PHYSICAL FEATURES AND NATURAL RESOURCES

BOUNDARIES

The boundaries of the Ratnagiri district are, for the most part, administrative and only in portions coincide with natural features. Apart from the coast-line of the Arabian Sea forming its western limit, the Savitri river in the north separates, over the major portion, this district from that of Kolaba. The Sahyadrian scarp, ending abruptly in some places to create spectacular scenery, also serves as a boundary between Ratnagiri on one hand and the Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur districts on the other.

 The Savitri river forms a boundary for a stretch of 24 miles, though along the coast some portion north of the Savitri also belongs to the Ratnagiri district. East of Mhapral, the boundary follows an irregular chain of hills having a north-west and south-easP trend. This chain joins the main range of the Sahyadris near the Hatlot pass and separates the Ratnagiri district from the southern extremity of the Kolaba district. On the west lies the Arabian Sea, giving the district a seaboard of about 160 miles, from the Bankot Fort in the north to a point some two miles south of the Redi port in the south. On the east, the water-shed of the Sahyadrian main range, from Hatlot to Ram in Sawantwadi forms a well-defined natural boundary. The administrative line almost coincides with this natural feature except at one or two points where villages east of the water-shed form a part of the district.

The southern boundary is more irregular. It separates the Sawantwadi portion of the district first from the Kolhapur district, then over a very small section from the Mysore State and in the southern extremity from the territory of Goa. Nearer the coast line the Ratnagiri area extends as a narrow tongue of land between the sea and the Goa territory, almost to a point near the Terekhol Fort. This part of the boundary as a whole is influenced by water-sheds and forests, and is accordingly difficult to traverse and much more difficult, as is borne out by the recent experiences to maintain as a boundary between the Indian Union and the Portuguese occupied Goa. In the interior, the Sawantwadi portion of the district projects as a wedge between the Goa territory on the west and the Belgaum district on the east to enclose the Sahyadrian hill regions as far south as Bhedshi.

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