Kerala Map

Geography Of kerala.

Kerala is located on the Malabar Coast, in the southwest of India. It shares its borders with Tamil Nadu to the east and Karnataka to northeast. There is the Arabian Sea to the west and the Indian Ocean to its south. It is bounded by the Western Ghats in the east. Total area of Kerala is about 38,863 square kilometers. It is situated within the humid equatorial tropics. Kerala's coast is about 580km in length. The state comprises of 14 districts. Geography of Kerala is characterized by three climatically distinct regions. They are the eastern highlands having cool and rugged mountainous terrain, the western lowlands, which includes coastal plains, and the central midlands consisting of rolling hills.
 

The major features of the geography of Kerala are the golden seashores, zigzag rocky terrain of the Western Ghats, abundant coconut trees, the beautiful rivers and gushing cascades, along with straggling plantations and paddy fields and fascinating flora and fauna. Of course, without the mention of languid backwaters, no account of the geography of Kerala can be complete.
 

Climate

The coastal state of Kerala is known as the tropical paradise of India. This wonderful land with stunning beauty has a humid tropical climate, offering a pleasant atmosphere throughout the year. The climate is humid and hot during April to June, which is the period through which summer extends itself. During this period, the temperature reaches up to 33 degree centigrade. The southwest monsoon starts from June and continues till September. Kerala gets most of its rains from seasonal monsoons. The temperature drops with the arrival of winter. The winter lasts from November to January/February and is a pleasant time in Kerala. The mildly cold and pleasant weather can be experienced at its best in December and January.
 

Rivers, Lakes and Backwaters

Kerala is known as the land of water bodies due to its numerous waterfalls and backwaters. There are 34 lakes with sparkling, emerald waters, and 49 rivers with several tributaries. Out of them, 46 rivers flow to the west and remaining three rivers flow to the east. They originate in the Western Ghats and flow towards the west, into the Arabian Sea. Several lakes form excellent destinations for the backwater tours in Kerala. Some of the popular lakes are Vembanad Lake, Pookot Lake, Ashtamudi Lake, Sasthamkotta Lake and Akkulam Lake.
 

Soil and Vegetation

Kerala has diverse types of soils such as sandy, loamy, red, black, ferruginous and peat soil. The forested region is spread across an area of 9,400 square kilometers. The natural vegetation includes about 3,872 flowering plants, out of which 900 plants are of great medicinal value. The major crops in Kerala are pepper, cassava, paddy, cashew and coconut and the cash crops like coffee and tea, vanilla, spices, cashew nut and nutmeg and the plantation crops like rubber also dominate the agricultural produce of Kerala.