1.
Kollam District
–
Kollam district is one of 14 districts of the state of Kerala, India. The district has a cross-section of Keralas natural attributes, it is endowed with a coastline, a major Arabian Sea seaport. The district has many source of waterbodies, Kallada river is one among it and the east side land of river is EastKallada and the west side land is WestKallada. Kallada Boat race is one among the festival events of district. Even though it is a competition between two sides of river many boat clubs from various places even beyond the district use to participate in the event. Kollam is the capital of Keralas cashew industry, plains, mountains, lakes, lagoons and backwaters, forests, farmland and rivers make up the topography of the district. The area had trading relationships with Phoenicia and Ancient Rome and it covers 2,492 square kilometres, is the seventh-largest district in Kerala and is densely populated. It has the shortest coastal line among districts in Kerala, five major urban centres are, Kollam, Paravur, Punalur, Karunagapally, and Kottarakara. Sasthamkotta Lake, the largest freshwater lake in Kerala, is located in Kollam, two major rivers drain the district. Ashtamudi Lake and Paravur Lake are two important lakes in the district, Ashtamudi Lake covers 30 percent of total area of the district. Kollam is located on Ashtamudi Lake, Neendakara, a major fishing port in southern Kerala, is also located on this scenic lake. Edava and Nadayara Lakes are also located in Kollam district. The place is popular as Thangasseri. The lighthouse built at Quilon by the British in the year 1902 is visible as far as 13 miles in the sea, the lighthouse stands to an amazing height of 144 feet. The picturesque view of the sea from the place where the stands is breathtaking. In the vicinity lies the Portuguese Fort, the fort was built in the year 1517 and at present only a wall of the fort has escaped the assaults made by Time. Kollams temperature is almost steady throughout the year, the average temperature ranges from 25 to 32 degrees Celsius. Summer usually runs from March until May, the monsoon begins by June, Kollam receives an annual average rainfall of around 2,700 millimetres
Kollam District
–
From top:
Paravur estuary, Light house and clock tower in
Kollam city, 13 Ring bridge of
Thenmala, Check dam across Kallada river
Kollam District
–
Kollam District കൊല്ലം ജില്ല Quilon District
Kollam District
–
Lighthouse, Thangasseri, Kollam
Kollam District
–
Paravur estuary: Scenic beauty of backwaters and beaches
2.
Kerala
–
Kerala historically known as Keralam, is an Indian state in South India on the Malabar Coast. It was formed on 1 November 1956 following the States Reorganisation Act by combining Malayalam-speaking regions, spread over 38,863 km2, it is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Lakshadweep Sea to the west. With 33,387,677 inhabitants as per the 2011 Census, Malayalam is the most widely spoken language and is also the official language of the state. The region has been a prominent spice exporter since 3000 BCE, the Chera Dynasty was the first prominent kingdom based in Kerala, though it frequently struggled against attacks by the neighbouring Cholas and Pandyas. In the 15th century, the spice trade attracted Portuguese traders to Kerala, after independence, Travancore and Cochin joined the Republic of India and Travancore-Cochin was given the status of a state in 1949. In 1956, Kerala state was formed by merging Malabar district, Travancore-Cochin, Hinduism is practised by more than half of the population, followed by Islam and Christianity. The culture is a synthesis of Aryan and Dravidian cultures, developed over millennia, under influences from other parts of India, the production of pepper and natural rubber contributes significantly to the total national output. In the agricultural sector, coconut, tea, coffee, cashew, the states coastline extends for 595 kilometres, and around 1.1 million people in the state are dependent on the fishery industry which contributes 3% to the states income. The state has the highest media exposure in India with newspapers publishing in nine languages, mainly English, Kerala is one of the prominent tourist destinations of India, with backwaters, beaches, Ayurvedic tourism and tropical greenery as its major attractions. The name Kerala has an uncertain etymology, One popular theory derives Kerala from Kera and alam is land, thus land of coconuts, this also happens to be a nickname for the state due to abundance of coconut trees and its use by the locals. The word Kerala is first recorded in a 3rd-century BCE rock inscription left by the Maurya emperor Ashoka, the inscription refers to the local ruler as Keralaputra, or son of Chera. This contradicts the theory that Kera is from coconut tree, at that time, one of three states in the region was called Cheralam in Classical Tamil, Chera and Kera are variants of the same word. The word Cheral refers to the oldest known dynasty of Kerala kings and is derived from the Proto-Tamil-Malayalam word for lake, the earliest Sanskrit text to mention Kerala is the Aitareya Aranyaka of the Rigveda. It is also mentioned in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the two Hindu epics, the Skanda Purana mentions the ecclesiastical office of the Thachudaya Kaimal who is referred to as Manikkam Keralar, synonymous with the deity of the Koodalmanikyam temple. Keralam may stem from the Classical Tamil cherive-alam or chera alam, the Greco-Roman trade map Periplus Maris Erythraei refers to Keralaputra as Celobotra. According to Hindu mythology, the lands of Kerala were recovered from the sea by the warrior sage Parasurama. Parasurama threw his axe across the sea, and the water receded as far as it reached, according to legend, this new area of land extended from Gokarna to Kanyakumari. The land which rose from sea was filled with salt and unsuitable for habitation, so Parasurama invoked the Snake King Vasuki, out of respect, Vasuki and all snakes were appointed as protectors and guardians of the land
Kerala
–
A houseboat near
Alappuzha, Kerala
Kerala
–
Parasurama, surrounded by settlers, commanding
Varuna (the
Hindu God of water) to part the seas and reveal Kerala.
Kerala
–
A
dolmen erected by Neolithic people in
Marayur
Kerala
–
Silk Road map. The spice trade was mainly along the water routes (blue).
3.
Geographic coordinate system
–
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
–
Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
4.
Inflow (hydrology)
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In hydrology, the inflow of a body of water is the source of the water in the body of water. It can also refer to the volume of incoming water in unit time. All bodies of water have multiple inflows, but often, one inflow may predominate, however, in many cases, no single inflow will predominate and there will be multiple primary inflows. For a lake, the inflow may be a river or stream that flows into the lake. Inflow may also be, strictly speaking, not flows, but rather precipitation, inflow can also be used to refer to groundwater recharge. The dictionary definition of inflow at Wiktionary
Inflow (hydrology)
–
Torrente Pescone, one of the inflows of
lake Orta (
Italy).
5.
Kallada River
–
The Kallada River is one of two major rivers that flow through the Kollam District of Kerala, India. This River is formed by three Rivers, viz. Kulathupuzha, Chendurni and Kalthuruthy which join near Parappar in Thenmala by the side of the Trivandrum-Shencottah road and it travels for 121 km, flowing through Punalur, Pathanapuram, Kunnathur and Kallada before ending at Ashtamudi Lake. The Palaruvi Falls also feeds Kallada river, the Chalikkari Aar also joins Kallada a little downstream. These two rivers flows westward and falls into the Ashtamudi Lake, for a good part of its initial course, the river flows in parallel with the Kollam - Shenkottai commercial highway. At Punalur, a bridge was constructed across this by the Travancore Maharaja in British Style. This is still preserved as an archeological marvel. The end point of river is the Ashtamudi Kayal. The river bed is rocky and it is difficult to swim. There are huge rocks, deep pits and other obstructions in the river, in modern times, the Thenmala dam is built on this river. This is an irrigation dam mainly aimed at providing water to the regions throughout the year. Kallada Boat Race is one of the most famous boat races held in South Kerala, the boat race is an annual event which happens 28 days after Onam. Almost all the snake boats take part in this event. This boat race is held on the Muthiraparambu-Karuvathrakadavu course of the Kallada River and this year it will be conducted on the 23rd of September. Kallada river has a place in history along with major rivers. It is believed that Paleolithic people lived around this river in the Thenmala region and this was around 10,000 years ago. Untouched by the onslaught of administrative modernization, there are areas in both villages. Uppoodu, ullurup are a few to name, the virtues of the word called kinship, define itself here better than anywhere else. Hence this Mill was closed in 1987, the project was planned to irrigate net cultivable command area of 61630 Ha. During the course of execution few canals including Kayamkulam Branch canal were dropped, head works is completed during 1986
Kallada River
–
Kallada River
6.
Drainage basin
–
A drainage basin or catchment area is any area of land where precipitation collects and drains off into a common outlet, such as into a river, bay, or other body of water. Drainage basins connect into other drainage basins at elevations in a hierarchical pattern, with smaller sub-drainage basins. Other terms used to describe drainage basins are catchment, catchment basin, drainage area, river basin and water basin. In closed drainage basins the water converges to a point inside the basin, known as a sink, which may be a permanent lake. The drainage basin acts as a funnel by collecting all the water within the covered by the basin. Each drainage basin is separated topographically from adjacent basins by a perimeter, drainage basins are similar but not identical to hydrologic units, which are drainage areas delineated so as to nest into a multi-level hierarchical drainage system. Hydrologic units are defined to allow multiple inlets, outlets, or sinks, in a strict sense, all drainage basins are hydrologic units but not all hydrologic units are drainage basins. Drainage basins of the oceans and seas of the world. Grey areas are endorheic basins that do not drain to the oceans, the following is a list of the major ocean basins, About 48. 7% of the worlds land drains to the Atlantic Ocean. The two major mediterranean seas of the world also flow to the Atlantic, The Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico basin includes most of the U. S. The Mediterranean Sea basin includes much of North Africa, east-central Africa, Southern, Central, and Eastern Europe, Turkey, and the areas of Israel, Lebanon. Just over 13% of the land in the world drains to the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Oceans drainage basin also comprises about 13% of Earths land. It drains the eastern coast of Africa, the coasts of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, the Indian subcontinent, Burma, antarctica comprises approximately eight percent of the Earths land. The five largest river basins, from largest to smallest, are the basins of the Amazon, the Río de la Plata, the Congo, the Nile, and the Mississippi. The three rivers that drain the most water, from most to least, are the Amazon, Ganga, endorheic drainage basins are inland basins that do not drain to an ocean. Around 18% of all land drains to endorheic lakes or seas or sinks, the largest of these consists of much of the interior of Asia, which drains into the Caspian Sea, the Aral Sea, and numerous smaller lakes. Some of these, such as the Great Basin, are not single drainage basins but collections of separate, in endorheic bodies of standing water where evaporation is the primary means of water loss, the water is typically more saline than the oceans. An extreme example of this is the Dead Sea, drainage basins have been historically important for determining territorial boundaries, particularly in regions where trade by water has been important
Drainage basin
–
Animation of
Latoriţa River drainage basin,
Romania
Drainage basin
–
Example of a drainage basin. The dashed line is the main water divide of the hydrographic basin.
Drainage basin
–
Endorheic basin in
Central Asia
Drainage basin
–
The
Mississippi River drains the largest area of any
U.S. river, much of it
agricultural regions. Agricultural runoff and other water pollution that flows to the outlet is the cause of the
hypoxic, or dead zone in the
Gulf of Mexico.
7.
