Mrunal [EnB] Western Ghats: Physical Geography, Biodiversity Overvi...

http://mrunal.org/2013/02/enb-western-ghats-physical-geography-biodiver...

[EnB] Western Ghats: Physical Geography, Biodiversity Overview (Part 1 of 4) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Introduction What is Western Ghats? Administrative Regions Western vs Eastern Ghats Western Ghat: Forest Western Ghats: Rivers 1. West Flowing Rivers 2. East Flowing rivers 7. Western Ghats- Other Names 8. Agriculture 9. Western Ghats: Biodiversity

Introduction
[EnB]=environment and biodiversity. Western Ghats has been in news because of Gadgil controversy.The whole topic is made up of four sub-articles. 1. Western Ghats: Basic geography 2. Threats to biodiversity of Western Ghats 3. Gadgil report and recommendations 4. Controversies related to Gadgil report on Western Ghats. Discussed here in this article itself. Click me Click me

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What is Western Ghats?

Entire tract of hills from the Tapi to Kanyakumari. Length =approx. 1500km Area= approx. 1.6 lakh sq.kms About 30% of the area of the Western Ghats Region is under forests.
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SIX States 1. Gujarat (portions of Dang Forests). 2. Maharashtra 3. Karnataka 4. Goa 5. Kerala 6. Tamilnadu

Three (important) Passes

1. Thalghat 2. Bhorghat 3. Palghat

Administrative Regions
(no need to mugup table, but if youre from any of these districts, be more prepared for profile based interview questions on Western Ghats). Gujarat The Dangs Navsari Valsad Maharashtra Ahmednagar Kolhapur Nandurbar Nashik Pune Raigarh Ratnagiri Satara Sindhudurg Thane Karnataka Belgaum Chamrajnagar Chikmagalur Dakshin Kannad Davanagere Hassan Kodagu Mysore Shimoga Udupi Uttar Kannada Kerala TN

Idukki Coimbatore Kannur Dindugal Kasaragod Erode Kollam Kanyakumari Kottayam Nilgiris Kozhikode Tirunelveli Malappuram Tiruppur Palakkad Theni Pattanamtitta Virudunagar Thiruvananthapuram Thrissur Wayanad

+ UT- Diu Daman (Silvassa region)

Western vs Eastern Ghats

Western Almost Continuous hills avg. height : 1500 to 2000 m Highest peak: Anai Mudi (Kerala) Fast flowing rivers, donot form delta Eastern Discontinuous hills (thanks to River deltas) lower: 500-700 m Arma Konda (Andhra) Long broad rivers, form delta.

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Narmada-Tapi Flow into Arabian sea.

Krishna, Kaveri, Godawai (these origin from Western Ghats though) and Mahanadi Into Bay of Bengal.

Land between Western and Eastern Ghats=Deccan plateau. Nilgiri hills connect Western and Eastern Ghats.

Western Ghat: Forest

Western Slope Rainfall: 200cm Tropical Evergreen+ Semi Evergreen. Eastern Slope 70-200cm Moist Deciduous (also known as Monsoon forest)

There is no definite time for trees to shade leaves. Trees shed leaves during dry season. Hence the jungle appears green throughout the year. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Rosewood, Mahogony Ebony Aini Cedar Hollywood ock Kail 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Teak Sal Shisham Mahua Sandalwood Mahua

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.

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West Flowing Rivers

Narmada Tapi Origin (both MP)Amarkantak hillsSatpura 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)

East Flowing rivers

They drain into Bay of Bengal. Godavari Nasik, Mah. 1500 Mah, MP, Odi, AP* Dakshin Ganga/Vridha Ganga Krishna Mahabaleshwar 1400 Mah, Karn, AP Kaveri Brahmagiri Range 750 Karn, Ker, TN Ganga of South Sivasamudram water falls. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Tungabhadra Koyana Ghatprabha Musi Bhima 1. 2. 3. 4. Amravati, Bhavani, Hemavati Kabini.

Origin Length (km) Water Basin covers Other names Misc.notes

Tributaries

1. Manjra 2. Wainganga 3. Penganga

Type of Delta?

Lobate

Arcuate

Quadrilateral

*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.

Western Ghats- Other names

1. Maharashtra Sahyadri

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2. Karnataka

Nilgiri hills

3. Tamil Nadu Same as above 4. Kerala Anaimalai + Cardamom hills.

Geologically, the Western Ghats is subdivided into three parts 1. Surat to Goa 2. Goa to Nilgiris 3. South of Palghat Gap

Agro
Agriculture in Western Ghats Region Valleys Cultivation of Paddy Earlier slash and burn type agriculture. Nowadays Terrace farming. Millets and legumes. arecanut

Hill slops

Coastal areas Plantation crops

coconut, mango, jackfruit

Introduced by Europeans in Western GhatsNative to Western Ghats 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Tea Coffee Rubber Tapioca Potato Forest produce Pepper, Cardamom,Honey,Wax, Myrobalan (Small Fruit), Bamboos + Reeds = For Basket Weaving
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1. Pepper 2. Cardamom

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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

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1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

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, well see the threats to this rich biodiversity of Western Ghats. Click ME

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2013/02/enb-western-ghats-physical-geographybiodiversity-overview-part-1-of-4.html

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