About Corbett National Park
Welcome to Jim Corbett National Park, the first wildlife reserve of India, extending over an area of more than 500 sq km in the Himalayan foothills. Corbett national park was established in 1936, as the Hailey National Park. In 1955-56 it has changed to Ramganga National Park and finally Jim Corbett National Park in the honor of legendary hunter-turned- conservationist, best known for hunting man-eating tigers and leopards in the Kumaon and lower Garhwal in the 1920s.

Corbett National park is known for its varied wildlife, and as the site for the launching of Project Tiger. Corbett National Park was one of the nine tiger reserves created at the launch of the Project Tiger in 1973. The original area of the Corbett National Park was 323.75 sq. km. to which 197.07 sq. km. was added later. In 1991, an area of 797.72 sq km was added as buffer area of the Corbett Tiger Reserve. It area includes kalagarh forest division and Ramnagar forest division.

Geography
The park is located between 29°25' to 29°39'N latitude and 78°44' to 79°07'E longitude. The average altitude of the region ranges between 360 m (1,181 ft) and 1,040 m (3,412 ft). It has numerous ravines, ridges, minor streams and small plateaus with varying aspects and degrees of slopes. The park encompasses the Patli Dun valley formed by the Ramganga river.

The reserve, located partly along a valley between the Lesser Himalaya in the north and the Siwaliks in the south, has a sub-Himalayan belt structure.The upper tertiary rocks are exposed towards the base of the Siwalik range and hard sandstone units form broad ridges. Characteristic longitudinal valleys, geographically termed Doons, or Duns can be seen formed along the narrow tectonic zones between lineaments.

Climate
There are three well defined seasons in the Corbett National Park- the winter season which lasts from November to February, the summer season which lasts from March to June, and the rainy season which covers the rest of the month. The summer rains cause flooding in the park.

The temperature in the Winters can go down to 4 degrees centigrade at night and the entire jungle is dry in the summer months as the temperature goes up to 44 degrees centigrade. The annual rainfall in the park ranges between 1400mm and 2800mm.

Flora
A total of 488 different species of plants have been recorded in the park. Tree density inside the reserve is higher in the areas of Sal forests and lowest in the Anogeissus-Acacia catechu forests. Total tree basal cover is greater in Sal dominated areas of woody vegetation.Healthy regeneration in sapling and seedling layers is occurring in the Mallotus philippensis, Jamun and Diospyros tomentosa communities, but in the Sal forests the regeneration of sapling and seedling is poor.

Fauna
Over 585 species of resident and migratory birds have been categorized, including crested serpent eagles, blossom headed parakeet and the red jungle fowl — ancestor of all domestic fowl.33 species of reptiles, 7 species of amphibians, 7 species of fish and 37 species of dragonflies have also been recorded.

Bengal tigers, although plentiful, are not easily spotted due to the abundance of camouflage in the reserve. Thick jungle, the Ramganga river, and plentiful prey make this reserve an ideal habitat for tigers who are opportunistic feeders and prey upon a range of animals. The tigers in the park have been known to kill much larger animals such as buffalo and even elephant for food. The tigers prey upon the larger animals in rare cases of food shortage, often in packs using the advantage of numerical superiority. The reserve has enormous boars, weighing up to 200 pounds, who provide a match for the tigers as a large male boar is capable of killing a tiger. There have been incidents of tigers attacking domestic animals in times when there is a shortage of prey.