Munroe Island
–
Munroe Island or Mundrothuruthu is located at the confluence of Ashtamudi Lake and the Kallada River, in Kollam district, Kerala, South India. As of the 2011 Indian census, the village of Mundrothuruth has a total population of 9599. The place is named in honour of Resident Colonel John Munro of the former Princely State of Travancore, the island measures 13.4 square kilometres in area. In 1795 the British established their supremacy in South India and the state of Travancore came under their governance. From 1800 onwards, a Resident was appointed by East India Company as administrative head of Travancore, the first Resident was Colonel Colin Macaulay, followed by Colonel John Munro. During his tenure Munro oversaw the reclamation efforts in the delta where Kallada River joins Ashtamudi Lake. The Dutch Church here in Munroe Island is one of the ancient churches in Kerala and it was built by the Dutch in 1878. The red brick church is a blend of Dutch-Kerala architecture on the banks of Lake Ashtamudi. The villagers depended on coconut coir manufacturing as livelihood, however, post Indian Ocean tsunami, Kallada Boat Race, which is one of the famous boat races in Kerala, is at Karuvathrakadavu- Muthiraparambu nettayam in Munroethuruth. Low-lying areas of the Island are now under a threat of Submerging in high tides, an expert team from the Thangal Kunju Musaliar College of Engineering, Kollam has started a study into the phenomena. The team headed by Prof. Gouri Antharjanam, and consisting of Prof. Suniil Kumar, Prof. Sirajudeen, R. Krishnan, Prof. Amal Azad and Prof. Udayakumar made several visits to the Island. The death of Lans Naik Sudheesh of this island in the Border area at Siachin has invoked interest of the world to the problems of this Place
Munroe Island
–
Munroe Island Mundrothuruthu, Manrothuruthu, Munroethuruth
Munroe Island
–
Uninhabited island in Munroe
Munroe Island
–
City Corporations
8.
Chavara Thekkumbhagom
–
Chavara Thekkumbhagom or or is a village in Kollam district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is thickly populated place of not less than 15000 and the number of not less than 3000. Chavara Thekkumbhagom is famous place in Kollam and it is only 8 km from Kollam Boat Jetty. Also this place is the birthplace of story teller Prof V. Sambasivan, Mahakavi Azhakathu Padmanabha Kurup, Swami Shanmugha Das, Thekkumbhagom is named as Maamala Nadu for its plenty of beauty. We can see the Chinese Net System in the lake and it is surrounded by Ashtamudi Lake, coordinates, 8°5748N 76°3343E Chavara Thekkumbhagom fully surrounded by the Ashtamudi lake, so it is an island. Traditionally Panchayath divided into four lands named Kara, named Vadakkumbhagom, Malibhagom, Thekkumbhagom, festivals and other cultural activities based on these karas. Beyond lake this place is bordered by Thevalakkara Panchayath on north, Kollam town on south, Thrikkaruva Panchayath on east, nearest and main railway station is Kollam Railway Station is considered to be one of the biggest railway stations in Kerala in terms of area after Shornur Junction. Kollam Railway Station is well-connected by regular trains with Thiruvananthapuram and some places in India. Another important nearest station is Karunagappally railway station, Chavara Thekkumbhagom is well connected to other parts of Kerala through roads. The main roads in the Panchayath meet National Highway 47 at Vettuthara Jn. in Neendakara Panchayath, Kuttivattom Jn. in Panmana Panchayath, there is no bus depot in the Panchayath. Nearest Bus Station is Kollam and Karunagappally, the first trip starts at 5.00 AM to Kayamkulam and a Fast Passenger to Thiruvananthapuram and the last trip at 9.50 PM from Karunagappally to Thekkumbhagom. Road transport is also supported by taxis and autorickshaws also called autos. The State water Transport Department operates boat services from Kollam to West Kallada, Muthirapparambu, Munroe Island, the Kollam-Muthirapparambu boat service attracts a lot of tourist attention. The main boat jetties in the Panchayath are Guhanandapuram, Pallikkodi, Tholukadavu, luxury boats, operated by Government and private owners, operate from the main boat jetty during the tourist season. The West coast canal system, which starts from Thiruvananthapuram in the south and ends at Hosdurg in the north, passes through Kollam, the Thiruvananthapuram-Shornur canal, forms a part of the Thiruvananthapuram-Hosdurg system, runs a distance of about 62 km. The other canal systems include the Paravur Kayal, Kollam canal, educational institutions in this Panchayath are Guhanandapuram H. S. S. Thekkumbhagom Some Professional and Arts colleges near Thekkumbhagom Village Baby John Memorial Govt College, MSN Institute of Management and Technology, Chavara Fathima Matha National College, Kollam S. N. Veterinary Dispensary, Nadakkavu Krishi Bhavan, Nadakkavu Market Jn, Kerala Water Authority, Nadakkavu Market Jn
Chavara Thekkumbhagom
–
Thalappoli
9.
Kollam
–
Kollam or Quilon, formerly Desinganadu, is an old seaport and city on the Laccadive Sea coast of Kerala, India. The city is on the banks Ashtamudi Lake, Kollam has had a strong commercial reputation since the days of the Phoenicians and Romans. Fed by the Chinese trade, it was mentioned by Ibn Battuta in the 14th century as one of the five Indian ports he had seen during the course of his twenty-four year travels, desinganadus rajas exchanged embassies with Chinese rulers while there was a flourishing Chinese settlement at Kollam. In the 9th Century, on his way to Canton, China, Marco Polo, the great Venetian traveller, who was in Chinese service under Kublai Khan in 1275, visited Kollam and other towns on the west coast, in his capacity as a Chinese mandarin. V. Nagam Aiya in his Travancore State Manual records that in 822 AD two East Syrian bishops Mar Sabor and Mar Proth, settled in Quilon with their followers. Two years later the Malabar Era began and Quilon became the city of the Malabar region ahead of Travancore. Kollam is a city on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake that took the title Gods Own Country without much demur. The braids of Ashtamudi Lake lie about 71 kilometres north of the state capital, the city hosts the administrative offices of Kollam district and is a prominent trading city for the state. The proportion of females to males in Kollam city is second highest among the 500 most populous cities in India, Kollam is the least polluted city in India. Four major trading centers/towns around Kollam are Kottarakara, Punalur, Paravur, There was also internal trade through the Punalur Pass connecting the ancient town to Tamil Nadu. The rail links later established to Tamil Nadu supported still stronger trade links, the factories processing marine exports and the processing and packaging of cashewnuts extended its trade across the globe. Kollam is the fourth most populous city in Kerala and the fifth largest in incorporated area and it is known for cashew processing and coir manufacturing. Ashtamudi Lake is considered the gateway to the backwaters of Kerala and is a prominent tourist destination at Kollam. The Kollam urban area includes towns such as Paravur in the south, Kundara in the east. Other important towns in the city suburbs are Eravipuram, Kottiyam, Kannanallur, Kollam appeared as Palombe in Mandevilles Travels, where he claimed it contained a Fountain of Youth. During the later stages of the rule of the Chera monarchy in Kerala, Kollam emerged as the point of trade. Kollam continues to be a business and commercial centre in the Southern Kerala. In 825 CE, the Malayalam calendar, or Kollavarsham, was created in Kollam at meetings held in the city, the present Malayalam calendar is said to have begun with the re-founding of the town, which was rebuilt after its destruction by a fire
Kollam
–
From top clockwise:
RP Mall in
Downtown Kollam,
Lighthouse in
Tangasseri,
British Residency in
Asramam,
Kollam Junction railway station and
Kollam MEMU Shed, Aerial view of
Ashtamudi Lake,
Kollam Port,
Asramam Adventure Park, Jalakeli Kendram near
Kollam Beach
Kollam
–
Kollam in the 1500s
Kollam
–
Kollam in the 1700s
10.
Ramsar Convention
–
The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands and it is named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, where the Convention was signed in 1971. The most recent COP12 was held in Punta del Este, Uruguay, cOP13 will take place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in 2018. The List of Wetlands of International Importance included 2,231 Ramsar Sites in March 2016 covering over 2.1 million square kilometres. The country with the highest number of Sites is the United Kingdom with 170, the Ramsar Sites Information Service is a searchable database which provides information on each Ramsar Site. As of 2016 there are 18 Transboundary Ramsar Sites, as of 2016 there are 15 Ramsar Regional Initiatives covering regions of the Mediterranean, Asia, Africa and South America. The Ramsar Convention works closely with six other known as International Organization Partners. The IOPs also participate regularly as observers in all meetings of the Conference of the Parties and as members of the Scientific. Conference of the Parties Conference of the Parties is the Conventions governing body consisting of all governments that have ratified the treaty and this ultimate authority reviews progress under the Convention, identifies new priorities, and sets work plans for members. The COP can also make amendments to the Convention, create expert advisory bodies, review progress reports by member nations, and collaborate with other international organizations and agreements. The Standing Committee The Standing Committee is the executive body which represents the COP between its triennial meetings, within the framework of the decisions made by the COP. The Contracting Parties that are members of the Standing Committee are elected by each meeting of the COP to serve for the three years until the next one, the Secretariat The Secretariat carries out the day-to-day coordination of the Convention’s activities. It is based at the headquarters of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature in Gland, Switzerland, the 2nd of February each year is World Wetlands Day, marking the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971. Established to raise awareness about the value of wetlands for humanity, in 2015 World Wetlands Day was celebrated in 59 countries
Ramsar Convention
–
Wetland
Ramsar Convention
–
Ramsar logo
Ramsar Convention
–
General
Ramsar Convention
–
Marine
11.
Vembanad
–
Vembanad is the longest lake in India, and the largest lake in the state of Kerala. It is also counted as one of the largest lakes in India, spanning several districts in the state of Kerala, it is known as Punnamada Lake in Kuttanad, Kochi Lake in Kochi. Several groups of islands including Vypin, Mulavukad, Vallarpadam. Kochi Port is built around the Willingdon Island, and the Vallarpadam island, the Nehru Trophy Boat Race is conducted in a portion of the lake. High levels of pollution have been noticed at certain hotspots of the Vembanad backwaters, government of India has identified the Vembanad wetland under National Wetlands Conservation Programme. The Vembanad wetland system covers an area of over 2033.02 km² thereby making it the largest wetland system in India. Of this, an area of 398.12 km² is located below the MSL, the lake is bordered by Alappuzha, Kottayam, and Ernakulam districts. It is situated at the sea level, and is separated from the Arabian Sea by a barrier island. Canals link the lake to other lakes in the north and south. The lake surrounds the islands of Pathiramanal, Perumbalam and Pallippuram, the Vembanad Lake is approximately 14 kilometres wide at its widest point. The lake is a part of Vembanad-Kol wetland system which extends from Alappuzha in the south to Azheekkode in the north, making it by far, Indias longest lake at just over 96.5 km in length. The lake is fed by 10 rivers flowing into it including the six rivers of central Kerala namely the Achenkovil, Manimala, Meenachil, Muvattupuzha, Pamba. The total area drained by the lake is 15,770 km² and its annual surface runoff of 21,900 Mm accounts for almost 30% of the total surface water resource of the state. The most popular location on the shores of the lake is the Kumarakom Tourist Village situated on the east coast of the lake, the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary is located on the northern fringes of Kumarakom village. The Vembanad Wetland system was included in the list of wetlands of international importance, as defined by the Ramsar Convention for the conservation and it is the largest of the three Ramsar Sites in the state of Kerala. Vembanad lake has been reclaimed over the course of the past century with the water spread area reducing from 290.85 km² in 1917 to 227 km² in 1971 and 213.28 km² in 1990. In the same period almost 63.62 km of water spread were reclaimed primarily for formation of polders. The lake faces a major crisis and has reduced to 37 per cent of its original area
Vembanad
–
A houseboat idling in the lake
Vembanad
–
House Boat in Vembanadu Lake
Vembanad
–
Houseboats on Vembanad
Vembanad
–
An arching coconut tree
12.
