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Lahaul and Spiti Valley : |
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| The Lahaul valley lies
to the North of the Pir Panjal and main Himalayan ranges. It is made
up of the rivers Chandra and Bhaga till Tandi and river Chenab from
Tandi to Udaipur, downstreams of which lies the famous Pangi valley.
The Spiti valley has been formed by the Spiti river.
It is situated between the main Himalayan and Zanskar ranges. Kaza,
a small town is located in the Spiti valley. The Lahaul and Spiti
valley are surrounded by mountains with elevations ranging from 3,000
to 6,500 meters above the mean sea level. This valley is famous for
high snowfall and severe winter. The people of Lahaul valley are
cheerful and of kind disposition. They are superstitious, credulous,
industrious and honest. The land in Lahaul valley is quite fertile
and extensively used for off season vegetables and seed potatoes.
In comparison to Spiti, Lahaul valley has better irrigation facilities.
The crops grown here are barley and buck wheat. The area is quite
famous for Buddhist Monasteries. Pin valley is the tributary of Spiti
valley in the Trans Himalayan zone. |
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Balh Valley : |
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| The
Balh valley lies in Mandi district at an average elevation of 800
meters. This is also known as Sundernagar valley and is broad open
dun type valley between an off shoot of the Shimla Ridge in the North
and Shivalik hills in the South. The valley stretches from Gutker
in the North to Sundernagar in the South, Baggi in the East and Gumma
in the West. Suketi stream divides this valley roughly into two parts.
The soil found in this valley is loam in texture and light grey to
brown in colour. The main crops are wheat, maize, sugarcane, ginger
and paddy. To promote mixed farming, dairying, animal husbandry,
vegetable cultivation and horticulture, manuring and soil conservation
Indo-German Agriculture Project was started in this valley in November
1962. |
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Paonta or Kirda Dun Valley : |
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The Paonta or Kirda Dun valley of Sirmaur
lies between the Eastern extremities of Markanda and the Dharti ranges.
It falls in the South-Eastern corner of the State. Jamuna river separates
it from Dehra Dun. For the sake of ease, the valley may be further
divided into three distinct tracts :
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The Dun proper which lies between
the Yamuna and the lower parts of Dharti range and Poka hills
and is partially watered by the Giri and the Bata streams. |
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2.
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The Par Dun tract, which is surrounded
by hills lies near Majro village. This is a natural fortress,
only accessible by one road and now a deserted Waste forest,
though the terrain shows that it was once cultivated and was
a fertile tract. |
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3.
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The tract which consists the Neli
Khera and the adjoining hills of the lower Dharti on the North
of the Bata, East of Jamun Khala, West of Tila Gharib Nath
and South of Rajban which indeed may be regarded as included
in it as it is a plain area |
Most of the plain area, namely Kirda Dun,
falls within the Cis-Giri division and a very small part in a corner
spreading across the Giri falls into the Trans-Giri division. Kirda
Dun valley is very fertile as it is watered by Giri and Bata rivers.
A century back, this valley was a dense forest, inhabited by wild
beasts such as tigers and elephants, but people settled in it during
the time of Raja Shamsher Prakash. Wheat, maize, ginger, millet
and sugarcane are the major crops. A Sikh Gurudwara at Paonta Sahib
and a Ram Mandir are the two famous religious places in this valley.
Paonta is now rapidly becoming an industrial area. The people of
this valley are well off. Adjoining to the Kirda valley is the
Dun and Spron valleys of Solan district, mostly flat and fertile
and cultivation of cereals and off season vegetables in extensively
practised. |
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Kunihar Valley : |
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| The Kunihar valley lies nearly 50 km.
West of Shimla in Solan district and is on the average at an altitude
of 1,000 meters. The valley begins from Kuni Khad ( stream ) and
extends upto Tukardia village. Before the formation of the State
of Himachal Pradesh, the valley formed a part of Kunihar State with
its headquarters at Hat-Kot, an important town in the area. Kunihar
forms a cup-shaped area in the middle of low hills bordered on one
side by Kandaghat tehsil of Solan district. The valley is known for
its fertility and the soil varies from sandy loam to loam. The main
crops are wheat, black gram, mustard, pulses, maize and some sugarcane. |
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