Source: Flickr
Purulia district geographically lies between 22.60 degree and 23.50 degrees north of the latitude. On the Eastern side it is located between 85.75 and 86.65 East longitudes. Purulia is the westernmost district of West Bengal and owing to its tropical location the district takes the shape of a funnel.Purulia is bordered by various important districts and they are on the East, it has Bankura, Paschim Medinipur,on the north side it has Bardhaman district of West Bengal and also Dhanbad district that comes under Jharkhand. On the West side it has Bokaro and Ranchi districts that come under the state of Jharkhand. In the Southern side,Purulia district has West Singhbhum and East Singhbum.
Purulis district is very significant and it acts as a gateway, for various industrial States that are its neighbors which are: Orissa, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The typical altitude of the district is 748 feet.
Purulia experience sub tropical climate and owing to this it is one of the most drought prone districts of West Bengal. The region sees extremely high temperatures during the summer months and low nippy temperatures in winter. The typical temperatures during these months are: 52 degrees during the summer months and an extreme frosty temperature of 3.8 degrees in winter. During summer, the weather is extremely dry but the amount of precipitation is low. The region saw its hottest summer in the year 2005 on June 18th; it was recorded at 51.1 degree Celsius.
The region receives rainfall owing to the South West monsoons. The usual rainfall of the district is between 1100 and 1500mm.There is a huge variation in the level of humidity when it is monsoon and summer. Monsoon months see a percentage of 75 to 85 percentages, whereas during summer, it considerably drops to 25 to 35 percentages.
The major rivers of Purulia district are Damodar, Kangsabati, and Kumari .There are a few dams in the region and they are: Kangsabati dam, Panchet dam, Maithon dam and Murguma dam. Water from the dams is used to irrigate the agricultural fields. Though many rivers, flows through the region, more than 50 percentage of water runoff due to rise and fall of the landscape. The countryside of Purulia is extremely diverse; it has hills, plateaus and plains. The soil of Purulia is reddish in color and it is said that the iron content of the soil, is extremely high in comparison to the rest of the States.
One of the major water bodies of Purulia, is the Saheb Bandh and it is located at the center of Purulia town. One of the unique aspects of this water body is that it attracts a number of migratory birds from all over the world, like Bangladesh, Burma and Pakistan and the migratory period is during the months of December to March.
Purulia district receives a large number of tourists, to witness its rich flora, fauna and hills. It is the perfect place for trekking and camping. The perfect time to visit Purulia and experience the festivals is between the months of September to December.
