Surat's Location

Surat is a port city situated on the banks of the Tapti river. Damming of the Tapti caused the original port facilities to close; the nearest port is now in the Magadalla and Hazira area of Surat Metropolitan Region. The city is located at 21°10′N 72°50′E.^[10] It has an average elevation of 13 meters. The Surat district is surrounded by the Bharuch, Narmada, Navsari , to the west is the Gulf of Cambay and the surrounding districts. The climate is tropical and monsoon rainfall is abundant (about 2,500 mm a year).According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, the town falls under seismic zone-III, in a scale of I to V (in order of increasing vulnerability to earthquakes)^[11]

Surat has grown in area since the early 1700s. The oldest part of the city developed in the area between the train station and the area known as Athwalines. Since the 1970s most of the new development, including the most desirable location for the city's burgeoning middle and upper class, is the area between Athwalines and the coast at Dumas.