Geology and Tectonic Setting of the study area:

The Bengal Basin occupies a major part of Bangladesh, West Bengal of India and the offshore part of
the Bay of Bengal. The total area of this basin in Bangladesh comprises about 1,44,000 sq km on
shore and 63,000 sq km offshore up to 200 m water depth [1]. Tectonically, Bangladesh part of the
Bengal Basin is divided into two major divisions (a) the Precambrian Rangpur Platform and (b) the
Bengal Foredeep. (Figure 1).
The stable Precambrian Rangpur platform occupies Rajshahi, Bogra, Rangpur and Dinajpur areas and
is characterized by limited to moderate thickness of sedimentary rocks above a Precambrian igneous
and metamorphic basement. This unit is geologically stable in relative terms and has not been affected
by fold movement. Some fault bounded graben basins occur within the Precambrian Basement. The
Precambrian Rangpur platform is divided into a northern Rangpur Saddle with a very shallow
Precambrian basement (130 to 1,000 m) and a southern Bogra Shelf with a basement at moderate
depth (1 to 6 km) [8].

The study area is located in the north western part (Bogra shelf zone) of Bangladesh. The spatial
extent of Bogra district is between 24° 32′30′′ to 25°06′34′′ N latitude and 88°57′50′′ to 89°44′00′′E
longitude with an area of 2911.90 km2 [9]. This study area represented by a regional monocline
gently plunging towards the southeast up to the hinge zone. The shelf is bounded by a stable Indian
platform at the northwest and Shillong Massif in the north and separated from the Foredeep area of
the Bengal Basin by Calcutta Mymensing Hinge Zone. The surface geology of the study area consists
entirely of sedimentary formations ranging in age from Permian to Recent. Depth to the basement in
the Shelf varies more than 5 km, reflecting the irregular relief of the basement surface. Thickness and
nature of sediments are also varying from place to place.
In this study area loam, loam to silty clay loam, silty clay loam and sandy loam to sandy type of soils
are the major groups of soils. Among these, loam and loam to silty clay loam (33.33% and 33.86% of
the total area, respectively) are the main soil types (SRDI, 2005). The elevation ranges from 14m to
40m and almost all of the areas can be categorized as flat to nearly flat topography. Flood in the study
area is a common phenomena and it affects the area to a varying extent almost every year. Bogra
district has experienced many severe floods that have devastated the area like other parts of
Bangladesh in the past (Rahman and Saha, 2008) [9][10]. The land use/land cover map of Bogra
District revealed that the cropland (including agricultural fallow) was the dominant in Bogra district
and almost all of the areas can be categorized as flat to nearly flat topography (elevation ranging from
14-40m) [9].
This District enjoys a tropical climate with monsoon and periodic thundershower during summer.
Average minimum and maximum temperature of the District ranges between 21°C and 31°C. The
total rainfall was recorded 2417mm for the year 2004 (BBS, 2005) [9].
Figure 1. Generalized tectonic map of Bangladesh and adjoining area [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7].

References:
[1] Nandy, D. R., 2001. Geodynamics of northeastern India and the adjoining region. ACB Publication,
Kolkata, India, p.209.

[2] Alam, M. K., Hassan, A. K. M. S., Khan, M. R., and Whitney, J. W., 1990. Geological Map of
Bangladesh. Geological Survey of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Scale 1: 1 000 000.
[3] Guha, D. K., 1978. Tectonic framework and oil and gas prospects of Bangladesh. In 4th Annual
Conference Proceedings, Bangladesh Geological Society, p. 65-76.

[4] Khan, M. R., 2002. Plate Tectonics and Bangladesh. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh
Science, Golden Jubilee Issue, Dhaka, Bangladesh, v. 28 (2), p. 39-62.

[5] Khandoker, R. A., 1989. Development of major tectonic elements of the Bengal Basin: a plate tectonic
appraisal. Bangladesh Journal of Scientific Research, v. 7, p. 221-232.

[6] Reimann, K. U., 1993. Geology of Bangladesh. Gebruder Borntrager, Berlin, p. 160.

[7] Samsuzzaman, M., 2011. Landform Evolution and Geo-Environmental Assesment of the Jamuna Valley,
Bangladesh, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Rajshahi University, Bangladesh.

[8] Alam, Md & Islam, Shamsul. (2009). Geological Aspects of Soil Formation of Bangladesh.

[9] Rahman, Md & Shi, Zhi-Hua & Chongfa, C. (2009). Land use/land cover change analysis using geo-
information technology: Two case studies in Bangladesh and China. International Journal of Geoinformatics,
Vol. 5 Issue 2.

[10] Rahman, Md. R., and Saha, S. K., 2008, Remote sensing, Spatial Multi Criteria Evaluation (SMCE) and
Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) in Optimal Cropping Pattern Planning for a Flood Prone Area. Journal of
Spatial Science, 53(2), 161-177. Rao, K. S., and Pant, R., 2001, Land use.

[11] BBS, 2005, Statistical Year Book of Bangladesh, (Dhaka: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics)