heat is moderated by fairly frequent thunderstorms,
and occasional squalls cause power outages and local
flooding. Most of the rainfall occurs during in late
afternoon, evening or night, and rain before noon is
infrequent. The heaviest rainfall recorded in a 24-hour
period is 180 mm (7 in) recorded on 1 October 1997 CE.
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