Geography of Rajasthan- Rajasthan, lying between 23º30´ and 30º11’North latitudes and 69º 29’ and 78 º 17’ East longitudes at the northwestern part of India is one of the biggest states in the country. The state shares its north-western and western boundary with the Indo-Pakistan international border that extends about 1,070 km and touches the major districts Barmer, Bikaner, Ganganagar and Jaisalmer. Rajasthan is edged by Pakistan in the west and northwest, the states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana in the north and northeast. The state of Madhya Pradesh lies in the southeast and Gujrat in the southwest. The Tropic of Cancer passes across the southern point of the state in the Banswara district. The capital city of Rajasthan is Jaipur.
Rajasthan has an area of 3, 42,239sq.km comprising of the 11% of the total geographical area of India. The extensive topography includes rocky terrain, rolling sand dunes, wetlands, barren tracts or land filled with thorny scrubs, river-drained plains, plateaus, ravines and wooded regions .A massive portion of the state of Rajasthan( about 70% of total landmass) is desiccated and encloses the biggest Indian desert- the Thar Desert known as the 'Maru-kantar'. This desert region embraces the districts of Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bikaner and Jodhpur.
The oldest chain of fold mountains- the Aravali Range spearheads the state into two geographical zones. The Mount Abu is the only hill station of the state which houses the loftiest summit of the Aravali ranges- Guru Shikhar Peak.
The soil and vegetation of Rajasthan alters with its wide-ranging topography of the state and the availability of water. Rajasthan soils are mostly sandy, saline, alkaline and chalky (calcareous), Clay, loamy and black lava and so on. Only 9.36% of the total geographical region lies under forest vegetation. The flora and fauna are particularly endemic to the arid regions and are specially adapted biologically to survive in the dry, waterless regions of the “Desert State of India”. The wildlife consists of 23 species of lizards, 25 species of snakes, various species of the deer family and450 species of avifauna.
Rajasthan experiences extreme climate or weather and consists of four distinct seasons- Pre-monsoon, Monsoon, Post-monsoon and winter.The average temperature in winter ranges from 8° to 28° C (46° to 82° F) and in summer the average temperature range from 25° to 46° C (77° to 115° F) making the region parched and draught-prone.