Tag: physical geography of tamil nadu

The Eastern Ghats are not continuous when compared to the Western Ghats. They are dissected into isolated hill ranges extending from northeast to southwest through the districts of Vellore, Dharmapuri and Erode.

The Eastern and Western Ghats meet at the Nilgiris plateau. Four km from this plateau, it slopes gently downwards to about 1,800 m towards Coimbatore.

The Western Ghats has mountain peaks namely Doddabetta (2637 m) and Mukuruthi (2540 m).

The Bramahal plateau in Dharmapuri district is at an elevation of 300 to 700 m which merges with the Mysore plateau in the west.

The Nilgiris plateau extends from the Nilgiris to Dharmapuri plateau or Bramahal plateau and lies to the west of Shervaroy uplands. This plateau is found with extreme abruptness on all sides.

The main river of Tamil Nadu is Kaveri which originates in Kodagu district of Karnataka. Kaveri and its tributaries in its lower coursen drain the districts of Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Thiruvarur and Tiruchirapalli. The Kaveri, the Kollidam and the Vellar jointly drain central part of the Tamil Nadu.

River Kollidam branches off from Kaveri at Grand Anaicut (Kallanai).

The Tamil Nadu plain stretches for 675 km from Pulicat lake to Kanyakumari along the coast of Tamil Nadu. Its average width is 100 km. The most important feature of this plain is the Cauvery delta where the plain is 130 km wide. The fertile soil and large scale irrigation facilities have made the Cauvery delta the granary of South India.

The river plains in Tamil Nadu are formed by the river Palar, Cheyyar, Pennar and Vellar in the north; Kaveri and its tributaries in the central region; Vaigai, Vaippar and Thamirabarani in the south.

The head of the Kaveri delta is near the island of Srirangam.