A Geographical Study of Soil Types and Distribution of Settlement in Solapur District

There are many important physical factors which are influencing the distribution of settlement are relief, availability of water, climate, soil, rainfall, availability of cultivated land etc. “Settlement geography is a science of systematic inquiry of occupancy features distributed over space with differentiation in relation to man” (Mandal, 1970). Settlement responds to man’s environment as well as the religious and social customs of the society. Rural settlements are the important aspect of settlement and human geography, as they reflect the complex relationship of human occupation to land and environment. The study of settlement is basic to human geography, because the form of settlement in any region reflects men’s relationship with the environment. The settlement distribution is not only determined by the natural condition but other several factors also influence the distribution of settlements such as physiography, drainage pattern, population and other several factors. The settlement is a basic administrative unit. The settlements with number of clusters or hamlets are divided from each other by parcel of agricultural or other land activities within a particular territorial unit. Settlement as an occupancy unit, represents the organized colony of human beings including the building in which they live or work or store their material. It also includes tracks or streets over which their mobility takes place. Rural settlements are primary settlement and it is related to primary economic activity. According to Stone (1965) “Rural settlement geography is the description and analysis of the distribution of building by which people attach themselves to the land for the purpose of primary production.” The people living in rural settlement are mainly engaged in agriculture, fishing, raring animals, mining and forestry. The rural settlement is made by local a material that is woods, vegetable matter, mud and stone. The natural environment affects the characteristics of the settlement in a particular region. Settlements are considered as an index of human adjustment to the environment. The present research papers as an attempt to study soil types and distribution of settlement in Solapur district. For that study rural settlement in period 2011 has been taken into the consideration. The present study is mainly based on the secondary data which is collected form the Census Handbook of Solapur District and Socio-Economic Abstract of Solapur district