VIZAGAPATAM, a British district of India, in Madras presidency, lying between 17° 14' 30'' and 18° 58' N. lat. and 82° 19' and 83° 59' E. long., with an area of 3477 square miles. Including the Jáipur and Vizianagram zamindaries, which are under British administration, the area is 17,380 square miles. Vizagapatam is bounded on the N. by Ganjam district, on the E. by Ganjam and the sea, on the S. by the sea and Godávari district, and on the W. by the Central Provinces. It is a beautiful, picturesque, and hilly country, forming part of the large extent of shore known as the Orissa coast, but for the most part it is unhealthy. The surface of the country is generally undulating, rising towards the interior, and crossed by streams, which are dry except during the rainy season. The main portion is occupied by the Eastern Gháts. The slopes of these mountains are clothed with luxuriant vegetation, amid which rise many tall forest trees, while the bamboo grows profusely in the valleys. The drainage on the east is carried by numerous streams direct to the sea, and that to the west flows into the Godávari through the Indravati or through the Sabari and Sillar rivers. To the west of the range is situated the greater portion of the extensive zamindari of Jáipur, which is for the most part very hilly and jungly. The north and north-west of the district is also mountainous. In the extreme north a remarkable mass of hills, called the Nimgiris, rise to a height of 4972 feet, and these are separated by valleys of not more than 1200 feet from the neighbouring ranges of Gháts. The plain along the Bay of Bengal is exceedingly rich and fertile. It is described as a vast sheet of cultivation, green with rice fields and gardens of sugar-cane and tobacco. There are great varieties of ...climate in the district. Along the coast the air is soft and relaxing, the prevailing winds being south-easterly. The average annual rainfall at Vizagapatam exceeds 40 inches.
The census of 1881 returned the population of the district, exclusive of the agency tracts, at 1,790,468 (males 897,116, females 893,352). Including the Jaipur and Vizianagram dependencies, the total population of the district was 2,485,141 (males 1,254,850, females 1,230,291), of whom 2,460,474 were Hindus, 20,403 Mohammedans, and 3410 Christians. There are five towns with populations of more than 10,000, viz.:— Vizagapatam and Vizianagram (q.v. ); Anakapalle, 13,341; Bobbili, 14,943; and Salur, 11,856. The chief crops are rice, which is the staple product of the country, and sugar. The cultivation of indigo is also successfully carried on. The actual area under cultivation in 1885-86 amounted to 168,559 acres, besides 10,833 acres of forests. The gross revenue of the district in 1885-86 was £201,699, of which the land yielded £139,200. There are few industries, the principal being cotton cloths and the beautiful fancy wares of Vizagapatam towns. On the dissolution of the Mughal empire Vizagapatam occupied a portion of the territory known as the Northern Circars, which were ceded to the East India Company by treaty in 1768. On the introduction of the permanent settlement in 1802 it was formed into a separate collectorate, and since then several changes have been made in its administration.
VIZAGAPATAM, a municipal and seaport town, the administrative headquarters of the above district, with a population in 1881 of 30,291. It lies on a small bay, the south extremity of which is bounded by a promontory known as the Dolphin’s Nose, and its northern extremity by the suburb of Waltair. The town or fort, as it is called, is separated from the Dolphin’s Nose by a small river, which forms a bar where it enters the sea, but is passable for vessels of 300 tons during spring tides. Vizagapatam is the residence of a Roman Catholic vicar apostolic. It contains some good streets, has a handsome hall, library, and reading-room, an excellent hospital and dispensary, and maintains a great many schools. The principal exports are grain and sugar, and the principal industries of the town are elk horn and ivory knick-knacks and gold and silver filigree work.
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