**3. Case study area**

Nashik district is one of the six districts of the *Khandesh region* of Maharashtra state (Latitude: 19°35'N and 20°50' N; Longitude: 73°16<sup>0</sup> E and 74°56<sup>0</sup> E). Nashik district is a typical volcanic basaltic area of Maharashtra state, India. Maharashtra state occurs in the western part of India, whereas Nashik district is located in the northwestern part of Maharashtra state (**Figure 1**). It is the third largest district in Maharashtra in terms of population of 61,09,052 and occupies an area of 15,582 sq km in the north-west part of Maharashtra. The Nashik district, one of the largest districts of the state, has 15 towns/blocks and 1930 villages. Nashik is surrounded by almost 08 districts *viz*. Dhule, Jalgaon, Aurangabad, Ahmednagar, Thane, and Valsad etc. of Maharashtra and the Navsari and Dangs districts of Gujarat. Thus, eight districts adjoining Nashik form the boundary between Maharashtra and Gujarat. The major part of the district comes under Godavari and Tapi basins. Godavari originates from the Brahmagiri mountain range in the *Western Ghats* of Nashik district of Maharashtra state [4].

Climate and rainfall play important roles in replenishing groundwater resources, especially the shallow aquifer in such semiarid areas, where rainfall is the primary and main source of recharge. Nashik district experiences a hot tropical climate with extreme summer, mild winter season, and general dryness throughout the year except during the southwest monsoon season, that is. June to September. The rainfall in the district is under the influence of the southwest monsoon. Nashik district falls 'assured rainfall zone' under agro climatic zones. The maximum temperature in summer is 42.5°C and the minimum temperature in winter is less than 5.0°C. Relative humidity ranges from 43 to 62%.

The normal annual rainfall in the district is uneven and varies from 550 mm to 3400 mm (**Figure 2**). The average rainfall of the district is ≈ 1043.6 mm, spread over 69 rainy days. Igatpuri receives the highest annual rainfall in the district. The presence of both the Western Ghat (hills) and the plateau region, together with the monsoon winds and rugged terrain condition forms the *rain shadow zones* that result in scanty and deficient rainfall.

In the study area, the major part is covered by Deccan Trap basalt aquifers comprising two aquifer systems, whereas alluvium has restricted to only 1500 sq. km. area *Management of Hard Rock Basaltic Aquifer through Aquifer Mapping: A Case Study of Nashik… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111644*

along the banks of major rivers and considering its limited thickness only one aquifer is established in alluvium.