Malayalam
–
Malayalam /mʌləˈjɑːləm/ is a language spoken in India, predominantly in the state of Kerala. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and was designated as a Classical Language in India in 2013 and it was developed to the current form mainly by the influence of the poet Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan in the 16th century. Malayalam has official status in the state of Kerala and in the union territories of Lakshadweep. It belongs to the Dravidian family of languages and is spoken by some 38 million people, according to one theory, Malayalam originated from Middle Tamil in the 7th century. However, the current understanding proposes the separation of Malayalam from Proto-Dravidian in the pre-historic era, Malayalam incorporated many elements from Sanskrit through the ages. Before Malayalam came into being, Old Tamil was used in literature and courts of a region called Tamilakam, including present day Kerala state, silappatikaramit was written by Chera prince Ilango Adigal from Chunkaparra, and is considered a classic in Sangam literature. Modern Malayalam still preserves many words from the ancient Tamil vocabulary of Sangam literature, the earliest script used to write Malayalam was the Vatteluttu alphabet, and later the Kolezhuttu, which derived from it. As Malayalam began to borrow words as well as the rules of grammar from Sanskrit. This developed into the modern Malayalam script, many medieval liturgical texts were written in an admixture of Sanskrit and early Malayalam, called Manipravalam. The oldest literary work in Malayalam, distinct from the Tamil tradition, is dated from between the 9th and 11th centuries, the first travelogue in any Indian language is the Malayalam Varthamanappusthakam, written by Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar in 1785. Due to its lineage deriving from both Tamil and Sanskrit, the Malayalam script has the largest number of letters among the Indian language orthographies, the Malayalam script includes letters capable of representing almost all the sounds of all Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages. Malayalam serves as a language on the islands including the Mahl-dominated Minicoy Island. The word Malayalam originated from the Sanskrit resp, Malayalam words malai or mala, meaning hill, and elam, meaning region. Malayalam thus translates as hill region and used to refer to the land of the Chera dynasty, the language Malayalam is alternatively called Alealum, Malayalani, Malayali, Malean, Maliyad, and Mallealle. The word Malayalam originally meant only for the name of the region, Malayanma or Malayayma represented the language. With the emergence of modern Malayalam language, the name of the language started to be known by the name of the region, hence now, the word Malayanma is considered by some to represent the olden Malayalam language. The language got the name Malayalam during the mid 19th century, the origin of Malayalam, an independent offshoot of the proto-Dravidian language, has been and continues to be an engaging pursuit among comparative historical linguists. Together with Tamil, Toda, Kannada and Tulu, Malayalam belongs to the group of Dravidian languages
Malayalam
–
Cover page of Nasranikal okkekkum ariyendunna samkshepavedartham which is the first book to be printed in Malayalam in 1772.
Malayalam
–
Malayalam-speaking area
Malayalam
–
Thunchathu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan
Malayalam
–
Shakuntala writes to Dushyanta. Painting by
Raja Ravi Varma. The poetry was translated by
Kerala Varma as
Abhijnanasakuntalam
13.
Wetland
–
A wetland is a land area that is saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, such that it takes on the characteristics of a distinct ecosystem. The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from other forms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants. Wetlands play a number of roles in the environment, principally water purification, flood control, carbon sink, Wetlands are also considered the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as home to a wide range of plant and animal life. Wetlands occur naturally on every continent except Antarctica, the largest including the Amazon River basin, the West Siberian Plain, the water found in wetlands can be freshwater, brackish, or saltwater. The main wetland types include swamps, marshes, bogs, and fens, and sub-types include mangrove, carr, pocosin, the UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment determined that environmental degradation is more prominent within wetland systems than any other ecosystem on Earth. International conservation efforts are being used in conjunction with the development of rapid assessment tools to people about wetland issues. Constructed wetlands can be used to treat municipal and industrial wastewater as well as stormwater runoff and they may also play a role in water-sensitive urban design. A patch of land that develops pools of water after a storm would not be considered a wetland. Wetlands have unique characteristics, they are distinguished from other water bodies or landforms based on their water level. Specifically, wetlands are characterized as having a table that stands at or near the land surface for a long enough period each year to support aquatic plants. A more concise definition is a community composed of hydric soil, Wetlands have also been described as ecotones, providing a transition between dry land and water bodies. In environmental decision-making, there are subsets of definitions that are agreed upon to make regulatory and policy decisions. A wetland is an ecosystem that arises when inundation by water produces soils dominated by anaerobic processes, There are four main kinds of wetlands – marsh, swamp, bog and fen. Some experts also recognize wet meadows and aquatic ecosystems as additional wetland types, the largest wetlands in the world include the swamp forests of the Amazon and the peatlands of Siberia. Under the Ramsar international wetland conservation treaty, wetlands are defined as follows, Article 2.1, may incorporate riparian and coastal zones adjacent to the wetlands, and islands or bodies of marine water deeper than six metres at low tide lying within the wetlands. Although the general definition given above applies around the world, each county, Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas. This definition has been used in the enforcement of the Clean Water Act, some US states, such as Massachusetts and New York, have separate definitions that may differ from the federal governments. It is not uncommon for a wetland to be dry for long portions of the growing season, the most important factor producing wetlands is flooding
Wetland
–
Laguna de Rocha, the largest wetland in the urban area in
Esteban Echeverría Partido,
Argentina
Wetland
–
Mangrove
swamps are coastal wetlands. This swamp is in the
Florida Everglades.
Wetland
–
Peat bogs are freshwater wetlands that develop in areas with
standing water and low
soil fertility.
Wetland
–
Marshes develop along the edges of rivers and lakes.
14.
Alappuzha
–
Alappuzha, also known as Alleppey, is the administrative headquarters of Alappuzha District of Kerala state of southern India. Alappuzha is a municipality in Kerala with a population of 174,164. In 2016, Centre for Science and Environment rated Alappuzha as the top cleanest town in India followed by Panaji & Mysuru. Alappuzha is considered to be the oldest planned city in this region, Alappuzha is situated 28 km from Changanssery,46 km from Kottayam and 53 from Kochi and 155 kilometres north of Trivandrum. A town with picturesque canals, backwaters, beaches, and lagoons, hence, it is known as the Venetian Capital of Kerala. Malayalam is the most spoken language, hindi, English and Tamil are also spoken in the town. Alappuzha is an important tourist destination in India, the Backwaters of Alappuzha are the most popular tourist attraction in Kerala. A houseboat cruise in these backwaters can be booked and it connects Kumarakom and Cochin to the North and Quilon to the South. Alappuzha is the point for the annual Nehru Trophy Boat Race, held on the Punnamada Lake, near Alappuzha. This is the most competitive and popular of the races in India. The mullackal chirap is also one of the attractions of Allapuzha which is the season held for ten days every year in December. Communist Party members were killed by the army of the diwan,200 people at Punnapra on 24 October, the total loss of life is allegedly estimated to be more than a thousand. Coir is the most important commodity manufactured in Alappuzha, the Coir Board was established by the Central Government under the provisions of the Coir Industry Act,1955. A Central Coir Research Institute is located at Kalavoor, the name Ᾱlappuzha is a toponym. ‘Ᾱlam’ means ‘water’ and ‘puzha’ means ‘watercourse’ or ‘river’, according to Dr. Herman Gundert’s dictionary, the name refers to the network of waterways and backwaters that Alappuzha and surrounding areas are famous for. Puzhai in Tamil means gateway or window. This might have been the meaning in ancient Malayalam too. The present Alappuzha district comprises six taluks, namely Cherthala, Ambalappuzha, Kuttanad, Karthikappally, Chengannur, the area of the district is 1414sq. km. The district headquarters is located at Alappuzha, in the early first decade of the 20th century the Viceroy of the Indian Empire, Lord Curzon made a visit in the State to Alleppey, now Alappuzha
Alappuzha
–
Paddy fields in Kuttanad
Alappuzha
–
Pallathuruthy bridge
15.
Neendakara
–
Neendakara is a village in Kollam district 9 km north of Kollam city in Kerala, India. It is Kollam districts intermediate fishing port, Neendakara is 30 km north of Paravur. In Malayalam, Neendakara means a long bank, the headquarters of the Indo-Norwegian Fisheries Community project, established in 1953, was based in Neendakara until 1961, when the site was handed over to the Government of Kerala
Neendakara
–
St. Sebastian's Church in Neendakara,
Kollam
Neendakara
–
City Corporations
16.
Cashew
–
The cashew tree is a tropical evergreen tree that produces the cashew nut and the cashew apple. It can grow as high as 14 m, but the dwarf cashew, growing up to 6 m, has proved profitable, with earlier maturity. The cashew nut, often called a cashew, is widely consumed. It is eaten on its own, used in recipes, or processed into cashew cheese or cashew butter, the shell of the cashew seed yields derivatives that can be used in many applications from lubricants to paints. The cashew apple is a reddish to yellow fruit, whose pulp can be processed into a sweet. The species is native to northeastern Brazil. Major production of cashews occurs in Vietnam, Nigeria, India and its English name derives from the Portuguese name for the fruit of the cashew tree caju, which itself is derived from the Tupian word acajú, literally meaning nut that produces itself. The generic name Anacardium, originally from the Greek, refers to the location of the seed outside the core or heart of the fruit. A mid-seventeenth century ethnographic painting by Albert Eckhout, who accompanied Dutch governor-general Johan Maurits, the cashew tree is large and evergreen, growing to 14 m tall, with a short, often irregularly shaped trunk. The leaves are arranged, leathery textured, elliptic to obovate, 4–22 cm long and 2–15 cm broad. The flowers are produced in a panicle or corymb up to 26 cm long, each flower is small, pale green at first, then turning reddish, with five slender, acute petals 7–15 mm long. The largest cashew tree in the covers a area around 7,500 m2, it is located in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte. The fruit of the tree is an accessory fruit. What appears to be the fruit is an oval or pear-shaped structure, a hypocarpium, that develops from the pedicel, called the cashew apple, better known in Central America as marañón, it ripens into a yellow and/or red structure about 5–11 cm long. It is edible, and has a sweet smell and a sweet taste. The pulp of the apple is very juicy, but the skin is fragile. The true fruit of the tree is a kidney or boxing-glove shaped drupe that grows at the end of the cashew apple. The drupe develops first on the tree, and then the pedicel expands to become the cashew apple, within the true fruit is a single seed, which is often considered a nut, in the culinary sense
Cashew
–
Cashew
Cashew
–
'Anacardium occidentale', from Koehler's 'Medicinal-Plants' (1887)
Cashew
–
Flower of cashew tree
Cashew
–
Cashew tree
17.
Coir
–
Coir, or coconut fibre, is a natural fibre extracted from the husk of coconut and used in products such as floor mats, doormats, brushes and mattresses. Coir is the material found between the hard, internal shell and the outer coat of a coconut. Other uses of brown coir are in upholstery padding, sacking, white coir, harvested from unripe coconuts, is used for making finer brushes, string, rope and fishing nets. The English word coir comes from the Malayalam and Tamil word kayar, ropes and cordage have been made from coconut fibre since ancient times. Indian navigators who sailed the seas to Malaya, Java, China, arab writers of the 11th century AD referred to the extensive use of coir for ship ropes and rigging. A coir industry in the UK was recorded before the half of the 19th century. Coir fibres are found between the hard, internal shell and the coat of a coconut. The individual fibre cells are narrow and hollow, with walls made of cellulose. They are pale when immature, but later become hardened and yellowed as a layer of lignin is deposited on their walls, each cell is about 1 mm long and 10 to 20 µm in diameter. Fibres are typically 10 to 30 centimetres long, the two varieties of coir are brown and white. Brown coir harvested from fully ripened coconuts is thick, strong and has high abrasion resistance and it is typically used in mats, brushes and sacking. Mature brown coir fibres contain more lignin and less cellulose than fibres such as flax and cotton, so are stronger, white coir fibres harvested from coconuts before they are ripe are white or light brown in color and are smoother and finer, but also weaker. They are generally spun to make yarn used in mats or rope, the coir fibre is relatively waterproof, and is one of the few natural fibres resistant to damage by saltwater. Fresh water is used to process brown coir, while seawater and it must not be confused with coir pith, or formerly cocopeat, which is the powdery material resulting from the processing of the coir fibre. Coir fibre is locally named coprah in some countries, adding to the confusion, green coconuts, harvested after about six to 12 months on the palm, contain pliable white fibres. Brown fibre is obtained by harvesting fully mature coconuts when the nutritious layer surrounding the seed is ready to be processed into copra, the fibrous layer of the fruit is then separated from the hard shell by driving the fruit down onto a spike to split it. A well-seasoned husker can manually separate 2,000 coconuts per day, machines are now available which crush the whole fruit to give the loose fibres. These machines can process up to 2,000 coconuts per hour, the fibrous husks are soaked in pits or in nets in a slow-moving body of water to swell and soften the fibres
Coir
–
Segregation of coir fibre
Coir
–
Making coir
rope in
Kerala,
India
18.
