- What is Western Ghats?
- Administrative Regions
- Western vs Eastern Ghats
- Western Ghat: Forest
- Western Ghats: Rivers
- Western Ghats- Other Names
- Agriculture
- Western Ghats: Biodiversity
Western Ghats has been in news because of Gadgil Committee report controversy.
What is Western Ghats?
- Entire tract of hills from the Tapi to Kanyakumari is called Western Ghats.
- Length =approx. 1500km and Area= approx. 1.6 lakh sq.kms
- About 30% of the area of the Western Ghats Region is under forests.
SIX States | Three (important) Passes |
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Administrative Regions
(no need to mugup table, but if you’re from any of these districts, be more prepared for “profile based” interview questions on Western Ghats).
Gujarat | Maharashtra | Karnataka | Kerala | TN |
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The Dangs | Ahmednagar | Belgaum | Idukki | Coimbatore |
Navsari | Kolhapur | Chamrajnagar | Kannur | Dindugal |
Valsad | Nandurbar | Chikmagalur | Kasaragod | Erode |
Nashik | Dakshin Kannad | Kollam | Kanyakumari | |
Pune | Davanagere | Kottayam | Nilgiris | |
Raigarh | Hassan | Kozhikode | Tirunelveli | |
Ratnagiri | Kodagu | Malappuram | Tiruppur | |
Satara | Mysore | Palakkad | Theni | |
Sindhudurg | Shimoga | Pattanamtitta | Virudunagar | |
Thane | Udupi | Thiruvananthapuram | ||
Uttar Kannada | Thrissur | |||
Wayanad |
+ UT- Diu Daman (Silvassa region)
Western vs Eastern Ghats
Western | Eastern |
---|---|
Almost Continuous hills | Discontinuous hills (thanks to River deltas) |
avg. height : 1500 to 2000 m | lower: 500-700 m |
Highest peak: Anai Mudi (Kerala) | Dewodi Munda (Odisha) (as per Majid Hussein). Update: Highest peak in Eastern ghat is Jindhagada peak Andhra- it is few meters taller than Dewodi Munda. |
Fast flowing rivers, donot form delta | Long broad rivers, form delta. |
Narmada-Tapi | Krishna, Kaveri, Godawai (these origin from Western Ghats though) and Mahanadi |
Flow into Arabian sea. | Into Bay of Bengal. |
- Land between Western and Eastern Ghats=Deccan plateau.
- Nilgiri hills connect Western and Eastern Ghats.
Western Ghat: Forest
Western Slope | Eastern Slope |
Rainfall: 200cm | 70-200cm |
Tropical Evergreen+ Semi Evergreen. | Moist Deciduous (also known as Monsoon forest) |
There is no definite time for trees to shade leaves. Hence the jungle appears green throughout the year. |
Trees shed leaves during dry season. |
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Western Ghats: Rivers
- Three main rivers of South India= Krishna, Godavari and Kaveri. They originate from Western Ghats.
- Traditionally these water resources were used to irrigate the valleys for paddy and arecanut cultivation.
- But later, construction of major river valley projects =irrigation + power generation.
- The steep slopes to the western Ghats = ideal for constructing dams and hydel power generation.
- In recent years construction of resorts and hill stations started around lakes and rivers. E.g. Amba Valley, Lavasa.
- Rivers flowing from the Western Ghats drain almost 40% of land in India.
- Roughly 250 million people depend on these rivers .
- From Western Ghats, rivers originate and flow in both directions: West and East.
Narmada | Tapi | |
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Origin (both MP) | Amarkantak hills | Satpura Ranges. |
Length | Longer | Shorter |
States covered | Guj, MP | Guj, MP, Mah. |
Other names | Reva | Handmaid of Narmada. |
- Coastal plains between Western Ghats and the Arabian sea are very narrow. Hence, these coastal rivers are short (compared to East flowing rivers)
- *NCERT Class 9 Geography: Chapter 3 page 21.
- Every once in a while, UPSC has a nasty habit of asking MCQ question from “delta-type” (Lobate, Arculate etc.) so do mug it up hahaha.
- Mahanadi also drains in Bay of Bengal but it comes from Chattisgarh=not part of Western Ghats.
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Sahyadri |
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Nilgiri hills |
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Same as above |
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Anaimalai + Cardamom hills. |
Geologically, the Western Ghats is subdivided into three parts
- Surat to Goa
- Goa to Nilgiris
- South of Palghat Gap
Plantation crops
Introduced by Europeans in Western Ghats | Native to Western Ghats |
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Forest produce
- Pepper, Cardamom,Honey,Wax, Myrobalan (Small Fruit),
- Bamboos + Reeds = For Basket Weaving
- 1980 onwards = explosion of forest-based industries such as paper, plywood, polyfibres, matchwood, tanning etc.
Western Ghats: Biodiversity
- The Western Ghats is one of the Biodiversity hotspots of the country.
- The wild relatives pepper, cardamom, mango, jackfruit and plantain=found here.
- Thousands of endemic* species of flowering plants, insects, trees, fishes, butterflies, dragonflies, mollusks (land snails) present.
*What is Endemic Species?
- Any species which is exclusively confined to a particular geographical area and it is found nowhere else in the world.
Nasikabactrachus sahyadrensis
- Recently discovered frog species in Western Ghats.
- It proves that Western Ghat was once part of ancient Gondwana region.
Western Ghat: Notable wildlife
- Tiger
- Elephant
- The Indian Bison
- Lion-Tailed Macaque
- Wynad Laughing Thrush (Songbirds)
- Travancore Tortoise
- Uropeltid Snakes
- Several Species Of Legless Amphibians.
In the next article, we’ll see the threats to this rich biodiversity of Western Ghats.
Indravati is also a tributary of godavari.
Deltas:-
Kaveri–Last word:i(for all sub)–>quadrilateral
Godaveri–Last words ga/ra(for subs)–>lobate
Krishna–all other–>Arcuate
UPDATE:Highest peak in EG is JINDHAGADA(Andhra).
India’s largest boundary is with Bangladesh… 1496 km.
[Length of western Ghat is 1500 km.]
just adding to help in remembering both…
sir please gave the information about all biosphere reserves of india
Amravati is not a tributary of kaveri. Its of Tapi.
i think u meant Akrawati…
Which is the Highest peak in Eastern Ghats? pls clarify
As given above is : Dewodi Munda (Odisha) (as per Majid Hussein). Update: Highest peak in Eastern ghat is Jindhagada peak Andhra- it is few meters taller than Dewodi Munda.
In Wikipedia : Arma Konda (1680 m)
In NCERT class 9 ch 2 Mahendragiri 1501M
Which is Highest peak in Eastern Ghats? pls clarify
In Ncert class 9 ch 2 Mahendragiri 1501M given under topic Peninsular Plateau
Sir i have downloaded study material of ecology of IGNOU but it not supports in mobile so plz tell what should i do for that any suggestion for mobile App..
Sir! You are such a gem of a person..you have my blessings,my duaein…keep up the good work beautiful mind..:))))