Aurangabad district (Marathi pronunciation: [əu̯ɾəŋɡaːbaːd̪]), officially known as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar district, is one of the 36 districts of the state of Maharashtra in western India. It borders the districts of Nashik to the west, Jalgaon to the north, Jalna to the east, and Ahmednagar to the south. The city of Aurangabad houses the district's administrative headquarters. The district has an area of 10,100 km2, of which 37.55% is urban and the rest is rural. Aurangabad District is a major tourism region in Marathwada, with attractions including the Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves.

Geography

Aurangabad District is located mainly in the Godavari River Basin and partly in the Tapti River Basin. The district is located between 19 and 20 degrees north longitude and between 74 and 76 degrees east latitude, covering an area of 10,100 km2.

Geology

Geological formations

Aurangabad District lies on the Deccan plateau and is covered by the Deccan Traps, which formed during the Late Cretaceous and Lower Eocene ages. Thin alluvial deposits lie above the Deccan Traps along the major rivers. The basaltic lava flows belonging to the Deccan Traps are the only major geological formation in the district. The lava flows are horizontal, with each flow featuring two distinct layers. The upper layer consists of vesicular and amygdule zeolitic basalt, while the lower layer consists of massive basalt.

Elevation and mountains

The average height of southern portion of the district is between 600 and 670 metres. The district features four distinct mountains:

Rivers

The major rivers in Aurangabad District are the Godavari, Purna, Shivana, and Kham rivers. The Narangi river rises on the southern slopes of the water divide south of the Maniyad river near the village of Naral. It flows past Vaijapur, where it is joined by the Deo Nala river from Nasik District. The Narangi follows a long south-southwesterly course before its point of entry into the Godavari. It is joined by the Chor nala from the west and the Kurla nala from the east, continuing the trend of the Kurla river after the Kurla's confluence.

Climate

The rainy season lasts from June through September and the average rainfall is 734 mm. The temperature ranges from 14 to 40 degrees Celsius on average. The winter season is from October to February and the summer season is from March to May.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, Aurangabad District has a population of 3,701,282 inhabitants and a population density of 365 PD/sqkm. It is the 72nd most populous district in India out of 640, and the population growth rate between 2001 and 2011 was 27.33%. The district has a sex ratio of 917 females for every 1000 males and a literacy rate of 79.02%. 43.77% of the population live in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 14.57% and 3.87% of the population respectively.

Religions

According to the 2011 census, Hinduism is the most followed religion in the district and is practiced by 69.77% of the population. Other popular religions include Islam (21.25%), Buddhism (8.35%) and Jainism (0.84%). In rural areas, Hindus are nearly 80% of the population while Muslims are nearly 15% of the population.

Languages

As of the 2011 Census of India, 69.66% of the population in the district speaks Marathi, 14.51% Urdu, 9.49% Hindi and 2.57% Lambadi as their first language. 1.06% of the population recorded their language as 'Others' under Hindi.

Government and politics

Administrative divisions

The district comprises nine tehsils: Kannad, Soyagaon, Sillod, Phulambri, Aurangabad, Khuldabad, Vaijapur, Gangapur, and Paithan. The new proposal for tehsil is lasur and pishor. The big towns were divide from gangapur tehsil and kannad tehsil Nine Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha constituencies are located in this district: Sillod, Kannad, Phulambri, Aurangabad Central, Aurangabad West, Aurangabad East, Paithan, Gangapur, and Vaijapur. The Vidhan Sabha constituencies are grouped into two Lok Sabha constituencies: Aurangabad and Jalna.

Villages

Officers

Members of Parliament

(Aurangabad) (Jalna)

Guardian Minister

list of Guardian Minister

District Magistrate/Collector

Tourism

There are many points of interest in Aurangabad District, including temples, villages, gardens, and sanctuaries.

Indian rock-cut architecture

Caves

Holy sites

Hindu temples and shrines

There are dozens of Hindu temples and shrines in the region.

Gates and forts

The city of Aurangabad is known for its 52 gates and has been called the "City of Gates". These gates were built during Mughal era. Daulatabad Fort (aka Devagiri Fort), located some 15 km north-west of Aurangabad, was built in the 12th century CE by the Yadava Dynasty. It was one of the most powerful forts during the medieval era. The fort was built on a 200 m conical hill and defended by moats, trenches, and three encircling walls with bastions. It also had two fixed massive canons which could be pivoted. The fort was never conquered by any military force.

Mughal architecture

Other notable sites

Transportation

Road

Rail

The Manmad-Kachiguda Railway Station Broad gauge railway line emanates from the Mumbai-Bhusawal-Howrah trunk route at Manmad and is an important traffic artery in Aurangabad District. Routes include: Aurangabad Airport has flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad-Tirupati, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Udaipur, and Jaipur.