Marine Stewardship Council
–
The Marine Stewardship Council is an independent non-profit organization which sets a standard for sustainable fishing. Seafood products can display the blue MSC ecolabel only if that seafood can be traced back through the chain to a fishery that has been certified against the MSC standard. Another organisation, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, promote and certifies sustainable aquaculture, when buyers choose MSC-certified fish, well-managed fisheries are rewarded for sustainable practices. In this way, the MSC program helps to market forces to incentivise positive environmental change. A study found that MSC-certified fisheries show improvements that deliver benefits to the marine environment, benefits included, increased stocks, improved management of stocks, reduced bycatch, expansion of environmentally protected areas, and increased knowledge about ecosystem impacts amongst fishers. The MSC was founded in 1996, inspired by the Grand Banks cod fishery collapse, in 1999 it became independent of its founding partners, the World Wide Fund for Nature and Unilever. The MSC program is open to all regardless of size, scale, location and intensity. As of February 2016, there are over 20,000 seafood products available with the MSC ecolabel, around 3,300 companies operating in 34,500 sites have met the MSC Chain of Custody standard for seafood traceability. The MSC works in partnership with a number of organisations, businesses, the MSC environmental standard for sustainable fishing was developed over two years through a consultative process involving more than 300 expert organizations and individuals around the world. It is consistent with the ‘Guidelines for the Eco-labelling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Wild Capture Fisheries’ adopted by the UN Food, any certified fishery must operate so that fishing can continue indefinitely and is not overexploiting the resources. Principle 2, Minimising environmental impact Fishing operations should be managed to maintain the structure, productivity, function, under the three principles are a total of 31 performance indicators that a fishery is scored against by an independent team of experts. This minimum level equates to a score of 60 and if the fishery scores below 60 on any one of the 31 Performance Indicators it is an automatic failure, as a result, every fishery certified against the MSC standard is operating at a very high level of precaution. This means the fishery is more resilient to changes such as natural stock fluctuations. The assessors are independently accredited to perform MSC assessments by Accreditation Services International, after certification, fisheries undergo annual audits costing $75,000 per audit and are recertified every five years. In these cases it is called a certification, conditions are placed on the fishery. In almost all cases, scores of 80 have to be achieved for all performance indicators by the end of the first certificate period, to remain certified, fisheries also have to undertake an annual surveillance to check that they continue to meet the MSC standard. After 5 years, the fishery must be reassessed in full if it wants to continue to be certified, the Marine Stewardship Council is a program for wild fisheries and does not include aquaculture production. Species must be native to the region of the fishery
Marine Stewardship Council
–
Fisheries science
Marine Stewardship Council
–
Marine Stewardship Council
Marine Stewardship Council
–
Management
19.
Thirunalloor Karunakaran
–
Thirunalloor Karunakaran was a renowned poet, scholar, teacher and leftist intellectual of Kerala, India. Thirunalloor Karunakaran – Thirunalloor, his name, and Karunakaran, his given name – was born in the village of Perinad in Kollam district in Kerala to P. K. Padmanabhan. After taking his BA degree in History from S N College, Kollam, after taking his MA in Malayalam he joined the government service as college lecturer and taught at Government Arts College and University College. He served as a member of the Kerala Public Service Commission for 6 years, later he worked as the editor of Janayugam, a weekly cultural magazine of the Communist Party of India. In 1973 he visited the Soviet Union as a member of the delegation of Indian writers who participated in the Afro-Asian Writers Conference held in Kazakhstan. Awards conferred on him include Asan Award, Vayalar Award, Muloor Award, Abudabi Shakthi Award and he died on 5 July 2006 at his residence in Quilon. He was buried without any religious rites or ceremonies, as he had wished. During his last years he was engaged in writing a poem titled Seetha reinterpretting the Ramayana legend. A three-day-long cultural festival called Thirunalloor Kavyolsavam is held every year from 1 May on the banks of the Ashtamudi lake in Quilon to perpetuate his memory. Having studied Marxism and Indian philosophy in depth he formed a vision of his own combining the best aspects of both and this vision is the central illuminating force of all his poems. In many of his poems he depicts the physical and spiritual experience of human labour as a creative process of self-assertion. Tharisu nilangalilekku, Parayudappukar, Adyathe Theevandi Kayamkulam Kayal bear the stamp of this vision, the Ashtamudi lake and the life on its shores was a key source of inspiration for his writings and his poetry abounds with varied themes, characters and imagery taken from this rich repository. He wrote, with ease, short lyrics dealing with soft transitory feelings and moods as well as long narrative poems having diverse characters. Several of his works, like lyrics written for media and artforms like Kadhaprasangam and stageplays, as well as marching songs, articles. This includes the Sanskrit translation of Kumaran Asans Chandala Bhikshuki and studies in Indian aesthetics
Thirunalloor Karunakaran
–
Thirunalloor Karunakaran
Thirunalloor Karunakaran
–
Painting based on the poem "
Rani " by Thirunalloor Karunakaran. Artist:Chirayinkeezhu Sreekantan Nair
20.
Downtown Kollam
–
Downtown Kollam is the primary central business district in the city of Kollam, Kerala, India. Located entirely within the municipality of old Quilon, it is approximately bounded by Chinnakada to the east, Thangassery to the West, Cutchery to the north. The area is known for its business activities. Kollam was formerly an international emporium of trade and today remains a commercial centre. The downtown area of Kollam has a business history. Marco Polo, the Venician traveller, who was in Chinese service under Kubla Khan in 1275, visited Kollam and other towns on the west coast, in his capacity as a Chinese mandarin. He pointed out that Old Kollam was the town on the west coast of India with multi-story buildings. He found Christians and Jews living in Coilum as well as merchants from China, Polo left a detailed account of Kollam in his writings, extracts of which are reproduced in the Travancore State Manual. The proximity to Kollam Port makes this one of the biggest business centres in India. It also contains the buildings of the Kollam Municipal Corporation, nowadays Downtown Kollam is one of the largest central business districts in the state of Kerala. The area is noted for its rich history and culture. Kollams main road runs through the center of downtown business district of Old Quilon. The north-south area of downtown is popularly known as Big bazaar. As the name indicates, it is the biggest bazaar in city of Kollam, there are many rice, spice and cloth merchants doing business in the Big bazaar area. The area behind Kollam District hospital is known as Pharma city because of its number of pharmaceutical and surgical distributors. The place is also a destination of doctors and physicians in the city. There are also many electronics and laptop service centres. K Fabrics Boots & Boots Zipata Color Lab Bombay Dyeing R. K Fabrics
Downtown Kollam
–
Paikkada road in Downtown Kollam - Once this road was the nerve centre of the
Malabar Coast 's business capital '
Quilon '
Downtown Kollam
–
Aerial view of Downtown Kollam and Thangassery coastal area
Downtown Kollam
–
Aerial view of off-Chinnakada in Downtown Kollam
Downtown Kollam
–
RP Mall - A view from Downtown area,
Kollam
21.
Ibn Batuta
–
He is known for his extensive travels, accounts of which were published in his Travels. Over a period of thirty years, Ibn Battuta visited most of the known Islamic world as well as many non-Muslim lands and his journeys included trips to North Africa, the Horn of Africa, West Africa, Middle East, India, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and China. He claimed descent from a Berber tribe known as the Lawata, as a young man he would have studied at a Sunni Maliki madhhab, the dominant form of education in North Africa at that time. Maliki Muslims requested Ibn Battuta serve as their religious judge as he was from an area where it was practiced. In June 1325, at the age of twenty-one, Ibn Battuta set off from his hometown on a hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca and he would not see Morocco again for twenty-four years. So I braced my resolution to quit my dear ones, female and male and my parents being yet in the bonds of life, it weighed sorely upon me to part from them, and both they and I were afflicted with sorrow at this separation. He travelled to Mecca overland, following the North African coast across the sultanates of Abd al-Wadid and Hafsid, the route took him through Tlemcen, Béjaïa, and then Tunis, where he stayed for two months. For safety, Ibn Battuta usually joined a caravan to reduce the risk of being robbed and he took a bride in the town of Sfax, the first in a series of marriages that would feature in his travels. In the early spring of 1326, after a journey of over 3,500 km, Ibn Battuta arrived at the port of Alexandria and he met two ascetic pious men in Alexandria. One was Sheikh Burhanuddin who is supposed to have foretold the destiny of Ibn Battuta as a world traveller saying It seems to me that you are fond of foreign travel and you will visit my brother Fariduddin in India, Rukonuddin in Sind and Burhanuddin in China. Another pious man Sheikh Murshidi interpreted the meaning of a dream of Ibn Battuta that he was meant to be a world traveller and he spent several weeks visiting sites in the area, and then headed inland to Cairo, the capital of the Mamluk Sultanate and an important city. After spending about a month in Cairo, he embarked on the first of many detours within the safety of Mamluk territory. Of the three routes to Mecca, Ibn Battuta chose the least-travelled, which involved a journey up the Nile valley. Upon approaching the town, however, a local rebellion forced him to turn back, Ibn Battuta returned to Cairo and took a second side trip, this time to Mamluk-controlled Damascus. During his first trip he had encountered a man who prophesied that he would only reach Mecca by travelling through Syria. Without this help many travellers would be robbed and murdered, after spending the Muslim month of Ramadan in Damascus, he joined a caravan travelling the 1,300 km south to Medina, site of the tomb of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. After four days in the town, he journeyed on to Mecca, rather than returning home, Ibn Battuta instead decided to continue on, choosing as his next destination the Ilkhanate, a Mongol Khanate, to the northeast. On 17 November 1326, following a month spent in Mecca, the group headed north to Medina and then, travelling at night, turned northeast across the Najd plateau to Najaf, on a journey that lasted about two weeks
Ibn Batuta
–
A 13th-century book illustration produced in Baghdad by
al-Wasiti showing a group of pilgrims on a
hajj.
Ibn Batuta
–
Tiles representing the
Kaaba, in
Mecca.
Ibn Batuta
–
Ibn Battuta made a brief visit to the Persian-Azari city of
Tabriz in 1327.
Ibn Batuta
–
Sana'a, Yemen
22.
