The State of Uttar Pradesh comprises an area of about 2,40,928 sq. km and forms one of the largest states in the country. It extends from latitude 23052'15'': 30025'05"N and longitude 77005'36": 84038'10"E and is characterized by rock formations ranging in age from the Archean (the Bundelkhand Granitic gneisses) to the Recent (the Ganga alluvium).

The Ganga plain which dominates the landscape and nearly covers three fourth of the geographical area of the State, lies between the rocky Himalayan belt in the north and the southern hilly tract comprised of mainly Pre-Cambrian rocks. Flexing of the Indian lithosphere in response to the comressive forces due to collision, and thrust fold loading produced the Ganga Plain foreland basin. It is filled with recetn alluival sediments which is at places more than 1,000 m. thik and amalagam

of sand, silt, clay in varying proportions. The southern hilly tract is roughly parallel to the Ganga-Yamuna lineament. The tract is underlain by granitic complex in Bundelkhand region and in Sonbhadra. It is overlain by rocks Mahakoshal (Bijawar) and Vindhyan Supergroup. The younger rock comprise of coal bearing Gondwana in south Sonbhadra and basaltic rocks in southern part of Lalitpur.

The granitic complex is considered to be potential for the search of metallic minerals like copper, lead, zinc, molybdenum, gold, nickel, Uranium and Platinum group of elements. The overlying sediments of Mahakoshal (Bijawar) and associated Iron Formation show a potential for the search of copper, uranium, and gold in Lalitpur and andalusite, sillimanite, gold, calcite, marble and clay in sonbhadra. The lower Vindhyan sediments of Sonbhadra contain deposits of cement grade limestone, flux grade dolomits

, building stone and is also potential for the search of placer gold and other metals. While the Upper Vindhyan sandstones are suitable for making decorative slab/tiles or ballast. Deposits of silica sands and bauxite are available in Allahabad and chitrakoot districts while coal deposits occur in the Gondwana rocks in southwestern corner of Sonbhadra.