GARHWAL, a district of British India, in the Kumaon vision of the United Provinces. Pop. 533,885; area 5,612 sq.m. It consists almost entirely of rugged mountain ranges ning in all directions, and arated by narrow valleys which in some cases become deep gorges or ravines. The only level portion of the district is a narrow strip of waterless forest between the southern slopes of the hills and the fertile plains of Rohilkhand. The highest mountains are in the north, and embrace some of the most stupendous of the snow-clad giants, the cipal peaks being Nanda Devi (25,661 ft.), Kamet Trisul (23,382), Badrinath (23, 21o), Dunagiri (23,181) and Kedarnath (2 2,853) . The Alaknanda, one of the main sources of the Ganges, receives with its affluents the whole drainage of the district. At Devaprayag the Alaknanda joins the Bhagirathi, and thenceforward the united streams bear the name of the Ganges. Cultivation is principally confined to the immediate vicinity of the rivers, which are employed for purposes of irrigation. tion has it that Garhwal originally consisted of 52 petty ships, each chief with his own independent fortress (garli), that Soo years ago, one of these chiefs, Ajai Pal, reduced all the minor principalities under his own sway, and founded the Garhwal king dom. He and his ancestors ruled over Garhwal and the adjacent state of Tehri, in an uninterrupted line till 1803, when the Gurkhas invaded Kumaon and Garhwal, driving the Garhwal chief into the plains. They in turn were defeated by the British in the war with Nepal in 1814, when Garhwal and Kumaon were converted into British districts, and the Tehri principality was restored to a son of the former chief. Since annexation, Garhwal has rapidly advanced in material prosperity. Two battalions of the Indian army (the 39th Garhwal Rifles) are recruited in the district, which also contains the military cantonment of Lansdowne. Grain and coarse cloth are exported, and salt, borax, live stock and wool are imported, the trade with Tibet being considerable. The administrative headquarters are at the village of Pauri, but Srinagar and Kotdwara are the chief marts. Transport is laborious, and the people are simple and attractive.