Velu Thampi
–
He is best known for being one of the earliest individuals to rebel against the British East India Companys supremacy in India. Velayudhan Thampi was the son of Sri Kunjumayitti Pillai and his wife Valliyammai Pillai Thankachi and he came from a family that held the high title of Chempakaraman for their services to the state by Maharajah Marthanda Varma. Velayudhan Thampi, better known as Velu Thampi, was appointed a Kariakkar or Tahsildar at Mavelikkara during the years of the reign of Maharajah Bala Rama Varma. His full name was Idaprabu Kulottunga Katirkulatu Mulappada Arasarana Irayanda Talakulatu Valiya Veetil Tampi Chempakaraman Velayudhan, Bala Rama Varma was one of Travancores least popular sovereigns whose reign was marked by unrest and various internal and external political problems. He became rajah at the age of sixteen and fell under the influence of the corrupt nobleman Jayanthan Sankaran Nampoothiri from the Zamorin of Calicuts kingdom, one of the first atrocities of his reign was the murder of Raja Kesavadas, the then Dewan of Travancore. Sankaran Nampoothiri was subsequently appointed Dewan or Prime Minister assisted by two other ministers, Velu Thampi, the Tahasildar of a southern district, was ordered to pay Rs.3000 to which he responded that he needed three days to pay. Velu Thampi returned to his district, gathered the people and an uprising ensued, people from all parts of Travancore united to surround the palace and demand the immediate dismissal and banishment of Jayanthan Sankaran Nampoothiri. They also demanded that his two ministers be brought to a place then undergo flogging and have their ears cut off. The punishments were carried out and the two ministers were put in jail at Trivandrum. Velu Thampi was later appointed the Dalawa of Travancore, after Velu Thampi became Dalawa of Travancore he faced serious opposition from two relatives of the late Raja Kesavadas who sought assistance to get rid of him from their associates in Bombay. These letters were intercepted and presented to the Maharajah in a negative light, having cleared the way, Velu Thampi became Dalawa with no opposition. The Madras Government sanctioned his appointment within a few months, Velu Thampi was not an able statesman like Ramayyan Dalawa or Raja Kesavadas, his immediate two predecessors. Within three years of the death of Raja Kesavadas the country was plagued with corruption and various problems caused by the banished Namboodiri Dalawa, Velu Thampi resorted to harsh punishments with a view to improve the situation. Flogging, cutting off of ears and noses as well as nailing people to trees were some of the punishments adopted during his term as Dalawa, nevertheless, his harsh measures produced results and peace and order were restored within a year of Velu Thampis accession to the Dalawaship. The Dalawas undue severity and overbearing conduct resulted in resentment amongst his colleagues, the Dalawa was at Allepey when he received news of the conspiracy and immediately hurried to Cochin to meet the British Resident, Major Macaulay, who had become a good friend. Pillai was found guilty of murder and conspiracy and punished accordingly, with this obstacle removed, Velu Thampi regained his former influence. The armies of Travancore consisted mainly of members of the Nair group of castes, Velu Thampis 1804 proposal to reduce their allowances was met with immediate discontent. The troops believed that the idea had come from the British, Velu Thampi fled once more to Cochin to seek refuge with Macaulay
Velu Thampi
–
Statue of Veluthampi Dalawa at Mannadi in
Adoor
Velu Thampi
–
Sculpture of Velu Thampy Dalawa in the Secretariat campus,
Thiruvananthapuram
23.
Quilon
–
Kollam or Quilon, formerly Desinganadu, is an old seaport and city on the Laccadive Sea coast of Kerala, India. The city is on the banks Ashtamudi Lake, Kollam has had a strong commercial reputation since the days of the Phoenicians and Romans. Fed by the Chinese trade, it was mentioned by Ibn Battuta in the 14th century as one of the five Indian ports he had seen during the course of his twenty-four year travels, desinganadus rajas exchanged embassies with Chinese rulers while there was a flourishing Chinese settlement at Kollam. In the 9th Century, on his way to Canton, China, Marco Polo, the great Venetian traveller, who was in Chinese service under Kublai Khan in 1275, visited Kollam and other towns on the west coast, in his capacity as a Chinese mandarin. V. Nagam Aiya in his Travancore State Manual records that in 822 AD two East Syrian bishops Mar Sabor and Mar Proth, settled in Quilon with their followers. Two years later the Malabar Era began and Quilon became the city of the Malabar region ahead of Travancore. Kollam is a city on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake that took the title Gods Own Country without much demur. The braids of Ashtamudi Lake lie about 71 kilometres north of the state capital, the city hosts the administrative offices of Kollam district and is a prominent trading city for the state. The proportion of females to males in Kollam city is second highest among the 500 most populous cities in India, Kollam is the least polluted city in India. Four major trading centers/towns around Kollam are Kottarakara, Punalur, Paravur, There was also internal trade through the Punalur Pass connecting the ancient town to Tamil Nadu. The rail links later established to Tamil Nadu supported still stronger trade links, the factories processing marine exports and the processing and packaging of cashewnuts extended its trade across the globe. Kollam is the fourth most populous city in Kerala and the fifth largest in incorporated area and it is known for cashew processing and coir manufacturing. Ashtamudi Lake is considered the gateway to the backwaters of Kerala and is a prominent tourist destination at Kollam. The Kollam urban area includes towns such as Paravur in the south, Kundara in the east. Other important towns in the city suburbs are Eravipuram, Kottiyam, Kannanallur, Kollam appeared as Palombe in Mandevilles Travels, where he claimed it contained a Fountain of Youth. During the later stages of the rule of the Chera monarchy in Kerala, Kollam emerged as the point of trade. Kollam continues to be a business and commercial centre in the Southern Kerala. In 825 CE, the Malayalam calendar, or Kollavarsham, was created in Kollam at meetings held in the city, the present Malayalam calendar is said to have begun with the re-founding of the town, which was rebuilt after its destruction by a fire
Quilon
–
From top clockwise:
RP Mall in
Downtown Kollam,
Lighthouse in
Tangasseri,
British Residency in
Asramam,
Kollam Junction railway station and
Kollam MEMU Shed, Aerial view of
Ashtamudi Lake,
Kollam Port,
Asramam Adventure Park, Jalakeli Kendram near
Kollam Beach
Quilon
–
Kollam in the 1500s
Quilon
–
Kollam in the 1700s
Quilon
–
Kollam fort in 1756 after it had passed from Portuguese rule to the Dutch
24.
Thiruvananthapuram International Airport
–
Trivandrum International Airport is in Thiruvananthapuram and is the first airport in the state of Kerala, India. It was the international airport of India declared by then Prime Minister of India. The airport is a base for Air India Express operations and is a focus city for Air India, Jet Airways, SpiceJet. There are flights to Middle eastern and South eastern countries from here, Trivandrum International Airport operates two terminals. Terminal 1 handles domestic operations and Terminal 2 handles all international flight operations as well as all domestic flights by Air India. In addition to operations, Trivandrum Airport caters to the Indian Air Force. IAF have an apron to handle all their operations. Trivandrum airport also caters to the Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology which carries out training activities. The airport was established in 1932 as part of the Royal Flying Club under the initiative of Colonel Goda Varma Raja, Consort Prince of HRH Queen Karthika Thirunal of Travancore Kingdom. Col G. V Raja, a pilot, felt the need an airport to accommodate Travancore in the aviation map of India. A detailed report was made and presented to the King by Consort Prince in this regard, in 1935, on royal patronage of H. H Maharaja Chithira Thirunal, Tata Airlines made its maiden flight to the airport using DH. The first flight took off on 1 November 1935, carrying mails of Royal Anchal to Bombay, in 1938, the Royal Government of Travancore acquired a Dakota as Maharajas private aircraft and placed the first squadron of Royal Indian Air Force for protection of state from aerial attacks. After Independence, the airstrip was used for flights with construction of a domestic terminal. International operations were initiated by Air India to cities in the Arabian Peninsula in the late 1970s using Boeing 707, by early 80s, the then Indian Airlines started service to Colombo, followed by service to Male. Later, SriLankan Airlines and Air Maldives, the cargo warehouse is on the airport premises. It has a capacity to import 21000 MT and export 27000 MT per annum, in 2010-11, the airport achieved MT of import cargo and MT of export cargo. Major cargo jets such as Emirates has begun flights to Trivandrum International Airport, the air traffic control tower is 18 m tall. There are plans to build a new 43m tall ATC tower for Trivandrum airport near the new international terminal. The airport has an instrument landing system using distance measuring equipment, the Instrument Landing System allows aircraft landings in reduced visibility
Thiruvananthapuram International Airport
–
Trivandrum International Airport തിരുവനന്തപുരം അന്താരാഷ്ട്ര വിമാനത്താവളം
Thiruvananthapuram International Airport
–
The domestic terminal (Terminal 1)
Thiruvananthapuram International Airport
–
Saudi Arabian Cargo
Boeing 747-400F at Thiruvananthapuram
25.
Thiruvananthapuram
–
Thiruvananthapuram, formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Kerala. It is located on the west coast of India near the south of the mainland. Referred to by Mahatma Gandhi as the Evergreen city of India, Thiruvananthapuram was a trading post for spices, sandalwood and ivory. The city was ruled by the Ays and was captured by the rulers of Venad in tenth century A. D, in 1729, Marthanda Varma founded the princely state of Thiruvithamkoor and made Thiruvananthapuram the capital in 1745. It remained as a state ruled by Travancore under the loose governance of the British before joining the Indian Union in 1948. With nearly 80% of the software exports, Thiruvananthapuram is a major IT hub with the Technopark. Indias first and only magic academy, Magic Academy Research Centre run by Merlin award-winning magician Gopinath Muthukad is situated in Thiruvananthapuram, the city is home to animation companies like Toonz India Ltd and Tata Elxsi Ltd. The Kinfra Film and Video Park is one of the most advanced film and it is consistently ranked among the best cities to live in Kerala as well as India. The city was referred to as Trivandrum until 1991, when the government decided to reinstate the citys original name Thiruvananthapuram. Thiruvananthapuram is an ancient region with trading traditions dating back to 1000 BCE, the city was a trading post for spices, sandalwood and ivory. The early rulers of the city were the Ays and after their fall in the 10th century, in 1729, Marthanda Varma founded the princely state of Thiruvithamkoor and Thiruvananthapuram was made the capital in 1745 after shifting the capital from Padmanabhapuram in Tamil Nadu. In the mid-19th century, the city was under the reign of Swathi Thirunal, an observatory was established in 1837 with the Oriental Research Institute & Manuscripts Library and the University College established in 1873. Several colleges were established by Moolam Thirunal, sree Moolam Assembly, established in 1904, was the first democratically elected legislative council in any Indian state. After Indian Independence in 1947, Travancore chose to join the Indian union, in 1949, Thiruvananthapuram became the capital of Travancore-Cochin, the state formed by the integration of Travancore with the Kingdom of Cochin. The king of Travancore, Chitra Thirunal Bala Rama Varma, became the Rajpramukh of the Travancore-Cochin Union from 1 July 1949 until 31 October 1956, when the state of Kerala was formed on 1 November 1956, Thiruvananthapuram became its capital. The city has a population of 752,490 according to the 2011 census, the sex ratio is 1,032 females for every 1,000 males. In October 2010, the number of wards was increased from 86 to 100 post expansion of city limits by adding Sreekaryam, Vattiyoorkavu, Kudappanakunnu, hindus comprise 68. 5% of the population, Christians about 16. 7% and Muslims form 13. 7%. The major languages spoken are Malayalam and English, in Palayam in the city centre, there is a mosque, a temple and a Christian church next to each other as neighbours, establishing the communal harmony of Keralites
Thiruvananthapuram
–
Clockwise from top right:
Kovalam Beach,
Napier Museum,
Trivandrum Central,
Kowdiar Palace,
Niyamasabha Mandiram,
Infosys Building,
The Sculpture of Jalakanyaka Mermaid
Thiruvananthapuram
–
Seal
Thiruvananthapuram
–
Painting by
Raja Ravi Varma depicting
Richard Temple-Grenville, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos being greeted by
Visakham Thirunal, with
Ayilyam Thirunal of Travancore looking on, during Buckingham's visit to Thiruvananthapuram,
Travancore in early 1880.
