ABSTRACT
Nagaland is a hilly state of India, which lies in the Purvanchal zone of the Indian subcontinent. Alluvial plains, low to moderate linear hills, moderate hills and high hills are the major geomorphic divisions of the state. Nagaland has been broadly divided into four zones i.e. Belt of Schuppen, Disang Belt, Ophiolite Belt and Low-grade Metamorphic Belt based on its geological index. Four major soil orders have been found in this state, namely, Inceptisol, Ultisols, Entisols and Alfisols. Among these soil orders, Inceptisol cover 66% of the land area. The dispersion ratio was used to show the land use effect on soil erodibility parameters. A lower dispersion ratio was observed in the soil of forest-covered areas as compared to those of cultivated lands. The soil of Nagaland is rich in mineral contents like limestone coal, copper, zinc, nickel, cobalt, magnetite and chromium, and in recent years, geologists have discovered platinum, petroleum and natural gas as the other major minerals available in Nagaland. The state still has many areas that are unutilised and unexploited, including reserves of granite, limestone, marble, natural gas and petroleum. Landslides and earthquakes are the most prominent natural disasters in Nagaland. Nagaland falls in the Zone-V category (maximum expected magnitude of a possible earthquake > 8).
