Uttar Pradesh
| Country |  India |
|---|---|
| Region | Awadh, Baghelkhand, Braj,Bundelkhand, Purvanchal,RohilKhand, Indo-Gangetic Plain |
| Established | Modern : 1805 (as Ceded and Conquered Provinces. ) |
| History | |
| Capital | Lucknow |
| Largest City | Lucknow |
| Districts | 75 total |
| Government | |
| • Body | Government of India,Government of Uttar Pradesh |
| • Governor | Banwari Lal Joshi |
| • Chief Minister | Kumari Mayawati (BSP) |
| • Legislature | Bicameral (404 + 108 seats) |
| • Parliamentary constituency | 80 |
| • High Court | Allahabad High Court |
| Area | |
| • Total | 243,286 km2 (93,933.2 sq mi) |
| Area rank | 5th |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 200,000,000 |
| • Rank | 1st |
| • Density | 822.1/km2 (2,129.2/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Uttarpradeshi, UPite, UPian |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
| UN/LOCODE | INUP |
| Vehicle registration | UP XX XXXX |
| HDI |  0.490 (medium) |
| HDI rank | 32th (2005) |
| Literacy | 69.72% (29th) 79.24% (male) 59.26% (female) |
| Official language | Hindi, Urdu |
Uttar Pradesh "Northern Province, is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world'smost populous sub-national entity. Were it a nation in its own right, Uttar Pradesh would be the world's fifth most populous country ahead of Brazil, a country thirty-five times larger in territorial area than Uttar Pradesh.,
Uttar Pradesh is the second largest state-economy in India, contributing 8.34% to India's total GDP in the financial year 2010.
With an area of 93,933 sq mi (243,290 km2), Uttar Pradesh covers a large part of the highly fertile and densely populated upper Gangetic plain. It shares an international border with Nepal to the north along with the Indian state of Uttarakhand, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan on the west, Madhya Pradesh on the south, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand on the south east and Bihar on the east. The administrative and legislative capital of Uttar Pradesh is Lucknow and the industrial capital is Kanpur. The state's high court is based at Allahabad with a bench in state capital Lucknow. It is home to many historical cities, including Allahabad, Varanasi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Agra and Gorakhpur. Kanpur is the largest city.Other important cities are Jhansi, Varanasi, Allahabad, Kanpur, Meerut, Agra, Moradabad, Aligarh, Bareilly,Ghaziabad, Muzaffarnagar, and Noida.
Uttar Pradesh has a very vital place in the culture of India; it is the birthplace of Hinduism and admirer of its derived Vedic and Buddhism beliefs, UP has been the ancient seat of Hindu religion, learning and culture, and has many important sites of Hindu pilgrimage. The State also has several sites important to Buddhism: the Chaukhandi Stupamarks the spot where Buddha met his first disciples, while the Dhamek Stupa in Sarnath commemorates Buddha's first sermon. Also the town of Kushinagar is where Gautama Buddha died.
Throughout its history, the region of Uttar Pradesh was sometimes divided between smaller kingdoms and at other times formed an important part of larger empires that arose on its east or west, including the Magadha, Nanda,Mauryan, Sunga, Kushan, Gupta, Gurjara, Rashtrakuta, Pala and Mughal empires.
The Indo-Gangetic plain, that spans most of the state, is also the birth place of the Indo-Islamic syncretic culture of the medieval period. It holds much of the heritage of the Mughal Empire, including the world famous mausoleum Taj Mahal built by Shah Jehan, the magnificent tomb of Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great in Agra and Akbar's capital-palace in Fatehpur Sikri. It was a centre of nationalism during the British colonial period and has continued to play a prominent role in Indian political and cultural movements. The state has a rich heritage of traditional crafts and cottage industries of various types that employ highly skilled craftsmen and artisans.
Uttar Pradesh shares an international border with Nepal and is bounded by the Indian states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar. The state can be divided into two distinct hypsographical regions.
The larger Gangetic Plain region is in the north: it includes the Ganges-Yamuna Doab, the Ghaghra plains, the Ganges plains and the Terai. It has highly fertile alluvial soils and flat topography (slope 2 m/km) broken by numerous ponds, lakes and rivers.
The smaller Vindhya Hills and Plateau region is in the south: it is characterised by hard rock strata and varied topography of hills, plains, valleys and plateau; limited availability of water makes the region relatively arid.
The climate of Uttar Pradesh is predominantly subtropical, but weather conditions change significantly with location and seasons:
Temperature: Depending on the elevation, the average temperatures vary from 12.5–17.5 °C (55–64 °F) in January to 27.5–32.5 °C (82–91 °F) in May and June. The highest temperature recorded in the State was 49.9 °C (121.8 °F) at Gonda on 8 May 1958.
Rainfall: Rainfall in the State ranges from 1,000–2,000 mm (39–79 in) in the east to 600–1,000 mm (24–39 in) in the west. About 90% of the rainfall occurs during the southwest Monsoon, lasting from about June to September. With most of the rainfall concentrated during this four-month period, floods are a recurring problem and cause heavy damage to crops, life, and property, particularly in the eastern part of the state, where the Himalayan-origin rivers flow with a very low north-south gradient.
Snowfall: In the Himalayan region of the State, annual snowfall averaging 3 to 5 metres (10 to 15 feet) is common between December and March.
Droughts: Periodic failure of monsoons results in drought conditions and crop failure.