Thiruvananthapuram
–
Kowdiar Palace built in 1915 was the official residence of the
Travancore Royal Family.
26.
Southern Railway Zone (India)
–
The Southern Railway, headquartered at Chennai Central, is one of the 17 zones of Indian Railways. It is the earliest of the 17 zones of the Indian Railways created in independent India and it was created on 14 April 1951 by merging three state railways, namely, the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway, the South Indian Railway Company, and the Mysore State Railway. The South Indian Railway was originally created in the British colonial times as Great Southern India Railway Co founded in Britain in 1853 and its original headquarters was in Tiruchirappalli and was registered as a company in London only in 1890. In 1944, all Railway companies were taken over by the Government, and three years later, when India woke up to independence in 1947, the stage was set for the integration of different Railways into smaller zones. In 1948, immediately after independence, there were as many as 42 different railway systems - a multiplicity of railway administrations, varying in size and standards. The regrouping proposals put forward by the committees were studied in great detail to ensure that a unification could be achieved with the least disturbance. Important associations of railway-users, Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the State Governments, shri N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar - the then Minister for Railways, was the principal architect of the regrouping of Indian Railways. The Southern Railway zone 9,654 kilometres was the first zone to be formed and this amalgamation was a major step towards streamlining and organizing the working pattern of the Railway system. Shri K R Ramanujam was appointed the first General Manager of the newly formed Southern Railways, the Southern Railway is headed by the General Manager Officer, assisted by an Additional General Manager. Each department is headed by a PHOD\CHOD of the rank of HAG\SAG, more than 50 crore passengers travel on the network every year. This zone of the Indian Railways differs from the zones of India in that its revenue is derived from passengers
Southern Railway Zone (India)
–
Southern Railway headquarters, Chennai
Southern Railway Zone (India)
–
Southern Railway-7
Southern Railway Zone (India)
–
Nilgiri Mountain Railway working under Southern Railway zone, Chennai. and also it is UNESCO World Heritage site
27.
Broad gauge
–
Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the 1,435 mm standard gauge. In Britain the Great Western Railway, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, pioneered broad gauge in 1838 with a gauge of 7 ft 1⁄4 in, some harbours also used railways of this gauge for construction and maintenance. These included Portland Harbour and Holyhead Breakwater, which used a locomotive for working sidings, as it was not connected to the national network, this broad-gauge operation continued until the locomotive wore out in 1913. The gauge initially proposed by Brunel was 7 ft exactly but this was increased by 1⁄4 in to accommodate clearance problems identified during early testing. It became apparent that standardization on a gauge throughout a rail transport system was advantageous. Rolling stock did not need to match the gauge exactly, a difference of a few millimetres could be coped with, the value of interoperability was initially not obvious to the industry. The standardization movement was gradual, over time the value of a proprietary gauge diminished, being replaced by the idea of charging money for equipment used on other railway lines. Ireland, using the criteria, was allocated a different standard gauge. Broad-gauge lines in Britain were gradually converted to dual gauge or standard gauge from 1864, Ireland and some states in Australia and Brazil have a gauge of 5 ft 3 in, but Luas, the Dublin light rail system, is built to standard gauge. Russia and the other former Soviet Republics use a 1,520 mm gauge while Finland continues to use the 5 ft gauge inherited from Imperial Russia, in 1839 the Netherlands started its railway system with two broad-gauge railways. But the neighbouring countries Prussia and Belgium already used standard gauge, in 1855, NRS regauged its line and shortly afterwards connected to the Prussian railways. There are replicas of one broad-gauge 2-2-2 locomotive and three carriages in the Dutch Railway Museum in Utrecht and these replicas were built for the 100th anniversary of the Dutch Railways in 1938–39. Portugal and the Spanish Renfe system use a gauge of 1,668 mm called Ancho Ibérico in Spanish or Bitola Ibérica in Portuguese, in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, a gauge of 5 ft 6 in is widespread. This is also used by the Bay Area Rapid Transit system of the San Francisco Bay Area. In Toronto, Canada the gauge for TTC subways and streetcars was chosen in 1861, years after the establishment of gauge in Britain. In 1861, the province was supplying subsidies only to broad gauge railways. The use of a non-standard gauge precludes interoperability of rolling stock on railway networks. On the 5 ft 3 in and 5 ft 6 in gauges, the extra width allowed bigger inside cylinders and greater power, in the event, the most powerful engines on standard gauge in North America and Scandinavia far exceeded the power of any broad-gauge locomotive
Broad gauge
–
Great Western Railway broad-gauge
steam locomotives awaiting scrapping in 1892 after the conversion of the tracks to
standard gauge.
Broad gauge
–
Track gauge
Broad gauge
–
Irish broad gauge tracks
Broad gauge
–
Broad gauge at
MAS
28.
Madras
–
Chennai /ˈtʃɛnnaɪ/, formerly known as Madras /məˈdrɑːs/ or /-ˈdræs/) is the capital of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal, it is one of the biggest cultural, economic, according to the 2011 Indian census, it is the sixth-largest city and fourth-most populous urban agglomeration in India. The city together with the adjoining regions constitute the Chennai Metropolitan Area, Chennai is among the most visited Indian cities by foreign tourists. It was ranked 43rd most visited city in the world for year 2015, the Quality of Living Survey rated Chennai as the safest city in India. Chennai attracts 45 percent of tourists visiting India, and 30 to 40 percent of domestic health tourists. As such, it is termed Indias health capital, as a growing metropolitan city in a developing country, Chennai confronts substantial pollution and other logistical and socio-economic problems. Chennai has the third-largest expatriate population in India at 35,000 in 2009,82,790 in 2011, tourism guide publisher Lonely Planet named Chennai as one of the top ten cities in the world to visit in 2015. Chennai is ranked as a city in the Global Cities Index and was ranked the best city in India by India Today in the 2014 annual Indian city survey. In 2015 Chennai was named the hottest city by the BBC, National Geographic ranked Chennais food as second best in the world, it was the only Indian city to feature in the list. Chennai was also named the ninth-best cosmopolitan city in the world by Lonely Planet, the Chennai Metropolitan Area is one of the largest city economies of India. Chennai is nicknamed The Detroit of India, with more than one-third of Indias automobile industry being based in the city, in January 2015, it was ranked third in terms of per capita GDP. Chennai has been selected as one of the 100 Indian cities to be developed as a city under PM Narendra Modis flagship Smart Cities Mission. The name Madras originated even before the British presence was established in India, the name Madras is said to have originated from a Portuguese phrase mae de Deus which means mother of god, due to Portuguese influence on the port city. According to some sources, Madras was derived from Madraspattinam, a north of Fort St George. However, it is whether the name was in use before the arrival of Europeans. The British military mapmakers believed Madras was originally Mundir-raj or Mundiraj, Madras might have also been derived from the word Madhuras meaning juice of honey or sugarcane in Sanskrit. The nativity of name Chennai, being of Telugu origin is clearly proved by the historians. The first official use of the name Chennai is said to be in a deed, dated 8 August 1639
Madras
–
Clockwise from top right:
Chennai Central,
Marina Beach,
Madras High Court,
TIDEL Park,
Ripon Building,
San Thome Basilica,
Kapaleeshwarar Temple,
Classical dance Bharata Natyam and
Valluvar Kottam.
Madras
–
Clive House at
Fort St. George, Madras said to be the first English settlement in
India during 1609
Madras
–
Surrender of the City of Madras in 1746 to de La Bourdonnais, by Jacques François Joseph Swebach
Madras
–
St.Thomas Mount, Chennai
29.
Madurai
–
Madurai is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of Madurai District. Madurai is the third largest city by population in Tamil Nadu, located on the banks of River Vaigai, Madurai has been a major settlement for two millennia. Madurai was the longest continuous capital city until British rule in India, Madurai has been selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under Prime Minister Narendra Modis flagship Smart Cities Mission. Madurai is closely associated with the Tamil language, and the third Tamil Sangam, the recorded history of the city goes back to the 3rd century BCE, being mentioned by Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador to India, and Kautilya, a minister of the Mauryan emperor Chandragupta Maurya. Signs of human settlements and Roman trade links dating back to 300BC are evident from excavations by Archeological Survey of India in Manalur, the city has a number of historical monuments, with the Meenakshi Amman Temple and Tirumalai Nayak Palace being the most prominent. Madurai is an important industrial and educational hub in South Tamil Nadu, the city is home to various automobile, rubber, chemical and granite manufacturing industries. It has developed as a city for information technology. Madurai has important government educational institutes like the Madurai Medical College, Homeopathic Medical College, Madurai Law College, Agricultural College, Madurai city is administered by a municipal corporation established in 1971 as per the Municipal Corporation Act. Madurai is the corporation in Tamil Nadu next to Chennai corporation. The city covers an area of 147.97 km2 and had a population of 1,017,865 in 2011, the city is also the seat of a bench of the Madras High Court. The city is referred by various names including Madurai, Koodal, Malligai Maanagar, Naanmadakoodal, the word Madurai may be derived from Madhura arising out of the divine nectar showered on the city by the Hindu god Shiva from his matted hair. Another theory is that Madurai is the derivative of the word Marutham, a town in the neighbouring Dindigul district is called Vada Madurai and another in Sivagangai district is called Manamadurai. The different names by which the city has referred to historically are listed in the 7th-century poem Thiruvilayaadal puraanam written by Paranjothi Munivar. Koodal means an assembly or congregation of people, referring to the three Tamil Sangams held at Madurai. Naanmadakoodal, meaning the junction of four towers, refers to the four major temples for which Madurai was known for, tevaram, the 7th- or 8th-century Tamil compositions on Shiva by the three prominent Nayanars, namely Appar, Sundarar and Thirugnanasambandar, address the city as Thirualavai. As per Iravatham Mahadevan, a 2nd-century BCE Tamil-Brahmi inscription refers to the city as matiray, Madurai has been inhabited since at least the 3rd century BCE. Megasthenes may have visited Madurai during the 3rd century BCE, with the city referred as Methora in his accounts
Madurai
–
Periyar Bus stand, Teppakulam Mariyamman tank, Madurai Corporation, River Vaigai, Thirumalai Nayak Palace,
Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madurai city,
Madurai
–
Hand coloured antique wood engraving drawn by W. Purser (1858) shows Madurai city as seen from the north bank of the
Vaigai river
Madurai
–
Coin of
Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan, first ruler of the
Sultanate of Madurai, 1335–1339 CE
Madurai
–
Map of Madurai showing center of the city and some important landmarks
30.
Alleppey
–
Alappuzha, also known as Alleppey, is the administrative headquarters of Alappuzha District of Kerala state of southern India. Alappuzha is a municipality in Kerala with a population of 174,164. In 2016, Centre for Science and Environment rated Alappuzha as the top cleanest town in India followed by Panaji & Mysuru. Alappuzha is considered to be the oldest planned city in this region, Alappuzha is situated 28 km from Changanssery,46 km from Kottayam and 53 from Kochi and 155 kilometres north of Trivandrum. A town with picturesque canals, backwaters, beaches, and lagoons, hence, it is known as the Venetian Capital of Kerala. Malayalam is the most spoken language, hindi, English and Tamil are also spoken in the town. Alappuzha is an important tourist destination in India, the Backwaters of Alappuzha are the most popular tourist attraction in Kerala. A houseboat cruise in these backwaters can be booked and it connects Kumarakom and Cochin to the North and Quilon to the South. Alappuzha is the point for the annual Nehru Trophy Boat Race, held on the Punnamada Lake, near Alappuzha. This is the most competitive and popular of the races in India. The mullackal chirap is also one of the attractions of Allapuzha which is the season held for ten days every year in December. Communist Party members were killed by the army of the diwan,200 people at Punnapra on 24 October, the total loss of life is allegedly estimated to be more than a thousand. Coir is the most important commodity manufactured in Alappuzha, the Coir Board was established by the Central Government under the provisions of the Coir Industry Act,1955. A Central Coir Research Institute is located at Kalavoor, the name Ᾱlappuzha is a toponym. ‘Ᾱlam’ means ‘water’ and ‘puzha’ means ‘watercourse’ or ‘river’, according to Dr. Herman Gundert’s dictionary, the name refers to the network of waterways and backwaters that Alappuzha and surrounding areas are famous for. Puzhai in Tamil means gateway or window. This might have been the meaning in ancient Malayalam too. The present Alappuzha district comprises six taluks, namely Cherthala, Ambalappuzha, Kuttanad, Karthikappally, Chengannur, the area of the district is 1414sq. km. The district headquarters is located at Alappuzha, in the early first decade of the 20th century the Viceroy of the Indian Empire, Lord Curzon made a visit in the State to Alleppey, now Alappuzha
Alleppey
–
Paddy fields in Kuttanad
Alleppey
–
Pallathuruthy bridge
31.
