The Doon Valley is an unusually wide, long valley within the

Sivalik Hills The Sivalik Hills, also known as the Shivalik Hills and Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas that stretches over about from the Indus River eastwards close to the Brahmaputra River, spanning the northern parts of the India ...

and the Lesser Himalayas, in the

Indian states India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

and

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

. Within the valley lies the city of Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand state.

Geography

The Doon Valley lies between two intermittent ranges of the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

, the Outer Himalayas (a.k.a. the

Siwalik Hills The Sivalik Hills, also known as the Shivalik Hills and Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas that stretches over about from the Indus River eastwards close to the Brahmaputra River, spanning the northern parts of the Indian ...

) and the Lesser Himalayas, know locally as the Mussoorie Range. It is bounded on all sides by mountains, with northern range running from Kalsi in the west to

Muni Ki Reti Muni Ki Reti is a town and a municipal council in Tehri Garhwal district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It lies close to the pilgrimage town of Rishikesh and is known for its ashrams, including the Divine Life Society of Sivananda Saraswat ...

in the east with

Mussoorie Mussoorie is a hill station and a municipal board, near Dehradun city in the Dehradun district of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is about from the state capital of Dehradun and north of the national capital of New Delhi. The hill s ...

at the centre in a semi-circular arc; and southern range running at south from

Paonta Sahib Paonta Sahib is an industrial town of Himachal Pradesh in India. It is located in the south of Sirmaur district, on National Highway 72 ( New NH 7). Paonta Sahib is an important place of worship for Sikhs, hosting a large Gurdwara named Gurudw ...

in the west to

Haridwar Haridwar (; ) is a city and municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India. With a population of 228,832 in 2011, it is the second-largest city in the state and the largest in the district. The city is situated on the ri ...

in the east. The valley also forms a watershed between the

Yamuna The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of B ...

and

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

river systems. In fact, the Yamuna and Ganges are closest to each other as they pass the Doon valley, with the Yamuna forming the western boundary and the Ganges the east. It runs 75 km long from west to east. The Doon Valley is ecologically rich, particularly with regard to birdlife, with over 500 bird species having been recorded within the valley and in the surrounding areas, including the

Hills and

Rajaji National Park Rajaji National Park is an Indian national park and tiger reserve that encompasses the Shivaliks, near the foothills of the Himalayas. It is spread over 820 km2 and includes three districts of Uttarakhand: Haridwar, Dehradun and Pauri G ...

. The

Reserved Forest A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

s and community forests in the region, in and around the valley are also botanically rich in terms of hardwood deciduous forests (esp. ''Sal'' or

Shorea robusta ''Shorea robusta'', the sal tree, sāla, shala, sakhua, or sarai, is a species of tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae. The tree is native to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet and across the Himalayan regions . Evolution Fossil evidence from l ...

, and

Teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters ( pan ...

), flowering and fruiting trees, natural

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

s, and

Terai , image =Terai nepal.jpg , image_size = , image_alt = , caption =Aerial view of Terai plains near Biratnagar, Nepal , map = , map_size = , map_alt = , map_caption = , biogeographic_realm = Indomalayan realm , global200 = Terai-Duar savanna a ...

and Bhabar ecosystems. Several rivers (e.g.

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

, Tons, Suswa, Jakhan, Rispana and Asan) and a number of lesser streams flow through the valley, having their sources in either the Mussoorie Hills or the Sivalik Hills; all local rivers ultimately flow into either the Ganges or the Yamuna. Other than Rajaji National Park, the local protected areas include

Asan Barrage The Asan Barrage is a barrage in the Uttarakhand-Himachal Pradesh border region in Doon Valley, ( Dehradun district), northern India, situated at the confluence of the Eastern Yamuna Canal and the Asan River and about from Dakpathar, and 28&nb ...

Conservation Reserve and Jhilmil Jheel Conservation Reserve, with the 1000-acre campus of the Forest Research Institute in Dehradun representing another Important Bird Area (IBA).

Important areas

Kalesar National Park Kalesar National Park () and adjacent Kalesar Wildlife Sanctuary ( are protected areas in Yamunanagar district of Haryana state in India, from Chandigarh. Kalesar National Park was established in 2003. Kalesar National Park and Kalesar Wildl ...

and

Jaunsar-Bawar Jaunsar-Bawar is a hilly region in Garhwal division of Uttarakhand, northern India. It is located in the north-west of Dehradun district, along the border with the state of Himachal Pradesh. Ethnically, Jaunsar-Bawar comprises two regions, inh ...

region adjoin the valley as well.

Towns

''In Uttarakhand:'' * Dehradun *

Dehradun Cantonment Dehradun Cantonment is a cantonment town in Dehradun district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It was established in 1913. Demographics India census, Dehradun Cantonment had a population of 30,102. Males constitute 52% of the population a ...

Clement Town Clement Town is a cantonment town in Dehradun, Dehradun district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. Clement Town is from the clock tower in main city of Dehradun. Saharanpur and Haridwar are respectively. It also borders Rajaji National Park ...

FRI and College Area FRI and College Area is a census town of Forest Research Institute, in Dehradun district of Uttarakhand, India. Demographics India census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about t ...

Raipur Raipur ( ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Raipur is also the administrative headquarters of Raipur district and Raipur division, and the largest city of the state. It was a part of Madhya Pradesh before the state of Ch ...

Vikasnagar Vikasnagar is a city and a municipality in Dehradun district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Vikas Nagar is also a tehsil in Dehradun district It is also known as Pachawadoon (Western Doon) and is the second financial and economic hub of ...

* Sahaspur *

Herbertpur Herbertpur is a town and a nagar panchayat in Dehradun district Pachhhwadoon in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Uttarakhand. Geography Herbertpur is located on the bank of river Asan and the name of the place is on the name ...

Dakpathar Dakpathar, also spelled Dakpatthar and Dak Pather is a small hill town situated in Dehradun district of Uttarakhand, India. It is on the left bank of the Yamuna River The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest t ...

* Doiwala * Rishikesh * Dhalwala *

Virbhadra Virbhadra is a town in Dehradun district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, located close to the pilgrimage town of Rishikesh. It is most known as the factory township of Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited, Rishikesh plant (IDPL), a G ...

* Pratitnagar ''In Himachal Pradesh:'' *

External links

* * Valleys of Uttarakhand Geography of Dehradun {{Uttarakhand-geo-stub

Geography

Important areas

Towns

See also

Further reading

External links