ifteen tributary states of Makrai, Bastar,
Kanker, Nandgaon, Kairagarh, Chhuikhadan, Kawardha, Sakti, Raigarh,
Sarangarh, Chang Bhakar, Korea, Sirguja, Udaipur and Jashpur.

Central Provinces.

The Central Provinces are divided into two parts by the Satpura range
of hills (q.v.), which runs south of the Nerbudda river from east to
west; so that, speaking generally, it consists of districts north of
the Satpuras, districts on the Satpura plateau, and districts south of
the Satpuras. North of the Satpuras is the rich valley of the
Nerbudda, which may be said to begin towards the north of the
Jubbulpore district and to extend westward through the district of
Narsinghpur as far as the western limit of Hoshangabad, a distance of
nearly 300 m. The elevation of the valley above the sea varies from
1400 ft. at Jubbulpore to 1120 at Hoshangabad. In breadth it is about
30 m., extending between the Satpuras and the southern scarp of the
Vindhyas. This great plain, 10,613 sq. m. in extent, contains for the
most part land of extreme fertility. The continuation of the valley
west of Hoshangabad forms the northern portion of the district of
Nimar, the farther limit of which touches the Khandesh district of the
Bombay presidency. Towards the river, though rich in parts, this tract
of country is generally wild and desolate, but nearer the base of the
hill range there is a large natural basin of fertile land which is
highly cultivated. South of the Satpuras lies the great plain of
Chhattisgarh at a mean elevation above the sea of 1000 ft.; it has an
area of 23,000 sq. m., and forms the upper basin of the Mahanadi.
Farther to the west and again divided off by hills is the great plain
of Nagpur, extending over 24,000 sq. m. Its general surface inclines
towards the south from 1000 ft. above the sea at Nagpur to 750 ft. at
Chanda. To the south the province is shut in by the wide mountainous
tract which stretches from the Bay of Bengal through Bastar to the
Godavari, and west of that river is continued onward to the rocky
ridges and plateaus of Khandesh by a succession of ranges that enclose
the plain of Berar along its southern border.

Berar.

Berar consists mainly of the valley lying between the Satpura range of
mountains in the north and the Ajanta range in the south. The
Gawilgarh hills, a range belonging to the Satpura mountains, form the
northern border.