GEOLOGY

A ridge of red soil with laterite gravel, runs towards the east from the last layer of the Kondaveedu Hill range and ends in a batch of grity sand stone.  At this spot the city of Guntur is situated and from the end of this edge the soil falls away to black cotton soil and alluvium with considerable slope.  The surface soil is gravity in the Western sector. The area within the ring road has black soil with gravel.  The sub-stratum consists of lime stone mixed with gravel from depths varying from 6 to 10 feet.  In the suburbs of the city, the lime stone is quarried for manufacture of lime for building and industry.  The brick clay is also available along the City's Eastern Bboundaries.  The soil in Old Guntur is Black Cotton and this type of soil is unfit for building without proper foundation.  The same black cotton soil is also seen in the Northern parts of the town also.  In the Western parts of the town the water table is as low as 60 feet.

In the other areas water can be had from depths ranging from 10 feet to 20 feet.

VEGETATION

The areas around Guntur city are predominantly agricultural based.  So the landscape is almost artificial. The indigenous plants and trees that grow naturally in this area are Mango, Tamarind, Beniyan, Neem and King tress. The area on the Eastern side of the Grand National Trunk Road is predominantly under wet cultivation and vegetable farming. The areas lying west of it are of dry lands mostly under Tobacco cultivation and to a small extent under Chillie, Corriander and other Commercial crops. In the upland areas South of Guntur, dry food crops like Maize, Jawar, Ragi etc., are grown.  Sowing and transplanting season commences from the first week of June every year and the harvest is generally from the second week of October.