The strategic location of Kolkata has contributed significantly to the growth of this Indian city. Kolkata, more famous as Calcutta, is located on the eastern banks of the River Hooghly, the main distributary of River Ganges. Kolkata city is located at a distance of approximately 120 km from the Bay of Bengal at an altitude of 5.8 meters above sea level.
Kolkata lies immediately to the south of Tropic of Cancer at the geographical coordinates of 22º 32' N and 88º 22' E. Being near to the Tropic of Cancer, summers are hot and winters are cool in the city.
Job Charnock, a British agent landed in this place in 1690 in the search for a suitable location for British settlement. This area, bound by river Hooghly in the west, a creek in the north and a salty marshy region in the east, previously comprised three villages: Sutanati, Govindopur and Kalikata. Subsequently in 1698, the British East India Company bought these three villages from Sabarna Chowdhury the local landlord to set up a trading port.
Kolkata thereafter has become the most important port of Eastern India whose hinterland includes the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Assam and the other 6 north-eastern states and Sikkim. Calcutta port also serves the nations of Nepal
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and Bhutan.
Kolkata city, the state capital of West Bengal, is connected by air, railways, road, and waterways to all states and important Indian cities. The distance of Kolkata from Indian capital city New Delhi is about 1461 km. The other metropolitan cities of Mumbai and Chennai are located at respective distances of 1987 km and 1676 km. The other state capitals near to Kolkata are Bhubaneswar at 441 km, Ranchi at 450 km, Patna at 550 km, Gangtok at 724 km, and Guwahati at 1081 km.
Being at the top of the Gangetic Delta, Kolkata in West Bengal is the entrance to the Sunderbans, the world's largest mangrove forest. Sunderban is the home of the Royal Bengal tiger, crocodile and red crabs.
Kolkata's location in Eastern India has helped itself in making this city an important international gateway to Bangladesh, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Australia.
Location of Kolkata near the sea, forests, and mountains (Darjeeling is West Bengal hill station), has made this city cheerful, vibrant, and doting. Tourists can never miss the opportunity of visiting the West Bengal capital while touring this spectacular country.
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