West Singhbhum district or Pashchimi Singhbhum district is one of the 24 districts of Jharkhand state, India. It came into existence on 16 January 1990, when the old Singhbhum district (then in Bihar) was bifurcated. Chaibasa is the district headquarter.
The district is bounded on north by Khunti district, on the east by Saraikela Kharsawan district of Jharkhand, on the southeast by Mayurbhanj district of Odisha, on the south by Kendujhar district of Odisha, and on the west by Simdega district of Jharkhand and Sundergarh district of Odisha.West Singhbhum district is located in southern part of Jharkhand
History
Several Iron slags, microlith, Potsherds have been discovered from Singhbhum district which are from 1400 BCE according to Carbon dating age.
Remains of a large city was excavated by Archaeological Survey of India in the village of Benisagar in West Singhbhum, suggesting continuous habitation in the region from 5th to the 16th-17th century.
thumb|Singhbhum on [[James Rennell's Mid-18th Century Map.]]
West Singhbhum is one of the oldest districts of Jharkhand. After the British conquest of Kolhan in 1837, a new district was consequently constituted to be known as Singhbhum with Chaibasa as its headquarters. Subsequently, three districts, namely East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum and Seraikela Kharsawan have been carved out of erstwhile Singhbhum district.
It is currently a part of the Red Corridor.
Geography
"The Singhbhum region is possibly Earth's earliest continental land exposed to the air...." Priyadarshi Chowdhury, a geologist at Australia's Monash University is an interesting recent discovery.
West Singhbhum district forms the Southern part of the newly created Jharkhand state and is the largest district in the state. The district spreads from 21.97°N to 23.60°N and from 85.00°E to 86.90°E. The district is situated at an average height of 244 metres above sea level and covers an area of 7629.679 km<sup>2</sup>.
The district is covered with hills alternating with valleys, steep mountains, and deep forests on the mountain slopes. It contains some of the best Sal tree forests and the famous Saranda forest. There are plenty of waterfalls and a large variety of wild life like elephants, bison, tigers, leopards, bear, wild dogs and wild boars. Sambar Deer and spotted deer are also found but their numbers are decreasing in the forests adjoining inhabited areas.
Rivers
Following are some of the rivers flowing in the West Singhbhum District: Koel, Karo-Koina, Kuju, Kharkai, Sanjai, Roro, Deo, and Baitarini.
Flora and fauna
West Singhbhum district is full of dense forests and hills and harbors a variety of flora and fauna.
Asia's largest Sal Forest Lies in This District
Mines and minerals
The greater part of West Singhbhum district is covered with deposits of iron-ore used for iron and steel industry. Other industrially important minerals including the following:
- Chromite
- Magnetite
- Manganese
- Kainite
- Limestone
- Iron Ore
- Asbestos
- Soap-stone
Administration
Blocks/Mandals
West Singhbhum district consists of 18 Blocks. The following are the list of the Blocks in West Singhbhum district:
Demographics
thumb|A potter from Chaibasa
According to the 2011 census West Singhbhum district has a population of 1,502,338, roughly equal to the nation of Gabon or the US state of Hawaii. This gives it a ranking of 335th in India (out of a total of 640).