Physical Geography of Tamilnadu - Part II

 Physical Geography of TAMILNADU

Plateaus:

    Plateaus of Tamil Nadu are located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats. It is roughly triangular in shape and covers an area of about 60,000 sq.km. 

    Bharamahal plateau is a part of the Mysore plateau situated in the northwestern part of Tamil Nadu. Its height ranges from 350 to 710 metres. Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts are located in this region.

    Coimbatore plateau lies between the Nilgiris and Dharmapuri districts. Its height varies from 150 to 450 metres. This region includes Salem, Coimbatore and Erode districts. Moyar river separates this plateau from the Mysore plateau.  Rivers like Bhavani, Noyyal and Amaravathi, which originate from Western Ghats, form valleys in this region. 

    

    Many intermontane plateaus are found in the region of the Nilgiris. Sigur plateau is one such plateau.

 

    Madurai plateau found in Madurai district extends up to the foothills of the Western Ghats. Vaigai and Thamirabarani basins are located in this zone.

Plains:

    The plains of Tamil Nadu may be divided into two, namely 

1. Inland plains 

2. Coastal plains 

    Inland plains are drained by the rivers Palar, Ponnaiyar, Cauvery and Thamirabarani. Cauvery plains is one of the most important fertile plains of the state. The plains of Cauvery is found in Salem, Erode, Karur, Tiruchirapalli, Pudukottai, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts. 

    Coastal plains of Tamil Nadu are also called Coromandel or Cholamandalam (land of Cholas) plain, which extends from Chennai to Kanyakumari. It is formed by the rivers that flow towards east drain in the Bay of Bengal. It is more than 80 kilometres wide at some places. Though it is an emerged coast, some parts are submerged into the sea. The sand dunes formed along the coast of Ramanathapuram and Thoothukudi districts are called Teri. Coral rocks are found at the head of Gulf of Mannar in the east coastal plain.

Beaches:

    The Coromandel Coast along the Bay of Bengal consists of many beautiful and exotic beaches. The golden sands of Tamil Nadu beaches are scattered with palm and casuarinas groves. 

     

    Marina and Elliot beaches of Chennai, Kovalam beach in Kanchipuram and Silver beach in Cuddalore are some of the famous beaches in Tamil Nadu.

Drainages in TN

    Rivers of Tamil Nadu are its lifeline. Though it has many rivers, the rivers of Cauvery, Palar, Ponnaiyar, Vaigai and Thamirabarani are the notable ones. Most of the rivers of Tamil Nadu originate from Western Ghats and flow towards east and drain into the Bay of Bengal. All the rivers of the state are non-perennial except Thamirabarani. It is perennial as it is fed by both the southwest and northeast monsoons.

Cauvery:

    The river Cauvery originates at Talacauvery in the Brahmagiri hills of Kodagu(coorg) district of Karnataka in the Western Ghats. 

    Total length of Cauvery river is 805 km. About 416 km of its course falls in Tamil Nadu. 

    It serves as the boundary between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu for a distance of 64 km. It forms Hogenakkal waterfalls in Dharmapuri district. 

    Mettur Dam, also called as the Stanley Reservoir, is located across this river in Salem district. A tributary called Bhavani joins Cauvery on the right bank about 45 km from the Mettur Reservoir.                 Thereafter, it takes easterly course to enter into the plains of Tamil Nadu. Two more tributaries, Noyyal and Amaravathi, confluence the river on the right bank at Thirumukkudal 10  km from Karur. The river is wider in this region, where it is called as ‘Agandra Cauvery’. 

    In Tiruchirappalli district, the river branches into two parts. The northern branch is called Coleroon or Kollidam and the southern branch remains Cauvery. From here, the Cauvery delta begins. After flowing for about 16 km, the two branches join again to form the ‘Srirangam Island’. The Grand Anaicut, also called as Kallanai was built across the river Cauvery. After Kallanai, the river breaks into a large number of distributaries and forms a network all over the delta. The network of distributaries within the delta of Cauvery in the coast is called as the ‘Garden of Southern India’. 

Palar:

    The Palar river rises beyond Talagavara village in the Kolar district of Karnataka. 

    The Palar drains an area of 17,871 sq.km, out of which nearly 57% lies in Tamil Nadu and the rest in the states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. 

    Ponnai, Goundinya Nadhi, Malattar, Cheyyar and Kiliyar are its major tributaries. 

    Its total length is 348 km, out of which 222 km of its course falls in Tamil Nadu. 

    It flows through the districts of Vellore and Kancheepuram before entering into Bay of Bengal near Kuvattur.

Then Pennaiyar/Then Ponnaiyar:

    It originates from the eastern slope of Nandi Durga hills in eastern Karnataka.     

    It drains an area of 16,019 sq.km, of which nearly 77% lies in Tamil Nadu. It flows for a distance of 247 km in the southeasterly direction in the districts of Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Cuddalore and Villupuram. 

    It branches into two, viz. Gadilam and the Ponnaiyar near Tirukoilur Anaicut. Gadilam joins the Bay of Bengal near Cuddalore and Ponnaiyar near the Union Territory of Puducherry. 

    Chinnar, Markandanadhi, Vaniar and Pambar are its tributaries. Heavy rain at the river’s source cause sudden but short-lived floods. The river is extensively dammed for irrigation, especially in Tamil Nadu. There are reservoirs at Krishnagiri and Sathanur across this river. 

Vaigai:

    Vaigai river rises from the eastern slopes of the Varusanadu hills of Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu. It drains an area of 7,741 sq.km, which lies entirely in the state of Tamil Nadu. 

    It flows through the districts of Madurai, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram. Its length is 258  km.     

    It discharges its water into the Ramnad Big Tank and some other small tanks. 

    The surplus water from the tanks is finally discharged into Palk Strait near Ramanathapuram.

Thamirabarani:

    The name is interpreted as Thamiram (copper) and Varuni (streams of river). The water of this river gives a copper like appearance due to the presence of dissolved suspended red soil. 

    It originates from a peak in Pothigai hills on the Western Ghats above Papanasam in the Ambasamudram taluk. 

    It courses through the districts of Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi and finally flow into the Bay of Bangal near Punnaikayal in Thoothukudi district. 

    Karaiyar, Servalar, Manimuthar, Gadananathi, Pachaiyar, Chittar and Ramanathi are its main tributaries. It is the only perennial river in South India.

Major Waterfalls in TAMILNADU:

Major Islands of TAMILNADU:

    Pamban, Hare, Krusadai, Nallathanni Theevu, Pullivasal, Srirangam, Upputanni, Island Grounds, Kattupalli Island, Quibble Island and Vivekananda Rock Memorial are some major islands of Tamil Nadu

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