Contents

Location
Boundary Major Geographical Divisions High Land Mid Land Low Land Coastal Plains

Contents
Major Geographical Components
Mountains Forest & Wildlife Rivers, Lakes, Backwaters and Waterfalls Coastal Plains Climate

Seasonal Variations

Location
Located in the southern part of India
Accounts for 1.18% of total landmass (38,855 sqkm) Popularly known as Gods Own Country 14 Districts Trivandrum Ernakulam Thrissur

The Capital Commercial Capital Cultural Capital

Boundaries
East & South West North

Tamilnadu Arabian Sea Karnataka

Western Ghats
Located in the Eastern Part of this state
Home for 18 Protected Areas Network 13 Wildlife Sanctuaries 5 National Parks Home for 44 Rivers

Major Geographical Features

Mid Land 300 -600 mtrs 8.44%

High Lands 600 2695 mtrs 20.99%

Low Land 10 300 mtrs 54.17 %

Coastal Plains 0 10 Mtrs 16.40 %

High Land
The Higher Altitude Areas in the Western Ghats
Elevation is 600 2695 mtrs above sea level

Home for Major Rivers of this state (44 rivers)

Home for major Hill Stations Climate is the Major Attractions for Tourists Examples Ponmudi, Munnar and Nelliyampathy

Midland
Located on the foot hills of High Lands Elevation is 300 600 mtrs above sea level Also known as Cardamom hills

Famous for Spice Production

Low Land
Located on the foot hills of the mid land Elevation is 10-300 mtrs above sea level Famous for backwaters and Agricultural

Production

Coastal Plains
Located in the coastal areas Elevation is 0-10 mtrs above sea level Famous for Beach Tourism Major activities are fishing

Mountains
Western Ghats The highest peak is Anamudi (2965 mtrs above Sea

level)
Forms 18 Protected Areas Network Cool temperature attracts tourists Home for Hill Stations

Forest and Wildlife

Accounts 28.9% of the total land
13 Wildlife Sanctuaries and 5 National Parks Dense forest - Open forest - Mangroves Grasslands Endemic and Endangered Species

Rivers, Lakes, Backwaters and Waterfalls

44 rivers (3 eastern flowing) Longest is River Periyar Largest is River Bharathapuzha Largest fresh water lake is Vembanad Alleppey to Cochin
The freshwater lake is Sasthamkotta in Kollam dist The famous waterfalls are Athirapally, Vazhachal and

Palaruvi

Coastal Plains
580 km length of Coastal Areas
Trade Routes with abroad Form various beaches Fishing is a major Economic Activities Major beaches are Kovalam, Varkala and Kappad

Climate
Varies according to the Altitude 3 types of Climate Condition
Winter
Summer Monsoon

Dec Feb Feb May

May September (80% Rain) October December (10% Rain)

South West North East

Season to Visit ????????

For further reading..

Sureendhara Menon. A(2007) - A Survey of Kerala History, DC Books,

Kottayam
Madhava Menon. T (2000) A Hand Book of Kerala, International

School of Dravidian Linguistics, Trivandrum