Physical geography of Rajasthan — location, physiographic divisions, climate and drainage

Rajasthan is India's largest state by area, covering 342,239 sq km, about 10.4% of the country's land. Its location is mainly north-western India, with the Thar Desert on the west and the Aravalli range cutting across the state from south-west to north-east. For objective questions, the first map fact is its latitudinal and longitudinal spread: roughly 23°03' N to 30°12' N latitude and 69°30' E to 78°17' E longitude. The Tropic of Cancer passes through the southern part of Rajasthan, touching the Banswara-Dungarpur belt, so the south has a stronger tropical and monsoonal influence than the far west.

The state's north-south and east-west span explains its contrasts. Western districts such as Jaisalmer, Barmer and Bikaner are arid and sandy; eastern districts such as Bharatpur, Dholpur, Karauli and Sawai Madhopur are closer to the alluvial and Chambal systems; southern districts such as Udaipur, Dungarpur and Banswara show hilly relief and higher rainfall. Rajasthan shares an international border with Pakistan in the west and state borders with Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Map-based MCQs often turn these contrasts into simple pairs: west means desert borderland, east means river plain, south means hilly and wetter, and south-east means plateau with the Chambal command.