Earlier, Giridih district was a part of Hazaribagh district. On 6th December, 1972, Giridih was transformed into an autonomous district. Giridih district stretches over an area of 4853 sq km. The district is so named for its abundance of hillocks and mountains.
Giridih is almost the central part of the Chotanagpur plateau. The district may be divided into two parts- the central and the lower plateau. Except for the west, the central plateau is surrounded by the lower plateau, about 1300 feet in height. The district contains large forest areas, total area counting to about 159160 hectares. The forests of Giridih has different species of trees like sal, kusum, mahua, simul, kend, palas, bhelwa, bamboo, salai and asan. These forests also houses various wild animals like leopard, jackals, bears,,foxes, sambhar, pigs, hog deer, spotted deer and hares. Usri and Barakar are the main rivers in Giridih of Jharkhand.
The total population of Giridih district is about 19,01,564. The rural male literacy rate in Giridih is 48% and urban male literacy rate is about 73%. But the rural female literacy rate is only 18% and that of urban female literacy rate is 60%. The languages spoken in Giridih are Khortha, Hindi and Urdu. The important festivals here are Holi, Dashahra, Id-ul-fitra and Karma.
The main occupation in Giridih is agriculture. The net sown area in this district is 85440 hectares. Mining also is an important occupation here. Giridih is rich in Ruby mica, coal and stealite of soap stone. Tourism in Giridih also supplies employment to the locals. The main tourist spots of Giridih are Parasnath Hills, Jharkhandi Dham, Usri Falls, Harihar Dham, Madhuban and Khandoli.
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Jharkhand-map-district
bokaro chatra deogarh
dhanbad dumka eastsinghbhum
garhwa giridih godda
gumla hazaribagh jamtara
koderma latehar lohardaga
pakaur palamau ranchi
sahibganj saraikelakharsawan
westsinghbhum simdega
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