Introduction:
Nashik district is situated partly in the Tapi basin and partly in the Godawari basin.It lies between 19? 35?and 20?52? north latitude and 73?16?and 74?56? east longitude.It is surrounded by Dhule district in the north, Jalgaon and Aurangabad districts in the east,Ahemadnagar district in the south, Thane district in the south-east and Gujrat state in the north-west.
Nashik district has an area of 15530 square kilometers and a population of 39,93796 as per the 2001 Census. It has 1818 habited villages out of which 806 villages are tribal villages.
Geography.
The main system of hills is the Sahyadries, which run north south in the western portion of the district. From the main Sahydrian range, three prominent spurs stretch out to the east. In the extreme north is the Selbari range that approximately forms and boundary between Nashik and Dhule district. Next the Satmala and Ajintha range which runs right across the district
The district may broadly divided into three major geographical regions. The downghat Konkan tract, the Girna basin and the Godawari basin. The downghat Konkan tract is a highly dissected plateau lying to the west of Sahydri edge of th e Deccan plateau.It is a series of valleys and interflures resulting from dissection by streams and running in very deep beds. The Girna basin is stretched east of Sahydri hill ranges and north of Sawatamal hills.The river Girna is a tributary of Tapi river having gentle to medium slope. The Godavari river basin is stretched east of Sahydri hill ranges and south of Sawatamal hills. The river Girna is a tributary of Tapi River having gentle to medium slope.
Rainfall: The distribution of rainfall across the district is variable and is strongly influenced by Physiography. The western parts experiences heavy rainfall upto 3000 mm. The eastern and south-eastern tahsils has average 550 mm rainfall while the central portion of the district has 700mm average rainfall
Geology:
The district is monotonously covered by the basaltic lava flows, called the ? Deccan trap?. These rocks have been considered to be a result of fissure type of lava eruption during the cretaceous ? Eocene period. The age of Deccan Trap is 45 million years. They have the tendency to form flat-topped hills giving rise to plateau, comprising of lava flows each ranging from few meters to 30mtrs in thickness. The individual lava flows can be differentiated into three zones. 1) The upper amygduler zone. 2) The middle vesicular zone and 3) bottom massive lava flow. The vesicles are filled with secondary minerals of Zeolitic group Stilbite, Natrolite Calcite, and other varieties of quartz. (Agate, Amethyst etc)
Hydrogeology:
The Groundwater in the area occurs in the interconnecting vesicles, joints, fractures, and other secondary openings. The lava flow differs greatly amongst themselves in regard to their ability to receive, recharge, store and transmit groundwater. Differences in lava flows in respect to their productivity arise as a result of their inherent physical characteristic such as their porosity and permeability. Local Alluvium is deposited all along the major river basin, which is shallow and not much productive as compared to the Deccan Basalt in the district. There are 134050 irrigation wells 2552 drinking water wells in the district. The average depth of the wells varies from 9-15 m bgl and diameter varies from 4-6 m .The range of water level varies from 3-7 m during winter, 7-14 m during summer and the yield ranges from 54 to 100 m3/day in winter and 18-54 m3/day during summer.
Watersheds: Groundwater resource assessment is the determination of the source, extent, dependability and quality of groundwater resources on which the evaluation of the possibilities of the utilization and control depends. Estimation of groundwater is also important for the construction and the maintenance of the district water supply infrastructures, especially those dependent on the groundwater. Watershed has been proposed as a more desirable option for groundwater assessment in the district. For the sake of accurate estimation of groundwater assessment, the district has been divided into 80 elementary watersheds.viz.1.Westerly flowing basins (WF): 9,Godawari basin (GV) 37 and Tapi basin (TE) 34.As per 6th groundwater assessment the Groundwater recharge is 192518.08 ham , groundwater draft is 10435.12 ham,groundwater balance is 182082.97 ham.Watershedwise catagarisation of watersheds. 1. Safe watersheds = 53, Semicritical watersheds =18, Critical watersheds = 02 and Overexploited watersheds = 07.
Irrigation projects: In all there are 10 major,05 medium and 83 minor irrigation projects existing in the district..
Historical :
It is believed that the name of Nashik district has its origin from the story of Ramayana. Lord Rama with his wife Sita and brother Laxmana stayed during their exile period at Panchwati Nashik.Laxmana severed the nose of Ravana?s sister Shurpnakha who insisted to marry Laxmana.Thus the name Nashik was originated. Nashik went through rules of different dynasties.The period of Yadava supremacy ended with invasions of Muslims from north under Ala-ud-din Khilji and Malik Kafur.Nashik was included in Mugal province of Aurangabad.
Places of historical and tourist importance: Kalsubai the highest peak in Sahydri is located in the district.Trimbakeshwar the first of twelve Jotyrlingas, Panchwati And Saptshrungigadare among the religious places.Gangapur dams, Igatpuri for cool places, Bhagur, the birth place of freedam fighter Veer Savarkar, Kavi Kusumagraj the well known Matarhi Author, Yevla tahsil for silk sarees and birth place of Tatya Tope are some important places to visit.Trimbakshwar is famous for Sinhastha Kumbha mela held every 12 years and the Narayan Nagbali rite performed by pilgrims.
Cultural:
Nashik district has ancient, historical and cultural background. Agriculture, industries, Military center for training senior officers of the Indian Army are among the important cultural places.The western part of the district viz.Peint,Kalwan, Dindori,Igatpuri, Trimbakeshwar and Surgana tahsils is hilly.Scheduled tribe population in majority are residing in the hilly areasand their main occupation is cultivation and collection of forest produce.Religious festivals like Diwali,Holi,Ramnavmi,Hanuman Jayanti, Pola, Ganesh Utsav,Dasera,Christmus,Buddha Jayanti and Muharram are celebrated in the district.
Hot spots:
Scarcity: Nashik district has 80 elementary watersheds 212 observation wells have been fixed whose readings are taken 4 times a year. The October water levels and the rainfall are compared with the water levels and the rainfall of last 5 years and the rise or fall of the rainfall and water levels. Then the probable scarcity is declared.
Even though Igatpuri, Trambakeshwar, Peint and Surgana are under the heavy rainfall zone, scarcity is generally observed here as this area comes under heavy run-off zone and storage if any is poor. During the monsoon the low-lying area along the river courses are affected by flood. No record of earthquake, hot springs and natural disaster is observed so far. Natural springs are observed only in hilly area.