Punjab Geography for UPSC: Interactive Map, Rivers and Protected Areas
a state of fertile plains between five rivers of the Indus system
8
Protected areas mapped
4
Rivers mapped
At a glance
Capital
Chandigarh
Language
Punjabi
Dance
Bhangra
Area
50,362 km²
Coastline
Landlocked
Highest peak
Shivalik foothills (Ropar) · 1,000 m
Borders
Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Haryana, Pakistan (international)
Why UPSC asks about Punjab
Punjab is the five-river doab: the Satluj, Beas and Ravi (the other two, Jhelum and Chenab, now lie in Pakistan), the Bhakra and Pong reservoirs, and the green-revolution core. UPSC tests the Indus Waters Treaty, the Satluj-Beas link, and groundwater depletion in the wheat-rice belt.
Did you know
Punjab has no biosphere reserve. India's 18 biosphere reserves are spread across only 16 states, and Punjab is not among them. The nearest is Cold Desert (Himachal Pradesh).
Did you know
Punjab has no national park. Punjab is the only major state without a national park. Its protected areas are wildlife sanctuaries and community reserves; the nearest national park is Kalesar (Haryana).
Sutlej
Rises Rakshastal lake, near Mansarovar, Tibet; flows to Joins the Chenab in Pakistan · 245 km
The Satluj enters India at Shipki La; the Bhakra dam and the Sirhind canal system define Punjab's canal geography.
Dams
- Bhakra Dam
Beas
Rises Beas Kund near Rohtang Pass (Himachal); flows to joins the Satluj at Harike · 124 km
The Beas meets the Satluj at Harike wetland, a Ramsar site.
Dams
- Pong Dam
Ravi
Rises Bara Bhangal, Kangra (Himachal); flows to joins the Chenab in Pakistan · 5 km
The Ravi runs along the India-Pakistan border at its Punjab course.
Dams
- Ranjit Sagar Dam
Ghaggar
Rises Shivalik hills of Himachal; flows to dissipates in the Thar (Rajasthan) · 99 km
The Ghaggar's Punjab-Haryana course is the debated Saraswati channel.
Harike Lake
A lake at the confluence of the Beas and Sutlej near Ferozepur, designated Ramsar in 1990, the largest wetland in northern India and a major wintering ground for migratory waterfowl.
Ramsar (1990); Beas-Sutlej confluence wetland.
Kanjli Lake
A small lake in Kapurthala district designated Ramsar in 2002, created by a barrage on the Kali Bein, a birding site in Punjab's wetland belt.
Ramsar (2002); Kali Bein wetland in Kapurthala.
Ropar Lake
A wetland on the Sutlej at Ropar, designated Ramsar in 2002, downstream of the Ropar barrage, wintering ground for migratory birds.
Ramsar (2002); Sutlej wetland at Ropar.
Beas Conservation Reserve
A Ramsar site (2019) along a stretch of the Beas river, protecting the endangered Indus river dolphin and a rich floodplain habitat.
Ramsar (2019); Beas river habitat of the Indus dolphin.
Keshopur-Miani Community Reserve
A Ramsar site (2019) in Gurdaspur district, among India's first community-managed wetlands, a mosaic of ponds and marshes for waterbirds.
Ramsar (2019); community-managed wetland of Gurdaspur.
Nangal Wildlife Sanctuary
A sanctuary wetland on the Sutlej at Nangal (Ropar district), designated Ramsar in 2019, on the Punjab-Himachal border, a wintering ground for waterfowl.
Ramsar (2019); Sutlej wetland at the Punjab-Himachal border.
Abohar WLS
A sanctuary in Fazilka district on community-owned land, created for the blackbuck and protected by the Bishnoi community's traditional ethos.
Community-protected blackbuck sanctuary in Fazilka.
Bir Moti Bagh WLS
A small sanctuary near Patiala, a deer park and protected forest patch of the erstwhile Patiala state.
Near Patiala; a former princely deer park.
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