Nashik district

Nashik district, also known as Nasik district, is a district in state of central. The city of is the administrative headquarters of the district.

Geography
Nashik district has an area of 15,530 square s. It is bounded by to the north,  to the east,  to the southeast,  to the south,  to the southwest,  and  districts of Gujarat to the west, and  district to the northwest.

The or Sahyadri range stretches from north to south across the western portion of the district. With the exception of the westernmost few villages, the western portion is hilly, and intersected by ravines, and only the simplest kind of cultivation is possible. The western slope of the Ghats is drained by several rivers, including the, which drain westwards to the.

The larger eastern portion of the district, which lies on the, is open, fertile, and well cultivated. The Chander Range, which runs east and west, forms the chief divide of the plateau region. The originates in the district and drains east towards the, and all the streams to the south of the Chander Range, including the  and , are tributaries of the Godavari. To the north of the Chander Range, the and its tributary, the Mosam, flow westward through fertile valleys into the.

Climate
Extremes: max 42.4 °C (108.3 °F) on, , at Nasik. The lowest, also at Nasik, was 0.6 °C (33.1 ºF) on.

Demography
The district is 38.80% urban as of 2001.
 * Population (2001) - 4,993,796

Administration
Administratively, the district is divided into fifteen as, which are grouped into four sub-divisions:
 * Nashik sub-division:, , , , , ,
 * Malegaon sub-division:, ,
 * Niphad sub-division:, ,
 * Kalwan sub-division,, , ,


 * The Nashik district is under proposal to be bifurcated and a separate district be carved out of existing Nashik district.

History
In the 18th century, the present-day Nashik district was part of the, within the territory controlled directly by the Maratha. The district contains several old hill forts, the scenes of many engagements during the. The district became British territory in 1818 on the overthrow of the Peshwa. The present-day district was initially divided between and  districts of, a province of. Nashik district was created in 1869. The population in 1901 was 816,504, showing a decrease of 3% in the decade 1891-1901. The principal crops were millet, wheat, pulse, oil-seeds, cotton and sugar cane. There were also some vineyards, and much garden cultivation. was an important centre for weaving silk and cotton goods. There were flour-mills at, railway workshops at , and cantonments at and Malegaon. At was a Christian village, with an orphanage of the, founded in 1854. In 1861 the main northeast line of the was completed across the district, and in 1878 a chord line was completed between, on the northeast line in Nashik district, and , on the southeast line in.

From India's independence to 1960, Nashik district was part of, which in 1960 split into the states of Maharashtra and.

Places of interest
The Kumbh mela is held after every twelve years at Nashik.
 * One of the twelve Jyotirlingas
 * or