Rohtas district

Rohtas district also spelled as Rautas,is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India. It came into existence when Shahabad District was bifurcated into Bhojpur & Rohtas in 1972. Administrative headquarter of the district is Sasaram. Rohtas district has the highest literacy in Bihar. The literacy rate of Rohtas district which is 73.37% as per 2011 census is highest among all 38 districts of Bihar.

Rohtas district also has one of the highest forest cover among all 38 districts of Bihar.^{[citation needed]}

The Rohtas district is a part of Patna Division, and it has an area of 3850 km², a population of 2,959,918 (2011 census), and a population density of 763 persons per km². Languages spoken here are Bhojpuri, Hindi and English.

Rohtas district was created in 1972, when the former Shahabad district was divided in two. It corresponded to the former district's sub-divisions of Sasaram and Bhabua. In 1991, Bhabua was split off as a separate district, which was renamed Kaimur district in 1994.

The district is a part of the Red Corridor.

Rohtas district covers an area of 3,851 square kilometres (1,487 sq mi). This makes it the 4th-largest district in Bihar.

Rohtas district can be divided into two major natural areas. In the north and northeast is the Sasaram Plain, an alluvial plain sloping gently downward toward the northeast. Its average height ranges from 72m above sea level in the north to 153m above sea level in the south. The plains cover all of Dinara, Dawath, Bikramganj, Nasriganj, Nokha, and Dehri Blocks, as well as parts of Sasaram, Sheosagar, and Rohtas Blocks. There are scattered woodlands in the east, in Sasaram Block. In the southern part of the district is the Rohtas Plateau, which is an eastern flank of the Vindhya plateau with an average elevation of 300m above sea level. It covers parts of Nauhatta, Rohtas, Sheosagar, Sasaram, and Chenari Blocks. This area is hilly, with occasional forests throughout. Several streams flow toward the north, including the Durgawati, the Bajari, the Koel, and the Sura. The Rohtas Plateau is less well suited for agriculture due to the uneven, rocky and gravelly soils as well as the forest cover. A variety of long grasses grow naturally on the plateau, including pear grass, kus, and khas khas.

Throughout Rohtas district, the soils are generally classified as ustalfs, ochrepts, orthents, fluvents, and psamments.