Murshidabad district is one of the central districts located in the state of West Bengal. It lies to the South of the Ganga River between 23 degrees 43 minutes and 24 degrees 52 minutes north latitude, and 24 degrees 52 minutes and 87 degrees 49 minutes and 88 degrees 44 minutes east longitude. In shape, the district resembles an isosceles triangle with its apex pointing to the North-West. The Padma River flows through the entire eastern boundary, separating the district from the Malda District and Rajshahi (Bangladesh). Burdwan District and Nadia District are on the Southern side and Birbhum District and the Pakur district (Jharkhand)are on the western side of Murshidabad district.

The Bhagirathi River has bifurcated the triangle-shaped district and divided it into two broad geographical regions of almost equal area and having a striking difference in their geology, in the agricultural and habitation pattern and even in the religions of their inhabitants.

These are:
Rarha Area - This is the area to the west of the Bhagirathi River having the pre-dominant geographical character of a plateau. It is substantially a continuation of the Sub-Vindhyan region of laterite clay. The land is high, slightly undulating, but is interspersed with numerous swamps and beds of old rivers. The soil is greyish and reddish, rich in lime and iron oxide. The rivers in this part originate from hill torrents and they are prone to overflowing due to sudden rain.

Hijal: It is a tract within Rarha, situated in the south-west of the district near the confluence of the Mor and Dwarka River, covering about 50 sq. miles in area. Here the country becomes more open, and, in place of Rice fields large stretches of thatching grass cover an almost treeless plain. During the rains, this area is widely inundated with water. Again, it becomes dry in the winter and a large portion of it is cultivated with Rabi crops.

Bagri Area - This is the area to the east of the Bhagirathi formed by Gangetic alluvial deposit. This area was formed later than the Rarha Area. It lies entirely between the Ganga, the Bhagirathi and the Jalangi River. The area is low, and therefore, exposed to annual inundations resulting in fresh silt deposits, and hence it is very fertile. A great variety of crops are grown here.

The Kalantar bil is a continuation of Bagri in the south-eastern corner of the district and receives the drainage of the swampy rivers in the eastern part of the district. It is a very swampy tract of dark clay and it is good as a rice growing area.

The tract of Bagri, lying east of Bhagirathi is covered with recent alluvium, consisting of sandy clay and sand along the course of the rivers, and fine silt consolidating into clay in the flatter parts of the plain; sometimes the areas form saucer-like depressions. A bank of stiff clay, gravels and calcareous nodules called ghuting forms the junction of the alluvium and higher grounds on the west of Bhagirathi. In the north-west of the district are some isolated clay hillocks.

The general inclination of the district west of the Bhagirathi is from north - west to south - east; but in the tract east of Bhagirathi, the lines of drainage is somewhat irregular as the main rivers do not uniformly take this direction.

Though the western half of the district slopes eastwards toward the Bhagirathi, a number of the hill streams do not find their way directly into that river; they are intercepted by bils or marshes and for the most part are carried off to the south by the Dwarka. The two chief drainage basins in this part of the district are that of the Bansloi in the north and that of the dwarka with its confluents, in the south. The large bils act as reservoirs during the flood by absorbing some of the excess water carried down by these streams, and also drain the excess water through the streams, emanating out of them.

The eastern half of the district may be described as an isosceles triangle. The Ganga (Padma) and the Bhagirathi forms the two equal sides; The Jalangi forms almost the entire base. However, the line of drainage is not along any of these rivers. The local rainfalls in this part of the district do not run off either into the Ganga or the Bhagirathi. The floods of these two great rivers converge towards each other, and ultimately make their way in a south - eastern direction. It may be roughly stated that the greater part of the surplus water ultimately falls into the Jalangi by means of the Gobranalah, the Bhairab and the Sialmari. During rainy seasons these canals, are connected with a number of bils, forming a network of water communication.

There is hardly any forest covering in the district. Most of it has trees common to the deltaic regions of the State. In the west and the north regions of the district, one gets to see plants similar to the plateau regions of the state. The common crops are also similar to that of the deltaic Bengal. There are fruit bearing trees of various types; but what the district boasts of is its varieties of mango delicacies. Many varieties available are unique to the district and trace their origin to the days of the Nawabs. Shadulla (Himsagar), Ranipasand (favourite to the queen), Begumpasand (favourite to the Begum), Sharanga, Mulayamjam, Kohitur (the king of mangoes) are among the varieties cherished by the connoisseurs. The common animals found in the district are jackals and black-faced monkeys. Though there is not much forest coverage, there are many water bodies like rivers, canals, lakes and ponds and an abundance of trees and shrubs in the district. Therefore, here one finds birds of many species including some migratory birds. The water bodies attract many water birds like the dabchick / little grebe, cormorants of different types, Indian shag, darter, ibis, herons, egrets, storks, teals and ducks of many kinds. Besides, one gets to see kites, pheasants, fowl, woodpeckers, cuckoos etc.