Yeotmal - Encyclopedia

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES

YEOTMAL, a town and district of India, in Berar. The town stands at an elevation of 1476 ft. Pop. (1901) 10,545. It was formerly the headquarters of Wun district, but in 1905 a new district of Yeotmal was established, covering the former Wun district, with additions from the district of Basim. Cotton-ginning and pressing are carried on. The town is also the chief trading centre in the district, and is connected by road with Dhamangaon station, 29 m. distant.

The District Of Yeotmal has an area of 5183 sq. M. It is a wild hilly country, intersected by offshoots from the Ajanta mountains. The hills are bare, or clothed only with dwarf teak or small jungle; but on the heights near Wun town the bamboo grows abundantly, and small bamboos are fcund in the ravines. The Wardha and Penganga, which bound the district on the E. and S., unite at its S.E. corner. The Penganga drains the greater part of the district. The tiger, leopard and hyena abound; bears, wolves and jackals are also numerous; while small game is plentiful. The climate is enervating and unhealthy; the annual rainfall averages about 41 in. Pop. (1901) 575,957. The principal crops are millets, cotton, pulses, oil-seeds and wheat. Coal has been found, and iron ore abounds. See Yeotmal District Gazetteer (Calcutta, 1908).