Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

is located on the banks of the River Sabarmati in the northern part of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

and the western part of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is located at spanning an area of 205 km². The average elevation is 53 metres. There are two main lakes located in the city limits – the

Kankaria lake Kankaria Lake is the second largest lake in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It is located in the south-eastern part of the city, in the Maninagar area. It was completed in 1451 during the reign of Sultan Qutb-ud-Din Ahmad Shah II though its origin i ...

, and the Vastapur lake. Kankaria lake, located in

Maninagar Maninagar is an area of Ahmedabad city, Gujarat, India. It is located in the southern part of the city and an important area of the city. It can be divided into two regions - Maninagar East and Maninagar West, separated by the Maninagar Railw ...

, is an artificial lake developed by

Muhammad Shah II Muizz-ud-Din Muhammad Shah II, born Karim Khan, was a ruler of the Muzaffarid dynasty, who reigned over the Gujarat Sultanate from 1442 to 1451. He expanded and strengthened the Sultanate. Reign Ahmad Shah I was succeeded by his generous pleas ...

in 1451. It also has an aquarium and a zoo. In the middle of the lake is an island palace named Naginawadi, built during the Mughal era. The city is located in a sandy and dry area. Except for the small hills of Thaltej-Jodhpur Tekra, the entire city is almost flat. The Sabarmati bifurcates the city into eastern and western parts, connected by five bridges, two of which were constructed after independence. Though the river is perennial, it gets dried up in the summer, leaving only a small stream of water flowing. There are typically three main seasons – summer,

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

and winter. Barring monsoon, the climate is very dry. The weather is very hot during the months of March to June with the average summer temperature ranging from maximum 43 °C to minimum 23 °C. The months of November to February have an average maximum temperature 36 °C and a minimum of 15 °C. The climate is extremely dry during that period. Cold northerly winds are responsible for a mild chill during January. The south-west monsoon winds bring humid climate to Ahmedabad from mid-June to mid-September. The average rainfall is 932 mm. The highest temperature recorded is 50 °C and the lowest is 5 °C. Ahmedabad is divided by the Sabarmati into two physically distinct areas. The eastern bank of the river houses the old city which has packed bazaars, a '' pol'' system of houses, and many places of worship like temples and mosques. The old city also houses the main railway station and the

General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Before the Acts of Union 1707, it was the postal system of the Kingdom of England, established by Charles II in 1660. ...

. The colonial period saw the expansion of the city to the western side of Sabarmati facilitated by the construction of

Ellis Bridge The Ellis Bridge is a century-old bridge in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. It bridges the western and eastern parts of the city across the Sabarmati river. This bowstring arch truss bridge was the first bridge in Ahmedabad, constructed in 1892. Concret ...

in 1875. This part of the city houses educational institutions, modern buildings, well-planned residential areas, shopping malls,

multiplexes In telecommunications and computer networking, multiplexing (sometimes contracted to muxing) is a method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share a scarce resource - a ...

and new business districts centred on the C.G. Road, Ashram Road and more recently the Sarkhej-Gandhinagar Highway. Sabarmati Ashram, also known as Gandhi Ashram, is located on the Western banks of Sabarmati River, in Northern Ahmedabad, was the residence of Mahatma Gandhi, and it was from there that he started the Dandi March in 1930. This ashram originally was established in the Kochrab area of Ahmedabad in 1915. In 1917 it was shifted to the present place. It also is known as Harijan Ashram, or Satyagraha Ashram. It was the scene of many events of the Indian independence movement.

References

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