Introduction:
The district lies between 18016? to 19055? North Latitude and 76056? to 78019? East Longitude. It is bounded on north by Yavatmal district, northwest by Parbhani district, southwest b y Latur district. Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh form the southern and southeastern boundary of the district respectively. The geographical area of the district is 10502 Km2 , which is 3.41% of the total State area, out of which 211.10 Km2(2.01%) is urban and 10122.2 Km2 (97.99%) is rural. According to 2001 census the population of the district is 28,68,158.
Nanded is the district head quarter and other important towns are Dharmabad, Biloli, Deglur, Mudkhed, Kandhar, Hadgaon, Kinwat, Umri, Mukhed, and Loha.Administratively, the district is subdivided into three revenue sub-divisions, namely Nanded, Deglur, and Kinwat. These three sub-divisions together comprise 16 talukas. There are total 1580 villages out of which 1515 are habitated and rest enhabitated and 13 urban centers in the district.
Geography:
The district is situated on plateau?s having plain terrain with undulations. The main trend of the hills from northwest to southeast. The main hill ranges are the Satmala and the Nirmala.
The principal rivers of the district are the Godavari, the Penganga, the Manjara and the Manar. The river Godavari runs for about 140 kms and it has three tributaries the Asna, the Sita, and sidha in the district. The river Manjara forms the district boundary on the southeast for about 40kms and has two triburaties namely Manar and the Lendi. The Penganga River forms the northern boundary of the district and flows from west to east. A waterfall named ? Sahastra- kunda? is situated on this river.
The climate of the district is generally dry except during the south-west monsoon. The distrtict gets about 89% of the rainfall from southwest monsoon.
Geology:
The Nanded district is underlained by three main rock units. Viz: Archeans, Deccan Traps and Alluvium. Deccan traps occupy more than two-thirds of the district and overlie the granites. Extensive outcrops of granite are found in southeastern parts of district. smaller outcrops are noticed in the north-east side near kinwat. The generalized geological sequence of the formations occurring in the district is presented below.
Hydrogeology:
The main water bearing formations of the districts are Alluvium, Deccan Traps and Granites.
1. Archeans: these rocks have negligible primary porosity. However, joints, fractures and fissures due to weathering and faulting of the formation develop secondary porosity. The joints and fracture porosity reduces with depth. The thickness of weathering of these rocks in the district varies from place to place and ranges between 6 to 29 m depths as observed in Deglur and Biloli tahsils.
2. Deccan Traps: The Deccan traps form a multiple aquifer system, which extends down to the depth of 55m to 140m bgl. Water in basalts occurs in joints and fractures. Depending upon the weathering conditions and intensity of joints and fractures the aquifer conditions could be decided. Depth to water table in Deccan traps varies between 2m to 15m in dug-wells and from 10m to 90m in bore wells. Massive basalts are hard and compact and devoid of any primary porosity, Secondary porosity plays important role in basalts.
History:
There are several explanations offered for the origin of the name Nanded given to the headquarters of the district. The bank of the Godavari, where Nandi, the vahan of Lord Shiva is said to have performed penance came to be called the Nandi tat, which later changed into Nanded. It is also said that nine rishis known as Nand performed penance on this bank of the Godavari and hence the name Nand tat. A third explanation is that it formed the boundary or tat of the nine Nanda rulers of the Magadha empire.
During the mohammadan rule Nanded was part of Telangana subha.Nanded was Capital of Dist. Of Telangana. During 17th century Aurangzeb ruled over Marathawada. In 1708 Guru Gobind sing spritual leader of the Sikhs came over to Nanded, his permanent abode. He proclaimed himself the last living Guru and established the Guru Granth Sahib as the eternal Guru of the Sikhs. A monument has been constructed at place where he breathed his last.
Nanded became the part of the Hyderabad Kingdom in 1725 when the Nizam permanently opted for the Deccan and continued to be so till 1947. Nanded was on the forefront of the Hyderabad Liberation Movement, a non-violent movement led by Swami Ramanand Tirth. As a result of this resistance, its citizens suffered greatly under the brutal tactics of the Razakars; Nizam?s infamous paramilitary force. With India getting freedom and the consequent police action against the Hyderabad State, the district forming part of the Marathwada region of the Hyderabad state became part of the bilingual Bombay State and consequent upon the creation of Maharashtra, the district continues to form part of the state of Maharashtra.
Cultural:
Nanded has a great cultural heritage. It is the place of birth of the Saint poets like Vishnupant Sesa and Raguhunath Sesa and Vaman Pandit besides being a Centre for learning Sanskrit. Nanded has been home to several well known Marathi Cultural figures. Mr. Wa. Ra. Kant, A well known Marathi Poet calls Nanded his home. The late Mr. Narhar Kurundkar is another well recognized literary figure. Nanded has ben a venue of several literary and artistic meets such as Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, Marathi Natya Samellan. Late Mr. Tryambak Vasekar from Nanded is also a recognized figure in the area of paintings.
Hotspot:
Mahur birth place Renuka devi is a place must to visit. Hottal temple constructed during Chalukya peiord is a beautiful site. Fort of Kandhar of Nizam rule is a import historical distination. . Sahstrakund waterfall on Penganga river in kinwat taluka is a natural beauty.