Landforms of Bangladesh
The physiography influences agriculture, industry, trade and commerce, transportation and
communication system. The influence of physiography in the economic development is
immense.
Bangladesh is one of the largest deltas of the world. The Padma, the Brahmaputra, the Surma
and the Kushiyara flowing from the west, north and south-east respectively have together
formed this huge delta.
The plains are ideal for permanent settlement. The whole area of Bangladesh is a great plain,
but there is little highland in Bangladesh. Bangladesh can be divided into three major
physiographic divisions :
1. The Hills of the Tertiary Age,
2. The Terraces of Pleistocene Period, and
3. The Recent Flood Plains.
Detailed descriptions of these divisions are given below
1. The Hills of the Tertiary Age : This region covers the hills of the south-east and
north-eastern parts of Bangladesh. These hills were formed along with the formation of the
Himalayan Mountains, and so, these are called the hills of Tertiary age. It is assumed that Lusai
hills of Assam and the Arakan of Myanmar are considered to be of the same age. These hills
are formed of the sandstone, shales and mud. The hills of this region are divided into two, such
as (a) Hills of the South-East, (b) Hills of the North and North-East.
(a) Hills of the South-East : Rangamati, Bandarban, Khagrachhari, Coxs Bazar and the
eastern part of Chittagong cover this region. The average height of these hills is 610 metres.
The peak of Keokradong (1,230 metres) of Bangladesh is located in the south-eastern part of
this region. Recently, another peak named as Tajiodong (Bijoy) of 1,231 metres in height has
been discovered in Bandarban. This is now the highest peak of Bangladesh.
(b) Hills of the North and North-East : The heights of the hills in the north of Mymensingh and
Netrokona districts, in the north-east of Sylhet district and the hills of the south of Moulavi Bazar
and Habiganj are not more than 244 metres. The hills of the north are locally known as Tila. The
height of these Tilas varies from 30 to 90 metres.
2. The Terraces of Pleistocene Period : The Pleistocene period is over 25,000 years old. The
Barind of the north-west, the Madhupur and Bhawal Garh of the central part and the Lalmai hills
or highland of Comilla district cover this region. It is thought that these terraces were formed
during the Pleistocene period. The description of these highlands are given below :
(a) The Barind : The Barind covers an area of 9,320 square kilometres in the northwestern
region of the country. The height of this region above the flood plain is about 6 to 12 metres.
The colour of the soil is grey and red.
(b) The Madhupur and Bhawal Garh : The Madhupur Garh is situated in Tangail and
Mymensingh districts and the Bhawal Garh is in Gazipur district. The area is about 4,103 square
kilometres. The height of this region above the plain land is about 30 metres. The colour of the
soil is grey and red.
(c) Lalmai Hills : The Lalmai Hills stretch from Lalmai, 8 kilometres to the west of Comilla town to
Maynamati. This region covers an area of 34 square kilometres and the average height is 21
metres.
3. The Recent Flood Plains : Excepting the hills of Tertiary Age and the Pleistocene Terraces,
the whole of Bangladesh is a plain land drained by rivers. Innumerable small and big rivers are
found everywhere in Bangladesh. These rivers flow through the plain land causing floods during
rainy seasons. This flood plain has been formed due to the deposition of the sediments brought
down by the rivers for years together. The total area of this flood plain is 1,24,266 square
kilometres.
This plain land slopes towards the coast from the north of Bangladesh. The Sunderban region
stands almost at sea level. The other regions such as Dinajpur stands at a height of 37.50
metres, Bogra at 20 metres, Mymensingh at 18 metres, Narayanganj and Jessore at 8 metres.
Innumerable marshy and lowlands are scattered throughout this region. Some of these are
abandoned Ox-bow lakes. Locally, these are known as beel, jheel or haor. Of these, the Chalan
Beel and the haors of Madaripur and Sylhet are remarkable. These are submerged during the
rainy season and turn into lakes. The layer of the soil of the whole flood plain is very deep and
very fertile. The recent flood plain can be divided into several divisions, viz.
(a) Piedmont Plain of Rangpur and Dinajpur.
(b) The Flood Plain of Dhaka, Tangail, Mymensingh, Pabna, Jamalpur, Comilla, Noakhali and
Sylhet.
(c) The Deltaic Plain comprising of some parts of Faridpur, Kushtia, Jessore, Khulna and
Dhaka. (d) The Flat Coastal Plain of Chittagong extending from the lower part of Noakhali and
the Feni rivers to Coxs Bazar.
(e) The Tidal Plain or the Mangrove Forest comprising of some parts of Khulna and Patuakhali
region and Barguna district.
