Geography and Climate of Kerala
Kerala has a 590 kilometer long coastline. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats. The climate of Kerala is generally a humid equatorial tropical climate. Geographically Kerala is divided into three distinct climatic regions. These regions are the eastern highlands with their cool and rugged mountainous air, the central midlands with its rolling hills and the coastal plains which are otherwise known as the western lowlands.
The eastern regions of the state are full of mountains, forests, deep valleys and gorges. The Western Ghats form an unbreakable wall in this region. These mountains are at an average height of 4920 feet above mean sea level. To the west of the mountainous regions lie the central midlands and its gently undulating hills. The relatively flat coastal lands are the fertile agricultural lands of Kerala, crisscrossed by the various lakes, rivers and streams that form the great backwaters the state is famous for. The Rivers Bharathapuzha, Periyar and Pampa are the three longest and most important rivers of Kerala.
Many of the rivers of Kerala though small and rain fed, play a great role in the irrigation of the fields. However most of the rivers of Kerala do not have deltas and so are prone to various natural calamities like floods and droughts, landslides, and even lightning which could sometimes prove to be fatal.
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