Bhangar Soil

One alluvial soil in the Gangetic plains sits high enough that floods have not touched it in centuries. This article covers Bhangar soil: how it formed, what makes it different from Khadar, and why it matters for farming.

The Older, Higher Alluvium

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OLDER ALLUVIUM

Formed Long Ago

Laid down by rivers in an earlier geological period

~30M ABOVE FLOOD LEVEL

Sits on High Terraces

Well above the reach of the annual river floods

KANKAR

Calcium Carbonate Nodules

A diagnostic feature, built up over long periods of leaching

LOWER FERTILITY

Less Fertile Than Khadar

No fresh silt arrives, since floods never reach it

The core contrast: Bhangar’s higher elevation protects it from floods, but that same protection is exactly why it never gets refreshed with new, fertile silt.

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Must Know

• Bhangar is the older alluvial soil of India’s Gangetic plains.
• It sits on terraces roughly 30 metres above the level of annual river floods.
• Bhangar contains kankar, irregular nodules of impure calcium carbonate, in its subsoil.
• Bhangar is less fertile than Khadar, the newer alluvial soil found closer to riverbanks.
• Its lower fertility comes from a lack of fresh silt. Floods, which deposit new nutrients, never reach it.

Good to Know

• Kankar nodules form through leaching. Lime dissolves in the topsoil and re-precipitates lower down, over long periods of time.
• Bhangar’s texture is generally coarser than Khadar’s. It contains clayey and sandy loam mixed with calcareous deposits.
• In drier regions, Bhangar soil can also show saline and alkaline efflorescence, a crusty surface deposit of salts.
• Bhangar formed when older river deposits were left stranded above flood level, as river courses shifted or land slowly rose.

Test Yourself

Please wait…

1. Which term describes India’s older alluvial soil of the Gangetic plains?

Khadar

Bhangar

Terai

Regur

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Great to Know

• Bhangar and Khadar show how the same river system can produce two very different soils, purely through elevation and flood access.
• Kankar nodules act like a natural record of time. Their presence signals a soil that has sat undisturbed by fresh deposits for a very long stretch.
• Farmers still cultivate Bhangar land, despite its lower fertility. This depends more on irrigation and fertiliser use than on natural flood renewal.
• Understanding Bhangar and Khadar together explains a lot about why Gangetic plain settlement patterns vary. Farmers historically favored the more fertile, flood-renewed Khadar tracts.