Location
Yavatmal district lies in the South-Western part of the Wardha Painganga-Wainganga plain. The district lies between 19.26’ and 20.42’ north latitudes and 77.18’ and 79.9’ east longitudes. It is surrounded by Amravati and Wardha district to the north. Chandrapur district to the east. Telangana State and Nanded district to the south and Washim and Hingoli district in the west.
Area
The district has an area of 13582 sq. km (4.41 percent of the state) and a population of 2077144 (2.63 percent of the State). The density of population is 153 persons per km2 with is less than 257 persons per km2 for the state as whole. Amongst the 30 district in the state, Yavatmal ranks 6th in terms of area and 19th in terms of population.
The district headquarters are located at Yavatmal a town with a population of 116551 as per the 2011 census. It is well connected by roads to the different tahsil headquarters and is also connected to Achalpur by a narrow gauge railway line
The district consists of masses of hilly country broken by broad valley and partially surrounded by plains. The whole district is occupied by a number of east west ranges. The central portion is a plateau with very steep sides and attains an elevation of between 300 and 600 meters above the mean sea level. Here and there it rises into ridges or into flat-topped or pointed hills. All this country belongs to the Balaghat, the southern hills of Berar. In the north the district extends into the Payanghat, the valley of Berar. This valley varies between 65 and 80 kilometers in width. The small part of it that belongs to Yavatmal districts forms a belt of plain from 8 to 22 km in width along the northern district boundary. The district may be broadly divided into the following six geographical regions.
The Bembla basin in the northern parts of New and Babulgaon tahsils
The Wardha plain which spreads along the Wardha river in Kalamb, Ralegaon, Maregaon and Wani tahasil
Yavatmal plateau which covers major part of Yavatmal, Kalamb, Kelapur and Ghatanji tahsils and small part of Babhulgaon Ralegaon and Maregaon tahsils
Darwha plateau which covers the entire tahsil of Darwha, major part of Digras Tahsil, and parts of Ner, Yavatmal and Ghatanji tahsils.
The Pusad hills in Pusad, Mahagaon and Umarkhed tahsils
The Penganga valley along the southern district boundary and consisting of small part of Pusad, Umarkhed, Mahagaon, Darwha, Ghatanji, Kelapur, Maregaon and Wani tahsils
The chief rivers of the district are the Wardha and Penganga both of which flow along the north eastern and southern district boundaries respectively. The Wardha River rises to the east of Multai in Madhya Pradesh. It flows in general south-easterly direction along the north-eastern boundary of the district. The Wardha is the only river of the district, which is partly navigable. The bed of the river is broad and deep, but the banks are sometimes overflowed in times of exceptional floods. During the monsoons the river flows with a strong current but is summer the river is fordable at a number of places. The Bembla and the Nirguda are the main tributaries of the Wardha within the district and both are perennial. The Bembla rises in Amravati district and only the last 30 km or so of drain Yavatmal district. The Nirguda River rises with in the district itself and has a length of about 165 km.
The Penganga River rises in the Ajantha range a little to the South west of Buldhana town. It is a major tributary of the Wardha River. The river is deeply entrenched and has a meandering course. The Penganga forms the southern district boundary throughout its long sinuous course. The river changes twice from one longitudinal valley to a parallel longitudinal valley northwards by marking big ‘S’ shaped curves. The Pus, Arha, Aran, Waghavi and Kunj are the major tributaries of the Painganga River within the district.
Boundaries
Its greatest length, from east to west, is about 193 kilometers and its greatest breadth, from north to south, nearly 161 kilometers. It occupies the south eastern quarter of berar on the west are Washim and Hingoli District. On the north is the Amravati to the east where the Wardha river forms the boundary, lie two Districts Wardha and Chandrapur, along the south lie the Nanded District and Telangana State. The Painganga River, which flows in great curves and loop, marks the whole of the southern boundary and unites at the southeastern extremity with the Wardha River. The District is divided in old five tahsils and now sixteen tahsils.
(Source: Yavatmal District Gazetteer)