CHANDIGARH

Chandigarh, also called City Beautiful, is a city in India that serves as the capital of two states, Punjab and Haryana, and is a union territory of India. The name translates from Hindi to English as “the fort of Chandi”, Chandi being a Hindu Goddess.

Known internationally for its architecture and urban planning, Chandigarh is home to numerous architectural projects of Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Matthew Nowicki, and Albert Mayer. The city boasts a high standard of living with the highest per capita income in the country and tops the list of Indian States and Union Territories with a Human Development Index of 0.674.

Chandigarh is located near the foothills of the Shivalik range of the Himalayas in Northwest India. It covers an area of approximately 114 km². and shares its borders with the states of Haryana in the south and Punjab in the north. The exact cartographic co-ordinates of Chandigarh are [show location on an interactive map] 30.74° N 76.79° E. It has an average elevation of 321 metres (1053 feet).

The surrounding districts are of Mohali and Ropar in Punjab and Panchkula in Haryana. The boundary of the state of Himachal Pradesh are not too far from its north. Chandigarh has a sub-tropical continental monsoon climate characterized by a seasonal rhythm: hot summers, slightly cold winters, unreliable rainfall and great variation in temperature (-1 °C to 46.5 °C). In winter, frost sometimes occurs during December and January. The average annual rainfall is 1110.7 mm. The city also receives occasional winter rains from the west.

MINERAL RESOURCES

No mineral production was reported from Chandigarh in 2005-2006.