SOUTHERN BIHAR PLAINS

southern part of the Middle Ganges Plain, Bihar state, eastern India. Bounded by the Chota Nagpur plateau on the south, the Ganges River and the North Bihar Plains on the north, the Ayodhya (Oudh) Plains on the west, and the Bengal Basin on the east, the Southern Bihar Plains extend across central Bihar state and have an area of about 17,330 square miles (44,900 square km). The plains are referred to in the Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata and once were a centre of Buddhism; they were the locale of the Magadha kingdom and were mentioned in Asoka's edicts. The region remained under Muslim rule throughout the medieval period and in 1765 came under the control of the British. The plains are a segment of the flat Indo-Ganges trough, with an elevation gradually decreasing from 500 feet (150 m) in the south to 100 feet (30 m) in the north. The Ganges is the major river in the plains and is the recipient of other rivers crisscrossing the region; the Son River divides the plains into two physiocultural units comprising the Ganges-Son Divide in the west and the Magadha-Anga Plain in the east. Historically, the rivers have shifted their courses several times. Soils are alluvial, and dense forests of sal (Shorea), teak, Java plum, mahua, and jujube are found on the plains. Agriculture dominates the economy; rice, wheat, and oilseeds are the chief crops. Irrigation, principally from the Ganges River, plays an important role in farming operations. Copper, apatite, kyanite, and other minerals are mined. Cottage industries produce textiles, sugar, paper, and vegetable oil. Patna and Gaya are educational centres. Monghyr (Munger) has a cigarette factory, and Jamalpur has the country's major railway-engineering workshops. Bhagalpur is noted for its production of tussah silk. The region has a well-developed network of roads, railways, and inland waterways.