Background: History reflects the social, political and cultural life of the human race. And the importance of human geography and natural environment as a basis in writing history is immense. According to Professor Dudley Stamp, "Lessons about the Earth as a human habitation, and the impact of the natural environment on humans and their activities are discussed in Geography." People nurtured in the lap of nature depend on social, cultural, economic evolution, change, expansion, geographical conditions. Therefore, in writing the regional history and heritage of a country or a region, it is necessary to have a thorough discussion about the geographical location, geography, climate, rivers, seas, natural resources, agricultural production, communication system, etc. of that region. The geographical features of Gaibandha district are also briefly discussed in writing the history of the district.

Location: Gaibandha district, one of the traditional settlements of North Bengal, is situated on the right bank of Brakshaputra river between north latitude 2503 to 25039 and longitude 89012 to 89042 east.
It is bounded by Tista river and Chilmari upazila of Kurigram district on the north, Piragachha of Rangpur district on the northwest and Mithapukur and Pirganj upazilas of Rangpur district on the west, Ghoraghat upazila of Dinajpur district, Kalai upazila of Joypurhat district on the west and south The Brakshaputra river flowing side by side.

Area: 7 upazilas of Gaibandha district respectively (1) Sadar (2) Sundarganj (3) Sadullapur (4) Palashbari (5) Gobindaganj (6) Fulchhari (7) Saghata upazila. It consists of 72 unions, 1101 mouzas and 4 municipalities (Palashbari, Sundargonj, Sadar and Gobindaganj). The total area of ​​the district is 2169.28 sq km (with river area of ​​106.6 sq km) and the population is 19,49,284 as per 1991 census report.
Geological features: Although Gaibandha district is situated in the floodplain of Greater Bengal, the features of land formation of this district are slightly different from other districts due to changes in the course of rivers flowing through it and seismic landslides. Most of the land in Gaibandha district is formed by river sediments.
Geology: The geography of a country has a profound effect on agriculture, education, trade, transportation, communication and human settlement. Bangladesh can be divided into three parts on the basis of geography.
(A) Tertiary Mountains: These hills and mountains are believed to have formed during the Tertiary period (approximately 75 million years ago) at the time of the rise of the Himalayas. However, no features of this hill range can be observed in Gaibandha district.
(B) Steps of the Pleistocene Age: Starting about 13 million years ago and up to 25000 (five hundred thousand) years, tomorrow is called the Pleistocene age. Some of the unions in the southeastern part of Gobindaganj upazila of Gaibandha district have similar features which are locally known as 'Khiar' area.
(C) Floods of the Neolithic Age: Most of all areas of Bangladesh originated in the Neolithic Age (less than 25000 years) except for the Tertiary Mountains and Pleistocene Terraces which exist in most of the land formation of Gaibandha District. Gaibandha district has no small Tertiary hills. To the southwest of the district are parts of the Barind lands formed during the Pleistocene period. The remaining 90 per cent of the district belongs to the flood plain of the modern geological age, which is the Brahmaputra, Karatoya Teesta Bidhaut. Therefore, according to the topography and topography of the district, the district can be divided into two parts (1991) namely: (a) flood plain (b) Barind plain.
Soil class: Many things depends on the quality of the soil in a place. Gaibandha soil can be divided into three parts on the basis of soil texture. Namely: a) sandy soil b) loamy soil c) etel soil.
A) Sandy soil: Sandy soil is found in the riverine chars of Brakshaputra, Teesta, Karatoya and Gaibandha districts. Peanuts, china, kaun, mustard, sugarcane, watermelon etc. are grow in sandy soil.
B) Alluvial soils: Sandly soils along the river banks of Gaibandha district and all lands except Barind in the west are alluvial soils.
C) Etel soil: Etel, loamy soil is also found in Khiar area of ​​Gobindanj police station of the district. Although paddy, wheat, maize etc. are grown in this soil, jute and vegetables are not produced much.
Prolonged droughts or droughts, such as floods in the region, also cause severe damage to crops. The scarcity of food and the lack of work were then evident, leading to famine.
The droughts of 18-79, 1757-58, 162-73, 16-7, 184, 1908-09 and the recent 1992-93 and its effects are significant in this district. Of these, however, the prolonged droughts of 184 and 1908-09 and the irreparable damage caused by them are particularly noteworthy. This drought was caused due to non-availability of rainfall in the monsoon season in 1857-58, 182-63, 18-7, 1992-93, due to lack of irrigation, farmers could not cultivate aman crop. Those who used to cultivate aman on a small plot of land by irrigating it with water from the ditches and beels, the grain was also burnt in the heat. There was food shortage in the district. For example, in 18 years, 93 seras of rice could be bought, but due to the drought and due to the traders, only 6 seras of rice could be bought at that time, that is, the price of rice increased by 12 cents. But due to the import of food from the neighboring districts and the production of other crops in the next Rabi season, the food shortage caused by the drought did not reach the stage of famine. Of course, recent droughts, such as the 1992-93 drought in the Khiar region, have left farmers deep, Agricultural production continued with the help of shallow irrigation and the development of communication system did not increase the price of commodities much. In 18 AD, due to drought, crop production in the former Rangpur district was severely disrupted. Everything is burned and incinerated, including various long-grain stores. The famine of 189-70 killed about one third of the people of Bengal. However, the severity of this famine was not the same everywhere in Bengal. According to Sirajul Islam's book on the history of colonial rule in Bengal, the effects of the famine were also great in Gaibandha district, now part of the greater Rangpur district. Before the famine, 2 manas of rice was available for money, but during the famine, only 3/4 of rice was sold for money.
Twice droughts in 1906-1908 were the most significant in the district. However, this drought is somewhat regional, the impact was more in the Khiar region. The former Rangpur district Mithapukur Pirganj and the western part of Gobindaganj upazila of Gaibandha district were most affected by the drought.
Originally, the lower part of the district was also affected by floods due to the flow of various rivers in the eastern part of the district. On the other hand, in the highlands of the west, only one crop of aman land is naturally affected by drought. At present, as boro crops are widely cultivated and irrigation systems are modernized, production has increased and the likelihood of famine has decreased.
Earthquake:
The rate of earthquakes is relatively high in the Brahmaputra valley i.e. Assam. Gaibandha district is close to the earthquake zone, so there are occasional earthquakes in this district. Although there is no record of previous earthquakes, there are records of 175 earthquakes in official documents. However, the catastrophic earthquake of 1897 and its effects are significant. Earthquakes cause rapid changes in the earth's surface.
At 12:15 pm on 12 June 1897, a permanent earthquake shook Bengal, Bihar and Assam. As a result, unfinished houses, potholes, roads, bridges, railways were destroyed and arable land was turned into shelves. This earthquake increases the height of the ground. As a result, the tributary slows down as smaller tributaries rise to the bottom of the canal. As a result, small tributaries rose to the bottom of river canals, slowing them down or in many cases changing their course. The Sarai and Manas rivers in Sundarganj and Gaibandha upazilas, Akhira and Naleya canals in Palashbari upazila and Ghaghat river in the district slowed down and damaged the drainage system of the district. Many beels have become high and cultivable land, while many high and weedy lands have become beels (deep canals). The Naleya canal created from Barabila in Pirganj was in motion at the mentioned time. The quake affected Gaibandha subdivision in the former Rangpur district.