Assam can be broadly divided into 3 distinct physical units, the Brahmaputra Valley in the north, the Barak Valley in south, and the state’s hilly region separating these two valleys.
The Brahmaputra Valley has the highest share of the state’s area and is the result of the erosion and deposition work of the river Brahmaputra and its tributaries. It is more of a flat region with a very small slope.
The Barak Valley is smaller to the Brahmaputra Valley and is a marshy plain with low hills in between it. Similar to the Brahmaputra, the Barak is also a fertile valley which causes destructive floods during the rainy seasons. The two important tributaries of the Barak are the Sonai and the Dhaleswari.
The hilly region separates the Brahmaputra Valley in the north and the Barak Valley in the south. The altitude of the region varies from 1,000 m to 1,200 m above sea level. It consists of highly dissected and rocky terrain in the north and south, and with the tributaries of the Brahmaputra, the Kapili, Jamuna, and Dhansiri in between. |
