Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary

About Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary

• Location:
  • The sanctuary covers an area of 32.71 sq km on the Southern Delhi Ridge of the Aravalli hill range on the Delhi-Haryana border.
  • It lies in Southern Delhi and the northern parts of Faridabad and Gurugram districts of Haryana state.
• It is also part of the Sariska-Delhi Wildlife Corridor, which runs from the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan to Delhi Ridge.
• Vegetation:
  • As per Champion & Seth (1968), the vegetation falls under the Northern Tropical Thorn Forests type.
  • The native plants exhibit xerophytic adaptations such as thorny appendages, wax-coated, succulent, and tomentose leaves. 
• Climate: It is mainly influenced by its remote inland position and prevalence of air of continental character, which is characterized by extreme summer heat alternating with great winter cold.
• Flora: Consists of Prosopis juliflora as the dominant exotic species and Diospyros montana as the dominant native species in the sanctuary.
• Fauna: Golden Jackals, Striped-Hyenas, Indian crested-Porcupines, Civets, Jungle Cats, Snakes, Monitor Lizards, Mongoose etc.

Key Facts about Aravalli Hills

• It is one of the oldest fold mountains in the world and runs in a southwest direction, starting near Delhi, passing through southern Haryana and Rajasthan, and ending in Gujarat.
• The highest peak is Guru Shikharat, 1,722 metres (5,650 ft).
• Three major rivers originate from the Aravali hills, namely Banas, Sahibi and Luni River (which flows into the Rann of Kutch). 

Q1) What is a Fold Mountain?

Fold mountains are created where two or more of Earth’s tectonic plates are pushed together. At these colliding, compressing boundaries, rocks and debris are warped and folded into rocky outcrops, hills, mountains, and entire mountain ranges.

Source: HC: Show norms being complied with for event planned at sanctuary