- Geography of South India
and southern India. Technically all Indian territories below the 20th Parallel.
The Narmada flows westwards in the depression between the Vindhya and Satpura ranges. The Satpura ranges define the northern spur of the
Deccan plateau , one of the main geographic features of South India. TheWestern Ghats , along the western coast, mark another boundary of the plateau. The narrow strip of verdant land between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea is theKonkan region; the term encompasses the area south of the Narmada as far asGoa .The Western Ghats continue south, forming the
Malnad (Canara) region along the Karnataka coast, and terminate at theNilgiri mountains, an inward (easterly) extension of the Western Ghats. The Nilgiris run in a crescent approximately along the borders ofTamil Nadu with northernKerala andKarnataka , encompassing the Palakkad andWayanad hills, and theSatyamangalam ranges, and extending on to the relatively low-lying hills of theEastern Ghats , on the western portion of theTamil Nadu -Andhra Pradesh border. TheTirupati andAnnamalai hills form part of this range.The
Deccan plateau , covering the major portion of the states ofMaharashtra , Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, is the vast elevated region bound by the C-shape defined by all these mountain ranges. No major elevations border the plateau to the east, and it slopes gently from the Western Ghats to the eastern coast. The plateau is watered by the east flowing Godavari andKrishna rivers. The other major rivers of the Deccan plateau are thePennar and theTungabhadra , a major tributary of the Krishna.The river
Kaveri rises in the Western Ghats, in theKodagu district of Karnataka and flows through the fertile Mandya,Mysore , Hassan regions before entering Tamil Nadu, where it forms an extensive and fertile delta on the east coast. The three major river deltas of South India, the Kaveri, the Godavari and the Krishna, are located along the Bay of Bengal. These areas constitute the "rice bowls" of South India. Rivers that flow westward, from the mountains to the Arabian Sea, include thePeriyar ,Netravati River ,Mandovi andTapti River (or Tapi) rivers, and the Narmada at the northern edge of the region.Climate
The region has a very
tropical climate with the monsoons playing a major part. TheSouth - West Monsoon accounts for most of the rainfall in the region and much of it falls from about June to October.Tamil Nadu and South-EastAndhra Pradesh receive rains from theNorth - East Monsoon from about November to February. Much ofAndhra Pradesh andKarnataka has a distinct dry season from about October - May when there is not much rainfall. This region also experiences cooler nights from October to March while the days are pleasantly warm. In the northern parts of the region temperatures can fall below 10 degrees Celsius on occasions at night during this time. Days are very hot from March to June when temps can go over 40 degrees.Regions
The four states of South India generally follow linguistic boundaries. In addition to these linguistic regions, South India has a number of overlapping traditional geographic regions. Some of these regions are:
*Bayaluseemae - The plain or maidan area ofdeccan plateau inKarnataka state.
* Carnatic - etymologically related to theDeccan , refers to all of South India
* Canara or Karaavali - theKarnataka coast
* Chera Nadu or "Vanchi Nadu" - most of modernKerala
*Chettinad u - area aroundSivagangai , Tamil Nadu
*Chola Nadu - most of Tamil Nadu and southern Andhra Pradesh, including certain other "Nadus" mentioned here
*Coromandel Coast - south coastalAndhra Pradesh , north coastalTamil Nadu and thePondicherry Union Territory
*Deccan - plateau region covering interior Maharashtra, interior Andhra Pradesh and interior Karnataka. Includes theMarathwada ,Vidarbha ,Telangana ,Rayalaseema ,North Karnataka and Mysore regions.
*Kammanadu - Region south ofKrishna river up toNellore district (A.P.,) whereBuddhism flourished.
*Kongu Nadu - districts aroundCoimbatore ,Erode .
*Konkan - coastal region comprising coastal Maharashtra,Goa and part of coastal Karnataka
* Kosta or Coastal Andhra - The coastal districts ofAndhra Pradesh
*Malabar region - northern Kerala; theMalabar Coast is often counted separately
*Malnad - the Sahyadri hills between the coast and the plateau in Karnataka
* Mulakanadu - the region to the north of the Godavari river, areas now called Khandesh and Aurangabad surrounding areas.
* Mysore - often called "south interior Karnataka"
*North Karnataka - often called "north interior Karnataka" or simply the "Dharawad region"
*Northern Circars - Muslim administrative units in Madras state in British India, namelyChicacole ,Rajahmundry ,Ellore ,Kondapalli andGuntur .
*Palnadu - or Pallavanadu (Guntur andPrakasam districts ofAndhra Pradesh ), the original seat ofPallava s.
*Pandya Nadu - area aroundTirunelveli ,Madurai ,Virthunagar &Tuticorin Tamil Nadu
*Raichur Doab - mostly northern Karnataka, between the Krishna andTungabhadra rivers
*Rayalaseema - southern interior Andhra Pradesh consisting of Kurnoo, Chittor, Cuddapah and Anantapuram districts.
*Tondai Nadu - area aroundPudukkotai , Tamil Nadu
*Thiruvithaamkoor or Travancore - southern Kerala
*Tulu Nadu - certain areas in the coastal districts ofUdipi andSouth Canara in Karnataka
*Telangana - northern interiorAndhra Pradesh
*Velanadu - Places on the banks ofKrishna River , fromGuntur toSrisailam . A subkingdom duringCholas andChalukyas periodsThe low-lying
coral islands ofLakshadweep are off the south-western coast of India.Sri Lanka lies off the south-eastern coast, separated from India by thePalk Strait and the chain of low sandbars and islands known asRama's Bridge . TheAndaman and Nicobar islands lie far off the eastern coast of India, near theTenasserim coast ofBurma . The southernmost tip of mainland India is at Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin) on theIndian Ocean .Flora and fauna
There is a large number and wide diversity of plants and animals in South India, resulting from its varied climates and geography. Lush evergreen vegetation, the
South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests are found along theWestern Ghats . Tropical Dry Forests, theSouth Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests and scrub landsDeccan thorn scrub forests are common in the interior Deccan plateau. The southern Western Ghats have high altitude rain forests called theSouth Western Ghats montane rain forests . TheMalabar Coast moist forests are found on the coastal plains.cite web| url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial_im.html| title = Indo-Malayan Terrestrial Ecoregions| accessmonthday = April 15 | accessyear=2006] The Western Ghats itself is abiodiversity hotspot .cite web| url=http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots/ghats/| title= Biodiversity Hotspot - Western Ghats & Sri Lanka, Conservation International| accessmonthday = April 15 | accessyear=2006]Some of India's famous protected areas are found in South India. These include
Project Tiger reservesPeriyar National Park , Kalakad - Mundanthurai and Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve. Important ecological regions of South India are theNilgiri Biosphere Reserve , located at the conjunction of the borders of Karnataka, Kerela and Tamilnadu in the Nilgiri Hills includingMudumalai National Park ,Bandipur National Park ,Nagarhole National Park Silent Valley National Park ,Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary andNugu Wildlife Sanctuary and theAnamalai Hills including theEravikulam National Park ,Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary ,Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary and the adjacent The Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park of the Western Ghats. Important bird sanctuaries includingRanganathittu Bird Sanctuary ,Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary , Neelapattu andPulicat Sanctuary are home to numerous migratory and local birds. Other protected ecological sites include thebackwaters like thePulicut Lake in Andhra Pradesh,Pitchavarum in Tamil Nadu and the famed backwaters of Kerala formed by theVembanad Lake , theAshtamudi Lake and the Kayamkulam Lake.References
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