Like other parts of Bengal, there has been an inter-racial mixing in Murshidabad as well. The original inhabitants of the district are found among the Hindu & the Muslim communities. There have been immigrations in the ancient period from the Northern India (Karnary & Rajputana) and the Southern India (Karnat). During the Nawabi regime the Jains from Rajasthan came and settled here. Now they mostly live in the Jiaganj – Azimganj area. During the early Turkishmuasions, Turk, Arab and Persian immigrants also settled here ; but their numbers are few. Europeans from countries like England, France, Netherlands etc. settled here temporarily during the eighteenth century. But there are hardly any Europeans in the district now. There is a sizable number of Santhals in the in the Nabagram Block of Lalbagh Sub-Division. But they have also migrated about a hundred years ago from the neighbouring Birbhum district and other parts of the Chhotanagpur Plateau. Among other native communities Mal and Rajbansi, communities need special mention. The Chais are peculiar to this district and neighbouring Malda.
 

I. Flora:
There is hardly any forest covering in the district. Most of it has trees common to the deltaic regions of the State. In the west and the north regions of the district, one gets to see plants similar to the plateau regions of the State. The common crops are also similar to that of the deltaic Bengal. There are fruit bearing trees of various types; but what the district boasts of is its varieties of mango delicacies. Many varieties available are unique to the district and trace their origin to the days of the Nawabs. Shadulla (Himsagar), Ranipasand (favourite to the queen), Begumpasand (favourite to the Begum), Sharanga, Mulayamjam, Kohitur (the king of mangoes) are among the varieties cherished by the connoisseurs.

II. Fauna:
i) Animals:
One, who has visited the district recently, would find it very hard to believe that tigers, rhinoceroses, and wild buffaloes roamed here till the mid-nineteenth century. Leopards and wild boars were found even much later. But now the only wild animals found are perhaps a few jackals. The black-faced monkey is however found in abundance as well; their herds are a common site even in Berhampore Town.
ii) Birds:
Though there is no forest coverage, there are many water bodies like rivers, canals, lakes and ponds and an abundance of trees and shrubs in the district. Therefore, here one finds birds of many species including some migratory birds. The water bodies attract many water birds like the dabchick / little grebe, cormorants of different types, Indian shag, darter, ibis, herons, egrets, storks, teals and ducks of many kind. Besides one gets to see kites, pheasants, fowls & partridges, owls, vultures, pigeons & doves, woodpeckers, cuckoos, swifts, larks, ioras, orioles and shrikes. Among the household birds are drongoes, mynas, babblers, pigeons, doves, and crows. Of the smaller birds the tailorbird, wagtails, sunbirds and weaverbirds are worth mentioning. The list is, obviously, not exhaustive. The area is attractive for the bird-lovers.

In shape, the district resembles an isosceles triangle with its apex pointing to the North-West.The Padma River flows through the entire eastern boundary, separating the district from the districts, Malda and Rajshahi (Bangladesh). Burdwan and Nadia are the Southern side and Birbhum and the Pakur (Jharkhand) are on the western side of the District.

The river Bhagirathi has bifurcated the triangle shaped district and divided it into two broad geographical regions of almost equal area and having a striking difference in their geology, in the agricultural and habitational pattern and even in the religions of their inhabitants.
a) The Rarha Area – This is the area to the west of the Bhagirathi having the pre-dominant geographical character of a plateau. It is substantially a continuation of the Sub-Vindhyan region of laterite clay and nodular ghuting. The land is high, slightly undulating, but is interspersed with numerous swamps and beds of old rivers. The soil is greyish and reddish, rich in lime and iron oxide. The rivers in this part originate from hill torrents and they are prone to overflowing due to sudden rain. Hijal: It is a tract within Rarha, situated in the south-west of the district near the confluence of the Mor and Dwarka, is about 50 sq. miles in area. Here the country becomes more open, and, in place of rice fields large stretches of thatching grass cover an almost treeless plain. During the rains, this area is widely inundated with water. Again, it becomes dry in the winter and a large portion of it is cultivated with Rabi crops.
b) The Bagri Area – This is the area to the east of the Bhagirathi formed by Gangetic alluvial deposit. This area was formed later than the Rarha Area.
It lies entirely between the Ganga, the Bhagirathi and the Jalangi River. The area is low, is therefore, exposed to annual inundations resulting in fresh silt deposits, and hence it is very fertile. Various crops are grown here, not to be surpassed by any part of the State. 
The Kalantar bill is a continuation of Bagri in the south-eastern corner of the district and receives the drainage of the swampy rivers in the eastern part of the district. It is a very swampy tract of dark clay and it is good as a rice growing area

The tract of Bagri, lying east of Bhagirathi is covered with recent alluvium, consisting of sandy clay and sand along the course of the rivers, and fine silt consolidating into clay in the flatter parts of the plain; sometimes the areas form saucer–like depressions. A bank of stiff clay, gravels and calcareous nodules called ghuting forms the junction of the alluvium and higher grounds on the west of Bhagirathi. In the north-west of the district are some isolated clay hillocks.

The geological formations in the district are as follows:

The general inclination of the district west of the Baghirathi is from north – west to south – east; but in the tract east of Bhagirathi,  the lines of drainage are somewhat irregular as the main rivers do not uniformly takes this direction.

Though the western half of the district slopes eastwards toward the Baghirathi, a number of the hill streams do not find their way directly into that river; they are intercepted by bils or marshes and for the most part are carried off to the south by the Dwarka. The two chief drainage basins in this part of the district are that of the Bansloi in the north and that of the dwarka with its confluents, in the south. The large bils act as reservoirs during the flood by absorbing some of the excess water carried down by these streams, and also drain the excess water through the streams, emanating out of them.

 The eastern half of the district may be described as an isosceles triangle. The Ganga (Padma) and the Bhagirathi forms the two equal sides; The Jalangi forms almost the entire base. However, the line of drainage is not along any of these rivers. The local rainfalls in this part of the district do not run off either into the Ganga or the Bhagirathi. The floods of these two great rivers converge towards each other, and ultimately make their way in a south – eastern direction. It may be roughly stated that the greater part of the surplus water ultimately falls into the Jalangi by means of the Gobranalah, the Bhairab and the Sialmari. During rainy seasons these canals, are connected with a number of bils, forming a network of water communication.