The Maikal Hills are range of hills in the state of eastern

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

and

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...

India. The Maikal Hills are an eastern part of the

Satpura The Satpura Range, formerly also known as the Seeonee Hills, is a range of hills in central India. The range rises in eastern Gujarat running east through the border of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and ends in Chhattisgarh. The range paral ...

s in Kawardha District of Chhattisgarh and

Anuppur district Anuppur District (अनूपपुर, ) is an administrative district in Shahdol Division of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The district has an area of , and a population of 749,237 (2011 Census). 309,624 people are from scheduled t ...

of Madhya Pradesh, overlooking the scenic town of

Kawardha Kawardha is a town and a municipality in Kabirdham district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. It is the administrative headquarters of Kabirdham district. Kawardha is also known for the "Temple of Bhoramdeo." The Member of Legislative assem ...

. Their altitudes range from 340 m to 942 m above sea level. This densely forested and thinly populated range gives rise to several streams and rivers including the tributaries of

Narmada The Narmada River, previously also known as ''Narbada'' or anglicised as ''Nerbudda'', is the 5th longest river in India and overall the longest west-flowing river in the country. It is also the largest flowing river in the state of Madhya Prade ...

and Wainganga rivers. The hills are inhabited by two tribal peoples, the Baigas and the Gonds. The hill range is rich in flora and fauna wealth.

History

This region was known as Mekala and was once ruled by the Panduvamshis of Mekala. Their territory included parts of the present-day

Mandla Mandla is a city with municipality in Mandla district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Mandla District. The city is situated in a loop of the Narmada River, which surrounds it on three sides, and ...

Shahdol Shahdol is a City in Shahdol district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Shahdol district, The total geographical area of the district is . Geography Shahdol is Located on . It has an average eleva ...

, and Bilaspur districts.

Culture

Folk songs are part of the heritage of the tribal peoples of the Maikal Hills.

Geography

The Maikal are a hilly region in central India. This mountain range is one of the broad topographical divisions of Chhattisgarh. The landscape of Satpuda-Maikal extends for a distance of about five hundred kilometer. To one side of this stretch of landscape, the Achanakmar Wildlife Sanctuary of Chhattisgarh is located. On the other side of the Satpuda-Maikal lies the

Melghat Melghat was among the first nine tiger reserves of India to be notified in 1973 under Project Tiger. It is located in the northern part of Amravati District of Maharashtra. Melghat Wildlife Sanctuary was declared as in 1985. The total area o ...

Tiger Reserve of Maharashtra. This stretch of land extends along with Satpuda and Maikal range in Chhattisgarh.

Natural Reserves

The following

protected areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

are located in the range:

Kanha National Park

Kanha National Park Kanha Tiger Reserve, also known as Kanha–Kisli National Park, is one of the tiger reserves of India and the largest National park of India, national park of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It covers an area of in the two districts Mandla and Ba ...

is a national park and a Tiger Reserve in the

and

Balaghat Balaghat is a city and a municipality in Balaghat district, in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Balaghat District. Wainganga River flows beside the town. The nearest airport is Birsi (Gondia). The he ...

districts of Madhya Pradesh and located in the Maikal hills of the Satpuras. Besides harbouring a viable population of the

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

, Kanha has distinguished itself in saving the endangered hard ground

barasingha The barasingha (''Rucervus duvaucelii''), sometimes barasinghe, also known as the swamp deer, is a deer species distributed in the Indian subcontinent. Populations in northern and central India are fragmented, and two isolated populations occu ...

from extinction, and supporting the last world population of this deer speciesKanha National Park
/ref>

Geology

The hills are known to contain

bauxite Bauxite () is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)), and diaspore (α-AlO(OH) ...

, an ore for

aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

References

External links

* Hills of Chhattisgarh Kabirdham district {{Chhattisgarh-geo-stub