PHYSIOGRAPHY OF KERALA
Geography of Kerala Location and Area-Kerala is located on the southernmost tip of India and embraces the coast of Arabian Sea on the west and is bounded by the Western Ghats in the east. The city and the suburbs spans an area of 250 km2 (96.53 sq mi). Geologically, pre-Cambrian and Pleistocene formations comprise the bulk of Kerala's terrain. The topography consists of a hot and wet coastal plain gradually rising in elevation to the high hills and mountains of the Western Ghats. Kerala lies between northern latitude of 8°.17'.30" N and 12°. 47'.40" N and east longitudes 74°.27'.47" E and 77°.37'.12" E. Kerala's climate is mainly wet and maritime tropical,heavily influenced by the seasonal heavy rains brought up by the monsoon.
Geographical Map of Kerala showing the 3 geographical regions viz. Highlands, Midlands and Lowlands.
HIGHLANDS
The Highlands slope down from the Western Ghats (also known as the Sahyadri) which rise to an average height of 900m, with a number of peaks well over 1800 m in height. It is 18650 sq.km in area and accounts for 48 percent of the total land area of Kerala.It covers 48% of total land area .
This is the area of major plantations like tea, coffee, rubber and various spices. This area is often known as the Cardamom Hills. This region is produced in large quantities cardamom . Anaimudi(2694 meters), the highest peak which is in the Munnar division of the Western Ghats. Most of the rivers of Kerala originate from the Western Ghats.
Pre-historical archaeological findings include dolmens of the Neolithic era in the Marayur area of the Idukki district, which lie on the eastern highland made by Western Ghats. Rock engravings in the Edakkal Caves, in Wayanad, date back to the Neolithic era around 6000 BCE
Eastern Kerala consists of land encroached upon by the Western Ghats; the region thus includes high mountains, gorges, and deep-cut valleys. The wildest lands are covered with dense forests, while other regions lie under tea and coffee plantations (established mainly in the 19th and 20th centuries) or other forms of cultivation. Forty-one of Kerala's forty-four rivers originate in this region, and the Cauvery River descends from there and drains eastwards into neighboring states. Here, the Western Ghats form a wall of mountains penetrated near Palakkad; here, a natural mountain pass known as the Palakkad Gap breaks through to access inner India
The eastern regions in the districts of Wayanad, Malappuram (Chaliyar valley at Nilambur), and Palakkad (Attappadi Valley), which together form parts of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, are known for natural Gold fields, along with the adjoining districts of Karnataka
LIST OF MOUNTAINS IN KERALA
MIDLANDS
The Midlands, lying between the mountains and the lowlands, is made up of undulating hills and valleys. It is 16200 sq.km in area ie, about 40 percent of the total land area. This is an area of intensive cultivation. Cashew, coconut, arecanut, tapioca, banana and vegetables of different varieties are grown in this area.
LOWLANDS
Lowlands are also known as the Coastal Area. It covers an area of almost 4000 sq.km. It is made up of numerous shallow lagoons known locally as kayels, river deltas, backwaters and shores of the Arabian sea and is essentially a land of coconuts and rice. This area is very fertile and most of the paddy cultivation is along this area. Kuttanad region of Kerala is one of the very few places in India where cultivation is done below sea level. Water is the main mode of transportation in these areas.
Kerala's coastal belt is relatively flat, teeming with paddy fields, groves of coconut trees, and heavily crisscrossed by a network of interconnected canals and rivers. The comparative water-richness of the coastal belt can be partly gauged by the fact that Kuttanad, with its backwaters canals and rivers, itself comprises more than 20% of India's waterways by length. Kuttanad, also known as The Rice Bowl of Kerala, has the lowest altitude in India, and is also one of the few places in world where cultivation takes place below sea level.
The most important of Kerala's forty-four rivers include the Periyar (244 km in length), the Bharathapuzha (209 km), the Pamba River (176 km),the chaliyar river(169) the Chalakudy Puzha(144 km), the Kadalundipuzha (130 km), and the Achancoil (128 km). Most of the remainder are small and entirely fed by the Monsoons.
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