Plant and Animal life

The natural vegetation is deciduous forest, but less than one-fifth of the total area is forested. Most forests occur in the Himalayan foothills and on the Chota Nagpur Plateau; those of the plain have largely been removed in order to bring the land under the plow. In the Himalayan foothills, valuable sal (a resin-yielding species) is found, and bamboo, reeds, and grass are widespread. Chota Nagpur forms a rich sal area; other timbers include some that are used for the production of lac (a resinous substance used to make varnishes), while tussah silkworms (Antherea pernyi) are fed on the leaves of the asan tree (Terminalia tomentosa). Mahua (an East Indian tree) yields sweet, edible flowers, also used in the distillation of liquor. Bamboo and sabai (a valuable Indian fibre grass also known as bhabar) of Chota Nagpur supply raw materials for paper manufacture. Common trees of the plain are the banyan, pipal, and palmyra palm.

Physical region of eastern Chhattisgarh state, central India, extending over Jashpur Tahsil (northeastern Raigarh district) and forming part of the Chota Nagpur Plateau. The pats are a complex of small, flat-topped plateaus and hills, separated from each other by fault scarps and river valleys. To the north the Upper Pats (known locally as Uparghat) have an elevation of about 2,500 feet (750 metres) to 3,300 feet (1,006 metres); to the south the Lower Pats (known locally as Nichghat) have an elevation of about 900 feet (274 metres) to 1,650 feet (503 metres). The Jashpur Pats form a divide between the Ganges and the Mahanadi drainage systems. The tops of the pats are generally barren or covered with grasslands, and the slopes are forested with sal (Shorea), ebony, teak, and bamboo. Gash Pahar (3,241 feet [988 metres]) and Laki Hill (3,323 feet [1,013 metres]) are two of the higher peaks in the Jashpur Pats. The Maini, Ib, Mand, and Kuskal rivers have cut narrow, rock-strewn valleys. Cotton, rice, corn (maize), sugarcane, peanuts (groundnuts), rapeseed and mustard seed, millet, and fruits are grown. Bauxite, sandstone, building materials, clay, limestone, and dolomite are worked. Industries include the milling of rice, flour, and oilseeds; sawmills and timber seasoning; the manufacture of iron, brass, and aluminum tools and utensils; and shellac and tussah silk production. The Oraon, Kawar, Gond, and Korwa peoples constitute most of the population; in the uplands they are clustered in the few forest clearings. Roads are the primary means of access in the uplands except for a few railway trunk routes. Jashpurnagar is the only important town.