Geography and Physical Features

The district lies on the plateau of Chotanagpur. The district's important physiographic areas are the Damodar Trough, Upper Damodar Basin, and Damodar Valley. The Damodar Valley is where the majority of the district is located. Hazaribag Plateau and Ranchi Plateau are the two plateaus that encircle the Damodar Valley. The Damodar Valley, which runs east to west, divides the plateau between Ranchi and Hazaribag.

Between Ramgarh and ChutupalluBarkaPahar (Marang Buru), which rises 1,049 metres (3,442 feet) above sea level and divides the Ramgarh and Ranchi districts, there is a view of the Ranchi Plateau and the Damodar Valley.

The district's principal river, the Damodar, also comprises a significant river basin with a number of tributaries. Naikari, Bhervi or Bhera, and the Bokaro River are three of them that are significant. The Hurhuri, Gomti, Barki, Kurum, Kochi, Sherbhuki, and Dhobdhab rivers are examples of small rivers. River Suwarn Rekha flows through the district's southeast. Suwarn Rekha River tributaries include the Kadamgara and Khatgara rivers.

Forest Area

Ramgarh Forest Division was carved out in the year 2004 from the territories of Hazaribagh East and Hazaribagh West Forest Divisions on account of reorganization of Forest Department. It now consists of five forest ranges, namely Ramgarh, Patratu, Gola, Mandu, and Kuju, and spans the all of Ramgarh district as well as some areas of Churchu block in the Hazaribagh district, with a total area of 50,378.37 ha.

The districts of Ranchi on the south, Bokaro on the east, and Hazaribagh on the north and west encircle the division's forests. The Division's average elevation is roughly 600 metres above mean sea level.

The division's rich forest are primarily found on the plateau's sloping eastern slopes and cover a large portion of the eastern portion of the Hazaribagh plateau. The terrain is hilly, with a few patches of flat plateau and troughs here and there. The landscape is very diversified and has a number of noticeable hills.

Khair is typically dispersed along the lower slopes of mountainous tracts and restricted areas of both Sal and other forest types. The quality is often subpar, especially in areas devoid of top soil. Open areas that are frequently grazed are best for the establishment of this species. However, the khair is not preferred financially because it is heavily cut down illegally in the past. Bamboo in the Division is surprisingly quite inconspicuous and is found mainly scattered around the fringe of the forests.

Wildlife

Although Ramgarh Reserve was envisioned as a rich reserve of wildlife under the princely estate of Ramgarh Raj, the current state of wildlife in Ramgarh Division is not encouraging. Wild animals are currently quite uncommon in this region. The villagers' outcry at the wild boar's destruction of their agricultural crops shows that it is by far the most prevalent animal. The barking dear (rare) hyena, leopard, the hare, the wolf, the jackal, the sloth bear, and the common langur are the other creatures that have been reported, albeit in less quantity.

Every year few estranged herds of elephant from Sarguja district of Chhattisgarh, west Bengal and neighboring districts of Jharkhand also join them and create problems for the people causing damage to life, cattle, houses and crops.

Tourism

The Ramgarh Forest Division is strategically located in the lap of nature and is considered to be the gateway to the capital city of Ranchi in Jharkhand for the visitors coming from Bihar and other places. A vast tract of valleys like chutupalu, Patratu and several others along with riverine course offer tremendous scenic spots which are yet to be exploited from the ecotourism paint of view. The Rajrappa temple, the most famous religious place for the Hundus of Jharkhand is located in Ramgarh District on the confluence of river Damodar and Bhera where lakhs of tourists from Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh throng every Year.

NTFP

The forest produce like Kendu leaf, Sabai grass, oil seeds of sal, Mahua, Karanj, Kusum; Chironji, Mahua flower; Myrobalan (Harra, Bahera, Aonla); Mahulan leaves: tanning barks of Asan, Arjun, Sonachhal; Koreya, and Paprawt wood for toys, etc. other than lumber, fuelwood, and fodder, the Ramgarh Division's extensive array of valuable forest products include gum and resins from Salai, Dhaura, Khair catechu, etc.