Western Ghats
The Western Ghats or Sahyadri mountains run along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separate the plateau from a narrow coastal strip along the Arabian Sea. The range starts from the river valley of the river Tapi near the Gujarat border, and then runs through the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, almost to the southern tip of peninsular India. The average elevation is around 900 meters, with the highest point at Anai Mudi at 2695 meters height. Distinctive features include the Nilgiri Hills (Tamil Nadu), and the only major gap in the range, the Palghat Gap, which joins Tamil Nadu to Kerala. The Western Ghats also join the Eastern Ghats in a series of low hill ranges including the Shevaroys and Biligirirangans meeting the Tirumala range. The Shevaroys or Servarayan range with Yercaud as the main town rises above the city of Salem in Tamilnadu. The Biligirirangan hills form another range in the east of Mysore.
The largest city within the mountains is the city of Pune, in Maharashtra, on the eastern edge of the range.
The mountains intercept the rainbearing monsoon winds, and form an important watershed for peninsular India. It is believed that the tree cover has also contributed to the precipitation of the area by acting as a substrate for condensation of moist rising (orographic) winds from the sea. They are well forested; in the south they contain the only 'rain-forests' of southern India. These forests are increasingly threatened, and are the home of some very interesting fauna and flora, many of them showing affinities to South-East Asia.
Many of these faunal and floral elements are not found anywhere else in the Indian region except in parts of the North East of India. Several national parks lie within the range. The Western Ghats are also home to many endemic species and the endemism is especially high in the amphibian and reptilian fauna. The snake family Uropeltidae is almost entirely restricted to and diversified in this region of the world. The frog Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis was discovered in 2003 as being a living fossil.
The area is hilly in certain parts with numerous streams, waterfalls and the forests help to nourish many perennial rivers in South India including the Godavari River, Krishna River, and Kaveri River. Many of these rivers and streams are threatened by pollution from mining, coffee pulp effluents and human activity.
Referenced By
Cauvery River | Coorg | Deccan | Karnataka | Kasargod | Kaveri River | Kerala | Keralam | Keralite | Kodagu | Krishna River | List of mountain ranges | Nasikabatrachidae | Nasikabatrachus | Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis | River Krishna
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