Vadodara

Sister cities

• Edison
• Greenville

History

At Akota, now a suburb of Vadodara, excavations have found rich microlith deposits, providing early evidence of habitation in the area. These prehistoric people took part in hunting and fishing and lived no later than 1000 BCE. By the first centuries CE, Akota was the site of a commercial town with far-reaching trade links. Known in antiquity as Aṅkoṭṭaka, it had well-built houses made from burnt bricks. Two re-struck coins of the early Western Satraps have been found here, along with artifacts possibly of Greco-Roman origin. A Gupta-era coin has also been found here. Akota flourished under the Maitraka dynasty, although it experienced periodic severe flooding. A huge hoard of Jain bronzes, largely dating from this period, was found at Akota's old site, indicating that the city was a centre of Jainism. The bronzes include images of various tirthankaras as well as an elephant-shaped incense burner. Many of them have inscriptions that have been used to indicate when they were made. In the 6th century, the town's inhabitants shifted away from the river to a new site near Akota's modern centre. At Kothi, which also now forms part of Vadodara, evidence of habitation also first emerges during this period. An early mention of Vadodara itself is in an 812 copper-plate grant of the Rashtrakuta dynasty. It records Karka Suvarṇavasha, second ruler of the Lata branch of the Rashtrakutas, giving the village of Vaḍapadraka, in the province of Aṅkoṭṭaka and identified with present-day Vadodara, to a Brahmin from Valabhi. Meanwhile, Akota continued to flourish during this period. By the 11th century, under the Chaulukya dynasty, Vadodara appears to have gained in importance. A plate dated to 1077 mentions a battle on the bank of the Vishvamitri river in the vishaya of…

Geography

Vadodara is located at in western India at an elevation of . It is the 10th-largest city in India with an area of and a population of 3.5 million, according to the 2010–11 census. The city sits on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, in central Gujarat. The Vishwamitri frequently dries up in the summer, leaving only a small stream of water. The city is located on the fertile plain between the Mahi and Narmada Rivers. According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, the cosmopolis falls under seismic zone-III, on a scale of I to V (in order of increasing proneness to earthquakes). Vadodara features a borderline tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) that despite the roughly of rain that the city receives annually is due to the area's high potential evapotranspiration very close to being classified as a hot semi-arid climate (BSh). There are three main seasons: summer, monsoon and winter. Aside from the monsoon season, the climate is dry. The weather is hot during March to July, when the average maximum is , and the average minimum is . From November to February, the average maximum temperature is , the average minimum is , and the climate is extremely dry. Cold northerly winds are responsible for mildly chilly days in January. The southwest monsoon brings a humid climate from mid-June to mid-September. The average rainfall is , but infrequent, torrential rains cause the river to flood like the 2005 Gujarat flood or the 2008 Indian floods, which were catastrophic. The highest recorded temperature was on 11 May 1960 crossed with on 19 May 2016, while the lowest recorded temperature was on 15 January 1935. Vadodara has been ranked 6th best “National Clean Air City” (under Category 1 >10L Population cities) in India.

Most-observed species

• Common Myna

  Acridotheres tristis (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,106
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  3,096
• Red-vented Bulbul

  Pycnonotus cafer (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,064
• Rose-ringed Parakeet

  Psittacula krameri (Scopoli, 1769) · Aves
  2,968
• Purple Sunbird

  Cinnyris asiaticus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  2,591
• Laughing Dove

  Spilopelia senegalensis (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2,415
• Jungle Babbler

  Turdoides striata (Dumont, 1823) · Aves
  2,411
• Red-wattled Lapwing

  Vanellus indicus (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  2,347

Most recent

• M 3.9 — 2020-11-07
  27 km E of Kosamba, India