Aurangabad

2) GEOGRAPHY –
The region is situated on plateau having plain terrain with undulations.  The region lies in the center of the state.  It is drained by the main river Godavari popularly known as ‘Deccan Ganges’ and comprises many large and small projects.  The region also experiences the extension of Ajantha and Balaghat hill ranges. The region is bounded by Amarawati region in the north, Nashik region in the west, Pune region in the south and it is bounded by Karnataka and Andhra state in the south and south east.  The region receives very erratic rainfall and it has the characteristic of short rainfall and the time gap between the two successive rains.

3) GEOLOGY –
The region is peculiarly occupied by the Deccan Traps. However, there are exposes of granite and Vindhyans in the district Nanded.   The Deccan traps are of the age upper Cretaceous to lower Eocene. The thickness of each lava flow varies from few meters to 40-45 meters. The basalts are of vesicular, zeolitic, jointed, columnar weathered in nature. At places the alluvial patches are found near the bank of the river. 

4) HYDROGEOLOGY –
The groundwater mainly occurs vide the joint and the fractures and the weathered portion of the basaltic lava flows. Generally the water levels are up to eight to nine meters during the summer. According to the sixth groundwater assessment 348535 irrigation wells in the region having 323038.93-ham draft.

5)HISTORICAL – 
The region is traceable as far back at the time of Ramayana and Mahabharata particularly in the Latur, Jalna etc.  The empire Ashoka reins the region for a long time.  After then, the reigns of Satwahana and Rashtrakut came into existence.  The region tells his own history through various caves, temples, monuments and forts etc. 
During the reign of Nizamuddin, the Marathwada region was the part of the Hyderabad state and non-violent movement lead by Swami Ramanand Tirth resulted into the formation of Marathwada region as part of the state of Maharashtra and the region celebrate the day on 17th September of every year.

6) CULTURAL –
The region has a great cultural heritage. Siddheshwar yatra in the Latur district, Marathi Sahitya Sammelan in the district Nanded and the Ellora Festival in the District Aurangabad are the main highlights of the cultural activities in the region.  

7)HOT SPOTS –
The earthquake recorded on 13th September 1993 at Killari, Dist. Latur rock the country and it had a major impact human life.  The earthquake recorded was of the 7 to 8 Richter scale.  According the sixth ground water assessment there are 6 over developed, 2 critical, and 32 semi critical watershed in the region.  These watersheds mainly fall in the Latur, Osmanabad, Jalna, Aurangabad Districts and faces acute water scarcity period.  The region also experiences floods in the districts like Aurangabad, Jalna, Hingoli, Parbhani due to the water release through the Jayakwadi dam.