Natural Resources in Mysore

Popularly known as the Sandalwood city of India, Mysore is famous because of its silk and sandalwood. It is 140 km away from the capital city of Bengaluru. Mysore is also the land of many natural resources, its exotic flora and fauna is famous all over the world. The popular zoological park of Mysore, known as the Mysore zoo is a popular tourist destination. There are many animal and reptile species found in this zoo. Around 230 bird species are found in the city of Mysore. Previously, Karnataka was known as the Mysore state, hence, prominence of the place can be assumed. Chamunda Hills, situated in Mysore are world famous for their historical and cultural significance.

Mysore city is a home to many different species of flora and fauna such as squirrels, barrel headed millipede, rose ring parakeets, cormorants, Indian hanging parrots, kingfishers, spot billed ducks, resident ducks, painted storks, herons, spot billed pelicans, purple maroon, darter, frogs, horn bills, toads, flower pecker and many others. Mysore is also the city where the largest Indian bird aviary is located. This is situated close to the Karanji Lake and is a home for various bird species such as Indian horn bill, black swan and peacock. According to the tourists visiting Mysore, it is a home for many of those species which they could see only on Television and in newspapers and magazines.

There are many forests and wildlife sanctuaries in the royal city of Mysore. Nagarhole forests, Bandipur forests and Ranganthittu bird sanctuary are well-known. Arabithittu wildlife sanctuary, situated in Mysore district is yet another place which is a home to several species of flora and fauna. Eucalyptus and sandalwood are planted in most of the areas of forests. Other vegetation species include Emblica officinalis, Hardwikia binate, Ficus Species, Mitragyna parviflora, Zizypus spp, Terminalia tomentosa, Acacia sundra, Cassia fidtula, Dononea visccosca, Diosphyros melanoxylon, sandal wood and many others.

Mysore is not very rich in minerals. Some of the minerals found here are kyanite, quartz, magnesite, soapstone, chromite, felsite, graphite, corundum, dolomite, limestone, dunite and sillimanite. Mostly, red soils are found in Mysore, ranging from red gravelly loam soil to red clay soil. Deep black soil, lateritic soil, brown forest soil and saline alluvo-colluvial soil are some other types of soils found in the city. Various other kinds of red soils are found in the forests of Mysore. Red soil is particularly suitable for the sandalwood and eucalyptus plantation.

Since Mysore is rich in sandalwood and eucalyptus, sandalwood oil and eucalyptus oil are found in abundance in Mysore. Many industries are set up in Mysore which provides pure sandalwood oil, in particular. The city of Mysore is situated on the southern Deccan plateau and the Kaveri River flows through the eastern and the north-western part of the city. A famous reservoir, known by the name of Krishna Raja Sagara has been built on the river and it lies in the northern part of the city.