The two pious rivers of Indian Mythology, Ganga and Yamuna garland Uttar Pradesh. On the East, Uttar Pradesh is surrounded by Bihar, on the South by Madhya Pradesh, on the West by Rajasthan, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and on the North by Uttaranchal. The Northern boarders of Uttar Pradesh are touched by Nepal. The area of the State is 2,36,286 sq kms. It between latitude of 24 deg to 31 deg and longitude of 77 deg to 84 deg East. In area wise it is the fourth largest State of India.

Uttar Pradesh, has been the area of activity of historical heroes like - Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Mahavira, Ashoka, Harsha, Akbar and Mahatma Gandhi. Uttar Pradesh has various shrines and pilgrim centers.

Uttar Pradesh can be divided into three distinct hypsographical regions. They are the
Himalayan region -lies towards the North. In the Himalayan region lies the districts of Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Pithoragarh, Tehri-Garhwal, Garhwal, Almora , Nainital tehsil of Nainital district, Chakrata and a part of Dehra Dun tehsils of Dehra Dun district. The terrain is characterized by high mountains formed of sedimentary rocks that are broken by valleys and deep gorges. The snows in the higher reaches are the source of perennial rivers and rivulets, which criss-cross the terrain. The Siwalik range that forms the southern foothills of the Himalayas slopes down in to a boulder bed called `bhadhar`. The transitional belt running along the entire length of the state is called the terai and bhabhar area. It has rich forests, cutting across it are innumerable streams, which swell into raging torrents during the monsoon. The bhabhar tract is covered with tall elephant grass and thick forests. The main crops are wheat, rice, and sugar cane. Jute also is grown.

Gangetic Plain -The prominent peaks in the hill region are Banarpunch, Mount Kamety, Trishul, Dunagiri, Nanda Devi, Badrinath and Kedaranath. These hill areas are less hill areas are less populated. The soil here is subject to erosion. Here cultivation is done under intensive soil. Only a small area is under artificial irrigation. The most important area concerning the economy of the state is the Gangetic plain which stretches across the entire length of the state from east to west. The Gangetic plain is watered by the Jamuna, Ganga and its major tributaries as the Ramganga, the Gomati, the Ghaghra and Gandak. The chief crops cultivated here are rice, wheat, millets, gram; barley. Sugar cane is the chief cash crop of the region. The whole plain is alluvial and very fertile. The entire alluvial plain can be divided into three sub-regions.

1. The Eastern tract consisting of 14 districts that are subject to floods and droughts. These areas are classified as scarcity areas. This district has the highest density of population which gives the lower per capita land.
2. The central tract
3. The western tract
The central tract and western tract have a well-developed irrigation system. They suffer from water logging and large-scale user tracts.

Vindhya hills and plateau in the South - The Southern fringe of the Gangetic Plains is demarcated by the Vindhya hills and plateau. It comprises the four districts of Jhansi, Jalaun, Banda, and Hamirpur in Bundelkhand division, Meja and Karchhana tehsils of Allahabad district, the whole of Mirzapur district south of Ganga and Chakia tehsil of Varanasi district. The ground is strong with low hills. The Betwa and Ken rivers join the Jamuna from the south -west in this region. It has four distinct kinds of soil, two of which are agriculturally difficult to manage. They are black cotton soil. Rainfall is scanty and erratic and water -resources is scare. Dry farming is practical on a large scale.

The climate of Uttar Pradesh is generally tropical monsoon but there appear to be variations in the seasons owing to the change in altitud. The Himalayan region is cold. The average temperature in the plains varies from 3 to 4 degree Celsius in January and 43 to 45 degree Celsius in May and June. There are 3 seasons in Uttar Pradesh. They are:

•The cold season - the state experiences cold season from October to January.

•Summer season - is from March to mid June.

•Rainy season - the Himalayan region experiences a rainfall of about 100-200cm

The major problem of the state is the recurring floods caused due to rain. The major flood-prone rivers are the Ganga, Yamuna ,Gomati ,Ghaghra ,Rapti, Sarda and Ramganga. The inadequate drainage capacity of the smaller western Sirsa, Kali and the Aligarh drain is also a cause of floods. There are also cloudbursts adding to the misery of the people.