Barind Tract (alternately called the
Varendra Tract in
English and
Varendra Bhumi in
Bengali) is the largest
Pleistocene era
pysiographic unit in
Bangladesh and the Bengal Basin. It covers most of
Dinajpur,
Rangpur,
Pabna,
Rajshahi,
Bogra, and
Joypurhat districts of
Rajshahi Division. It is fragmented, being made up of several separate sections in the northwestern part of the country, covering a total area of approximately 7,770 km² of mostly old
alluvium. On the eastern edge of the tract is a lower
fault escarpment. Through the fault
troughs run the little
Jamuna,
Atrai and Lower
Punarbhaba rivers. To the west, the main area is tilted up, and to the east this area is tilted downwards. The climate of the tract differs from that of much of
India, in that more extreme temperature variations (ranging from 45 degrees Celsius down to five degrees Celsius) are encountered there. It is divided into three units: The Recent Alluvial Fan, the Barind Pleistocene, and the Recent Floodplain. These are divided by long, narrow bands of recent
alluvium.