India's Kanha National Park

[Nature Safari India]

The name Kanha itself may be derived from kanhar, the local term for the clayey soil in the valley bottoms, or from Kanva, a sacred man who once lived there in a backwoods town. Two waterway valleys are noticeable highlights of the recreation center’s geology: the Banjar in the west and the Halon in the east. Both these streams are tributaries of the Narmada, which courses through the region central station town of Mandla, 64 km (40 miles) toward the northwest of the recreation center’s western passage. Kanha’s valleys are encased by slopes bested with plateaux, privately called dadar.

Four head vegetation types have been distinguished in Kanha: damp deciduous timberland, dry deciduous woodland, valley knoll, and level glade. The primary species in soggy deciduous territories (27% of the recreation center zone) is the sal tree (Shorea robusta). Park central station, situated at Kanha Village in the recreation center’s western square, lies at around 600 m (1,900 ft.) above ocean level. The level at Bamhni Dadar ascends to 870 m, or around 2,900 ft. The recreation center is formed generally like a figure “8” on its side (see map confronting page 16), with a length from west to east of around 80 km and a width going from 8 to 35 km.

The recreation center comprises of a center region of 940 km2, which is encompassed by a cushion zone of 1,005 km2, in this manner including an absolute territory of 1,945 km2. The center zone of the recreation center and a large portion of the cradle zone are situated in two locale: Mandla toward the west and Balaghat toward the east. Likewise, a little area of the cradle zone in the southeastern segment is a piece of Rajnandgaon District. There are about 150 towns in the cushion zone and more than 260 towns inside a range of 10 km.

For the board purposes, the recreation center is separated into 5 territories: Kisli, Kanha, and Mukki in the western square, and Bhaisanghat and Supkhar in the eastern segment. These last two territories are shut off altogether to people in general. Inside Kisli, Kanha, and Mukki ranges, certain streets and territories are additionally shut to travelers. As of this composition (mid-1998), the level of the recreation’s center territory open to guests (227 km2) is about 25%. The recreation center is served by a broad system (a little more than 700 km) of for the most part well-looked after streets.