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|
Area
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:130058 sq.km |
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Capital |
:Chennai |
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Language |
:Tamil |
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Districts |
:29 |
Population
Males
Females |
:55,858,946
:28,217,947
:27,420,371
|
|
Literacy
|
:63.72% |
Tamil Nadu is situated on the south eastern side of the Indian peninsula. It is
bounded on the east by Bay of Bengal, in the south by the Indian ocean,
in the
west by the states of Kerala and Karnataka and in the North by the
Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
The land mass of the state can be divided into two natural divisions,
(1) The Eastern coastal plain
(2) The hilly region along the North and the West
Along the whole length of the western part, the sea varying at a distance from,
80 to 160 km runs the range of the western Ghats, a steep and rugged
mass averaging 1220 metres above the sea level and rising to 2440 metres at the
highest point. The Palghat Gap about 25 km in width is the only marked
break in the great mountain wall. To the south of this gap, the range is known
as Anamalai (Elephant Hills)
On the east are the Palani Hills on which the famous hill
station Kodaikanal is situated. The slopes of the western Ghats
are covered with heavy ever green forests. The Nilgiris and
the Anamalai are the hill groups with the maximum height. In the famous
Ootacamund area of the Nilgiris district, is the highest peak Doddabetta, 2640 metres above the sea level. Ootacamund is known as the 'Queen of
hill stations' in India. Almost every district has a hill-station or a
sea-side resort.
RIVERS
The rivers of the state flow eastward from the western ghats and are entirely rain-fed. The perennial river fed by both
the monsoons is the Cauvery which flows
across Tamil Nadu cutting the state in to two halves. The perennial
rivers are :- Palar, Cheyyar, Ponnaiyar Kaveri, Meyar, Bhavan,
Amaravati, Vaigai, Chittar and Tamaraparni. The non-perennial rivers are
the Vellur, Noyal, Suruli, Gundar, Vaipar, Valparai and Varshali.
The 760 km long Cauveri is the largest river of the state.
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