KERALA STATE - PROFILE

Kerala State is situated between 8°18' and 12°48' N latitude and 74°52' and 77°22' E longitude with a geographical area of 38,864 km2. It lies along the coastline, to the extreme south west of the Indian peninsula, flanked by the Lakshadweep Sea on the west and the mountains of the Western Ghats on the east. The land stretches north-south along a coastline of 580 km with a varying width of 35 to 120 km. The nature of the terrain and its physical features, divides an east west cross section of the state into three distinct regions.

Physiography

The State is characterized by a combination of distinct altitudinal variations resulting from the rise of the land mass from 5 m below sea level in the west to the soaring heights of 2695 m in the East. Three distinct parallel physiographic zones are identified:

• Low land (below 7.5 m msl)
• Mid land (between 7.5 m and 75 m msl)
• High land (above 75 m msl)

Out of the total geographical area of the state, 10.2 % constitutes low land regions, 41.8 % mid land regions and 48 % high land regions. The coastal low land is identified with alluvial plains, sandy stretches, abraded platforms, beach ridges, raised beaches, lagoons and estuaries. Extensive paddy fields, thick groves of coconut trees and backwaters, interconnected with canals and rivers, are the features of this region.

Kuttanad and Kole lands lying in this region are located below the sea level. In the mid land plains of central region, the hills are not very steep and the valleys are wide. This forms an area of gently undulating topography with hillocks and mounds. Laterite capping is commonly noticeable on the top of these hillocks. The valleys have been developed as paddy fields or elas of Kerala with stream flowing through the valleys.

The ribbon valleys of the laterite terrain represents the elas of the mid lands where rice is the dominant crop. The adjoining hill slopes have plantations of rubber, fruit trees and other cash crops like pepper, arecanut and tapioca. The high lands include the steeply sloping areas of the western ghats and are mainly under forest. Tea, coffee and cardamom plantations are also located in these areas.

There are 44 rivers in the state, of which 41 originate from the Western Ghats and flow towards west into the Lakshadweep Sea . Only three tributaries of the river Cauvery originate in Kerala and flow east into the neighbouring States. These rivers and streams flowing down from the Western Ghats either empty themselves in to the backwaters in the coastal area or directly into the Lakshadweep Sea.