Geography of Kerala

Kerala’s 38,863 km² (1.18% of India’s landmass) are wedged between the Arabian Sea to the west and the Western Ghats - identified as one of the world’s twenty-five biodiversity hotspots[6] - to the east. Situated between north latitudes 8°18′ and 12°48′ and east longitudes 74°52′ and 72°22′, Kerala lies well within the humid tropics, near the equator. Kerala’s coast runs some 580 km in length, while the state itself varies between 35-120 km in width. Geographically, Kerala roughly divides into three climatically distinct regions.

These include the eastern highlands (rugged and cool mountainous terrain), the central midlands (rolling hills), and the western lowlands (coastal plains). Located at the extreme southern tip of the Indian subcontinent, Kerala lies near the center of the Indian tectonic plate; as such most of the state (notwithstanding isolated regions) is subject to comparatively little seismic or volcanic activity.[8] Geologically, pre-Cambrian and Pleistocene formations comprise the bulk of Kerala’s terrain.

Eastern Kerala lies immediately west of the Western Ghats’s rain shadow; it consists of high mountains, gorges, and deep-cut valleys. Forty-one of Kerala’s west-flowing rivers - as well as three of its east-flowing ones - originate in this region. Here, the Western Ghats form a wall of mountains interrupted only near Palakkad; here, a pass known as the Palakkad Gap breaks through to access the rest of India. The Western Ghats rises on average to 1,500 m elevation above sea level, while the highest peaks may reach to 2,500 m. Just west of the mountains lie the midland plains, comprising a swathe of land running along central Kerala.

Here, rolling hills and valleys dominate. Generally ranging between elevations of 250-1,000 m, the eastern portions of the Nilgiri and Palni Hills include such formations as Agastyamalai and Anamalai. Kerala’s western coastal belt is relatively flat, and is crisscrossed by a network of interconnected brackish canals, lakes, estuaries, and rivers known as the Kerala Backwaters. Lake Vembanad - Kerala’s largest body of water - dominates the Backwaters; it lies between Alappuzha and Kochi and is over 200 km² in area.