Paravur, Kollam
–
Paravur, or South Paravoor, is a town and a municipality in the Kollam district of the Indian state of Kerala. The lakes and sea coast of Paravur attract visitors and foreigners with the attraction the interconnection of Paravur Kayal. Paravur lies 21 kilometres from Kollam by road and can be reached within 15 minutes by train from Kollam Junction, Paravur Municipality consists of Kottapuram, Koonayil, Thekkumbhagam, Chillakkal, Perumpuzha, Nedungolam, Pozhikara, Maniyamkulam, Kurumandal, Kottamoola, Attinpuram & Kochalummoodu. Paravur Municipality is a Grade-II Municipality of Kerala, Paravur is located at 8.78 N76 E. It has an elevation of 10 metres. Paravur,21 kilometers from the Kollam, is a skirt of land stretching in between the backwaters and the sea. The famous Varkala beach is a mere 12 kilometres drive from here, there is an elevation of 6 metres above sea level, extending to 16 metres on the inland. As of 2011 India census, Paravur has a population of 43,739, males constitute 47% of the population and females 53%. Paravur has an literacy rate of 79%, higher than the national average of 59. 5%, male literacy is 81%. In Paravur, 10% of the population are under 6 years of age, total number of households are 9,155. Pozhikara was the headquarters of Paravur. Remnants of the old fort, Thaana and Anchalappees still remain, a mint of the erstwhile Travancore Kingdom for printing and punching their currencies was once situated at Paravur. Paravur panchayat was formed in 1936 as one of the four panchayats sanctioned by Sir C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer, the others were Boothapandi, Nedumangadu, and Perumbavoor. The so formed Paravur panchayat included nine territories-Thekkumbhagam, Kottappuram, Kongal, Pozhikara, Kurumandal, Koonayil, Kalakkode, Bhoothakkulam, sree Ramavarma koyi thampuram from Kilimanoor Palace was the first executive officer of the panchayat. The first election for Paravur panchayat was held in 1942 and Sri Achuthan Pillai became the first elected panchayat president, later Paravur became a Municipality on May 1,1988. For the first seven years it was ruled by special officers, in 1995 after the first Municipal election, Smt. Bhanumati became the first Municipal Chairperson, in April 2016, over 100 people were killed in a fireworks explosion at a local temple in the town. There are so many important roads in Paravur, connecting Kollam city and neighbouring towns like Varkala, Chathannoor, Parippally, Poothakkulam
Paravur, Kollam
–
From top:
Paravur railway station,
Paravur Lake(Kaayal), Aayiravilli Temple Festival, Pulimuttu in
Paravur Pozhikara
Paravur, Kollam
–
Entrance of
Paravur railway station
Paravur, Kollam
–
Paravur Lake – An evening scene from
Paravur Thekkumbhagam
32.
Ponmudi
–
Ponmudi is a hill station in the Thiruvananthapuram District of Kerala in India. It is located 55.2 km north-east of Trivandrum City at an altitude of 1100 m and it is a part of the Western Ghats mountain range that runs parallel to the Arabian Sea. Ponmudi is connected to Trivandrum by a winding road offering scenic views on the way to Ponmudi. Ponmudi serves as a base for trekking and hiking, there are also tea gardens in the area. There are 22 hairpin turns along this route which makes the travel a definitely thrilling experience. Other attractions near Ponmudi include Golden Valley and a number of rivulets and rapids, the lush forest area has tropical vegetation. A variety of wildlife inhabit the hills, the Golden Valley offers vistas of the hills and access to the Kallar River. Flowing though an area, it has rounded pebbles, cool water, fish. Some notable tourist attractions located in Ponmudi are Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary, Echo Point, mist-laden valleys, especially Golden Valley near Kallar River, also draw tourists. Travelers can find a park and wood and stone cottages coloured in bright hues while visiting here. Located about 1.5 km from the hill station, is the Ponmudi Falls. Around 3 km from the Ponmudi Resort, is the popular Deer Park, the Meenmutty Falls, another popular attraction of the region, is about 3 km from the Kallar Main Road. Another main attraction in the region is Agasthyarkoodam, one of the highest peaks in the Western Ghats and this peak is famous for its wilderness, and can be accessed only with the Forest Departments permission. Ponmudi is having an importance of biodiversity, which plays a major role in maintaining the ecological balance of the area. Ponmudi is host to 283 species of birds, many of which are endangered and threatened, birds endemic to this region include the painted bush quail, the Malabar grey hornbill, the Wayanad laughing thrush, the broad-tailed grass bird and the Nilgiri pipit. The grasslands of Ponmudi are the grounds of the broad-tailed grass bird. Fifty-nine per cent of the 483 bird species in Kerala are found at Ponmudi, of the 16 species of birds endemic to the Western Ghats,15 are at Ponmudi. Of the 332 species of butterflies in the Western Ghats,195 are found here, of the 37 butterfly species endemic to the Ghats,24 are found at Ponmudi. The spot puffin, a butterfly, has been sighted at the Kulachikarai-Panayam-Merchiston area where ISROs land comes
Ponmudi
–
Morning view from Ponmudi
Ponmudi
–
Roofs of the cottages at Ponmudi
Ponmudi
–
Ponmudi hills and road
Ponmudi
–
Ponmudi panorama
33.
Kulathupuzha
–
Kulathupuzha is a village in the eastern part of Kollam district of Kerala state, India. This town is situated on the Kollam - Shenkottai National Highway road, Kulathupuzha is 62 km away from Thiruvananthapuram and 64 km away from Kollam and 28 km away from Kadakkal and 19 km away from anchal. Thenmala eco tourism is just 9 km away and it is one of the most modern dairy farms situated in Kulathupuzha i. e. indo Swiss project. Kulathupuzha is the birthplace of the Malayalam music legend Raveendran and it is famous for Sastha temple here, its river fishes and pristine forest with exotic Myristica swamps, Rehabilitation Rubber plantation for Sri Lankan refugees. Kulathupuzha is well known for the Sastha temple, the presiding deity at the Kulathupuzha Temple is known as Bala Sastha who is Lord Hariharaputra. The Vishu Mahotsavam in April is the most important festival of this temple, the temple legend is intertwined with fishes in nearby river. Kulathupuzha forms a part of the southern most reserve forests of the State, Kulathupuzha reserve covers an area under 1000 km2. Its forest constitutes predominantly of tropical wet - and semi - evergreens, apart from settlements some parts are occupied by Forest departmental plantations mainly of teak, eucalyptus and acacia. The plantations are grown by planting saplings on cleared natural forests, plantations are raised to sustain and supplement the timber needs of a few industries in the State. Popularly known as the estate is near kulathupuzha. Senthurini Wilde Life Sanctuary is near Kulathupuzha, kallar estate is one of the famous tea estates left over from British ruling times. Kulathupuzha forests has the largest variety of exotic Myristica Swamp freshwater variety swamp in Kerala, besides Kulathupuzha its found in India only at Idukki Uttara Kannada and Shivaliks Himalayas. Also the forest is the origin of Ithikara and Kallada rivers, road Connected with all major towns nearby by Roads. KSRTC and private buses connects the town to Trivandrum-Kollam-Thenkasi and Punalur, KSRTC have one of Keralas biggest depot here. Railway Nearest Rail head Punalur and railway station just 9 kilometers in Thenmala, Airport Nearest Airport is at Trivandrum. Hi-tech dairy farm at Kulathupuzha established by KLDB is the first hi-tech dairy farm in India under government sector, Kollam City by road -59 km. To Trivandrum by road -60 km, to Trivandrum by road -73 km. Nearest Railway Station - Thenmala,10 km, Nearest Airport - Trivandrum International Airport 70 km
Kulathupuzha
–
Kulathupuzha Sastha temple
Kulathupuzha
–
City Corporations
34.
Western Ghats
–
Western Ghats மேற்கு தொடர்ச்சி மலை is a mountain range that runs parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula, located entirely in India. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the eight hottest hot-spots of biological diversity in the world and it is sometimes called the Great Escarpment of India. The range runs north to south along the edge of the Deccan Plateau. These hills cover 160,000 km2 and form the catchment area for complex riverine drainage systems that drain almost 40% of India, the Western Ghats block southwest monsoon winds from reaching the Deccan Plateau. The average elevation is around 1,200 m, at least 325 globally threatened species occur in the Western Ghats. The Western Ghats are the mountainous faulted and eroded edge of the Deccan Plateau, geologic evidence indicates that they were formed during the break-up of the supercontinent of Gondwana some 150 million years ago. Geophysical evidence indicates that the west coast of India came into being somewhere around 100 to 80 mya after it broke away from Madagascar, after the break-up, the western coast of India would have appeared as an abrupt cliff some 1,000 m in elevation. Basalt is the predominant rock found in the reaching a thickness of 3 km. Other rock types found are charnockites, granite gneiss, khondalites, leptynites, metamorphic gneisses with detached occurrences of limestone, iron ore. Residual laterite and bauxite ores are found in the southern hills. The Western Ghats extend from the Satpura Range in the north and it traverses south past the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala. Major gaps in the range are the Goa Gap, between the Maharashtra and Karnataka sections, and the Palghat Gap on the Tamil Nadu and Kerala border between the Nilgiri Hills and the Anaimalai Hills. The mountains intercept the rain-bearing westerly monsoon winds, and are consequently an area of high rainfall, particularly on their western side. The northern portion of the coastal plain between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea is known as the Konkan, the central portion is called Kanara. The foothill region east of the Ghats in Maharashtra is known as Desh, the range is known as Sahyadri in Maharashtra and Karnataka. The Western Ghats meets the Eastern Ghats at Nilgiris in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Nilgiris connects Biligiriranga Hills in southeastern Karnataka with the Shevaroys and Tirumala hills. In the southern part of the range is Anamudi, the highest peak in Western Ghats, following is a list of some of the highest peaks of the Western Ghats, The Western Ghats form one of the four watersheds of India, feeding the perennial rivers of India. The major river systems originating in the Western Ghats include Godavari, Kaveri, Krishna, Thamiraparani, majority of streams draining the Western Ghats join these rivers and carry large volume of water during the monsoon months
Western Ghats
–
A view of
Anamudi, the highest peak of the Western Ghats 2,695 metres (8,842 ft) from
Eravikulam National Park, Kerala.
Western Ghats
Western Ghats
–
The Dense Vegetation in the Watchumaram Region towards valparai
Western Ghats
–
Shola Grasslands and forests in the
Kudremukh National Park, Western Ghats,
Karnataka.
35.
