There is no denying the fact that Punjab is famous in the whole world for its large fertile plains. But Punjab is not only a plain region. There is lot of great diversity in its land. There exist Shiwalik hills in the east and north-east direction of Punjab. Sand dunes are also there in the southwest region of Punjab.
The surface of Punjab can be divided in following parts:
- Shiwalik hills
- Large Alluvial plains
- Sand Dunes of south-west.
Shiwalik hills are the part of outer Himalayas. These mountains are spread in the east of Punjab for 280 km. along with the borders of Himachal Pradesh. The average breadth of this mountain range is 5-12 km. and average height from sea level is 600-1500 metre.
Parts of Shiwalik Hills. Shiwalik hills can be divided in three parts:
- Upto Pathankot Ravi and Beas, Gurdaspur-Hoshiarpur Shiwalik.
- Upto Beas and Sutlej rivers.
- Upto Sutlej and Ghaghar, Ropar Shiwalik.
Their description is given below:
1. Gurdaspur-Pathankot Shiwalik. This mountain range is spread in Gurdaspur and Pathankot districts. Dhar Kalan block of Pathankot district is completely situated in the Shiwalik hills. The average height of these mountains is 1000 metre. The mountain slopes of this region are cut down due to fast flowing water which forms the gullies. This region has many seasonal rivers such as Chaki Khad and they meet the Beas river.
2. Hoshiarpur Shiwalik. The region of Hoshiarpur Shiwalik is spread between Beas and Sutlej rivers and in Hoshiarpur, Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar (Nawanshahar and Nurpur Bedi of Roopnagar district). Its length and breadth is 130 km and 5-8 km respectively. Hills in the north are quite wide but they are narrow in the south.
The highest block in this region is Talwara and its height is 741 metres. These slopes of Shiwalik are the victims of Gully erosion. After almost every kilometere, we can find a Cho. Due to head-ward erosion of these Chaos, these hills are cut down at many places. In the south of Hoshiarpur, they are called ‘Katar di Dhar’. Its middle part is situated in the east of Garhshankar. Kot, Mairan, Dalle di Khad are major Chos of this region.
3. Ropar Shiwalik. This range of Shiwalik is situated between Sutlej and Ghagar rivers. It is spread in the Roopnagar district in the northwest to southeast along with the borders of Himachal Pradesh. These mountains start from the north of Nangal and are stretched up to the Ghaghar river near Chandigarh.
The length of this range is 90 km. Its continuity breaks down due to the Sarsa river, a tributary of Sutlej. Like other Shiwalik ranges, this range is also full of Chaos. Here these are called Rao and Ghere.