Laccadive Sea
–
The Laccadive Sea or Lakshadweep Sea is a body of water bordering India, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka. It is located to the west of Kerala and this warm sea has a stable water temperature through the year and is rich in marine life, with the Gulf of Mannar alone hosting about 3,600 species. Trivandrum, Kochi, Colombo, Quilon and Malé are the cities on the shore of the Laccadive Sea. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Laccadive Sea as follows, a line running from Dondra Head in Ceylon to the most Southerly point of Addu Atoll. The West coasts of Ceylon and India, water temperature is rather constant through the year, averaging 26–28 °С in summer and 25 °С in winter. Salinity is 34‰ in the center and northern part and up to 35. 5‰ in the south, the coasts are sandy but the deeper parts are covered in silt. There are numerous coral reefs in the sea, such as the Lakshadweep islands which are made up of atolls, the Gulf of Mannar is known for its pearl banks of Pinctada radiata and Pinctada fucata for at least two thousand years. Pliny the Elder praised the pearl fishery of the gulf as most productive in the world, although extraction of natural pearls is considered too expensive in most parts of the world, it is still conducted in the gulf. Also collected in numbers are Shankha mollusks whose shells are used as a ritual. Other mollusks of the sea are either too scarce or not popular in the Indian society, another traditional occupation in the Laccadive Sea is fishing. The annual fish catch is 2,000 to 5,000 tonnes from the Lakshadweep islands, perches, halfbeaks, Carangidae, needlefish and rays are also caught near the reefs. Shrimp, Achelata and small fish, such as Sprattus, Pomacentridae and Apogonidae are widely used as a bait by the Laccadive islanders. With about 3,600 species of flora and fauna, the Gulf of Mannar is regarded as one of the richest marine biological resources in the world. Of these 3,600 species,44 are protected,117 are corals,79 crustaceans,108 sponges,260 mollusks,441 fin fishes,147 seaweeds and 17 mangroves. In 1986, a group of 21 islands and nearby waters with the area of 560 km² were declared Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park. The park and its zone were designated as a Biosphere Reserve in 1989. The Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve covers an area of 10,500 km² of ocean, islands and the adjoining coastline, and is the largest such reserve in India. Most of its area is restricted for outsiders and the access of boats is subject to strict rules, from about 150,000 people living in the buffer zone and more than 70% of them depend on the coastal marine resources
Laccadive Sea
–
A View of the Laccadive Sea from
Villingili
Laccadive Sea
–
Laccadive Sea ലക്ഷദ്വീപ് കടല്
Laccadive Sea
–
Pearl fishing in the
Gulf of Mannar, ca. 1926
36.
Quaternary
–
Quaternary is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy. It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.588 ±0.005 million years ago to the present, the Quaternary Period is divided into two epochs, the Pleistocene and the Holocene. The informal term Late Quaternary refers to the past 0. 5–1.0 million years, the Quaternary Period is typically defined by the cyclic growth and decay of continental ice sheets driven by Milankovitch cycles and the associated climate and environmental changes that occurred. The term Quaternary was proposed by Giovanni Arduino in 1759 for alluvial deposits in the Po River valley in northern Italy and it was introduced by Jules Desnoyers in 1829 for sediments of Frances Seine Basin that seemed clearly to be younger than Tertiary Period rocks. The Quaternary Period follows the Neogene Period and extends to the present, the Quaternary covers the time span of glaciations classified as the Pleistocene, and includes the present interglacial time-period, the Holocene. This places the start of the Quaternary at the onset of Northern Hemisphere glaciation approximately 2.6 million years ago, Quaternary stratigraphers usually worked with regional subdivisions. From the 1970s, the International Commission on Stratigraphy tried to make a single geologic time scale based on GSSPs, the Quaternary subdivisions were defined based on biostratigraphy instead of paleoclimate. This led to the problem that the base of the Pleistocene was at 1.805 Mya. The ICS then proposed to use of the name Quaternary altogether. The Anthropocene has been proposed as an epoch as a mark of the anthropogenic impact on the global environment starting with the Industrial Revolution. The Anthropocene is not officially designated by the ICS, however, the 2.6 million years of the Quaternary represents the time during which recognizable humans existed. Over this short period, there has been relatively little change in the distribution of the continents due to plate tectonics. The Quaternary geological record is preserved in detail than that for earlier periods. The climate was one of periodic glaciations with continental glaciers moving as far from the poles as 40 degrees latitude, there was a major extinction of large mammals in Northern areas at the end of the Pleistocene Epoch. Many forms such as saber-toothed cats, mammoths, mastodons, glyptodonts, others, including horses, camels and American cheetahs became extinct in North America. Glaciation took place repeatedly during the Quaternary Ice Age – a term coined by Schimper in 1839 that began with the start of the Quaternary about 2.58 Mya and continues to the present-day. In 1821, a Swiss engineer, Ignaz Venetz, presented an article in which he suggested the presence of traces of the passage of a glacier at a distance from the Alps. This idea was initially disputed by another Swiss scientist, Louis Agassiz, a year later, Agassiz raised the hypothesis of a great glacial period that would have had long-reaching general effects
Quaternary
–
Artist's impression of Earth during the
Last Glacial Maximum
Quaternary
–
Biogeography
37.
Fluvial
–
Fluvial is a term used in geography and geology to refer to the processes associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them. When the stream or rivers are associated with glaciers, ice sheets, or ice caps, fluvial processes include the motion of sediment and erosion or deposition on the river bed. Erosion by moving water can happen in two ways, firstly, the movement of water across the bed exerts a shear stress directly onto the bed. However, if the river carries significant quantities of sediment, this material can act as tools to enhance wear of the bed, at the same time the fragments themselves are ground down, becoming smaller and more rounded. Sediment in rivers is transported as either bedload or suspended load, there is also a component carried as dissolved material. For each grain size there is a velocity at which the grains start to move. However the grains will continue to be transported even if the velocity falls below the entrainment velocity due to the friction between the grains and the river bed. Eventually the velocity will fall low enough for the grains to be deposited and this is shown by the Hjulstrøm curve. A river is continually picking up and dropping solid particles of rock, where the river flow is fast, more particles are picked up than dropped. Where the river flow is slow, more particles are dropped than picked up, areas where more particles are dropped are called alluvial or flood plains, and the dropped particles are called alluvium. Even small streams make alluvial deposits, but it is in the plains and deltas of large rivers that large. The amount of matter carried by a river is enormous. The names of rivers derive from the color that the transported matter gives the water. For example, the Huang He in China is literally translated Yellow River, and it has been estimated that the Mississippi River annually carries 406 million tons of sediment to the sea, the Yellow River 796 million tons, and the Po River in Italy 67 million tons. Lacustrine - of or relating to a lake maritime - of or relating the sea oceanic - of or relating to an ocean palustrine - of or relating to a marsh
Fluvial
–
Deep, eroding glaciofluvial deposits alongside the
Matanuska River,
Alaska
38.
Alluvium
–
Alluvium is loose, unconsolidated soil or sediments, which has been eroded, reshaped by water in some form, and redeposited in a non-marine setting. Alluvium is typically made up of a variety of materials, including fine particles of silt and clay and larger particles of sand, when this loose alluvial material is deposited or cemented into a lithological unit, or lithified, it is called an alluvial deposit. The term alluvium is not typically used in situations where the formation of the sediment can clearly be attributed to another process that is well described. This includes, lake sediments, river sediments, or glacially-derived sediments, sediments that are formed or deposited in a perennial stream or river are typically not referred to as alluvial. Most alluvium is very young, and is often referred to as cover because these sediments obscure the underlying bedrock. Most sedimentary material that fills a basin that is not lithified is typically lumped together as alluvial, alluvium of Pliocene age occurs, for example, in parts of Idaho. Alluvium of late Miocene age occurs, for example, in the valley of the San Joaquin River, alluvium can contain valuable ores such as gold and platinum and a wide variety of gemstones. Such a concentration of ores is termed a placer deposit
Alluvium
–
Section of alluvium at the Blue Ribbon Mine in
Alaska
Alluvium
–
Alluvium deposits in the Gamtoos Valley in
South Africa
Alluvium
–
An
alluvial plain in
Red Rock Canyon State Park (California)
Alluvium
–
Alluvial river deposits in the
Amazon Basin, near Autazes, AM,
Brazil. The seasonal deposits are extremely fertile, and crucial to
subsistence farming in the Amazon Basin along the river banks.
39.
Laterite
–
Laterite is a soil and rock type rich in iron and aluminium, and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of iron oxide content. They develop by intensive and long-lasting weathering of the parent rock. Tropical weathering is a process of chemical weathering which produces a wide variety in the thickness, grade, chemistry. The majority of the area containing laterites is between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Laterite has commonly referred to as a soil type as well as being a rock type. This and further variation in the modes of conceptualizing about laterite has led to calls for the term to be abandoned altogether, at least a few researchers specializing in regolith development have considered that hopeless confusion has evolved around the name. Historically, laterite was cut into shapes and used in monument-building. After 1000 CE, construction at Angkor Wat and other southeast Asian sites changed to rectangular temple enclosures made of laterite, brick, since the mid-1970s, some trial sections of bituminous-surfaced, low-volume roads have used laterite in place of stone as a base course. Thick laterite layers are porous and slightly permeable, so the layers can function as aquifers in rural areas, locally available laterites have been used in an acid solution, followed by precipitation to remove phosphorus and heavy metals at sewage-treatment facilities. Laterites are a source of ore, the ore exists largely in clay minerals and the hydroxides, gibbsite, boehmite, and diaspore. In Northern Ireland they once provided a source of iron. Laterite ores also were the major source of nickel. Francis Buchanan-Hamilton first described and named a laterite formation in southern India in 1807 and he named it laterite from the Latin word later, which means a brick, this highly compacted and cemented soil can easily be cut into brick-shaped blocks for building. The word laterite has been used for variably cemented, sesquioxide-rich soil horizons, a sesquioxide is an oxide with three atoms of oxygen and two metal atoms. It has also used for any reddish soil at or near the Earths surface. Laterite covers are thick in the areas of the Western Ethiopian Shield, on cratons of the South American Plate. In Madhya Pradesh, India, the laterite which caps the plateau is 30 m thick, laterites can be either soft and easily broken into smaller pieces, or firm and physically resistant
Laterite
–
Monument of laterite brickstones at Angadipuram, Kerala, India, which commemorates where laterite was first described and discussed by Dr. Buchanan-Hamilton in 1807.
Laterite
–
Laterite in
Sơn Tây,
Hanoi,
Vietnam.
Laterite
–
A represents soil; B represents laterite, a regolith; C represents saprolite, a less-weathered regolith; D represents bedrock
Laterite
–
Cutting laterite bricks in Angadipuram, India
40.
Sandstone
–
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earths crust, like sand, sandstone may be any color, but the most common colors are tan, brown, yellow, red, grey, pink, white, and black. Since sandstone beds often form highly visible cliffs and other topographic features, quartz-bearing sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure, usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. They are formed from cemented grains that may either be fragments of a rock or be mono-minerallic crystals. The cements binding these grains together are typically calcite, clays, grain sizes in sands are defined within the range of 0.0625 mm to 2 mm. The formation of sandstone involves two principal stages, first, a layer or layers of sand accumulates as the result of sedimentation, either from water or from air. Typically, sedimentation occurs by the settling out from suspension. The most common cementing materials are silica and calcium carbonate, which are derived either from dissolution or from alteration of the sand after it was buried. Colours will usually be tan or yellow, a predominant additional colourant in the southwestern United States is iron oxide, which imparts reddish tints ranging from pink to dark red, with additional manganese imparting a purplish hue. Red sandstones are seen in the Southwest and West of Britain, as well as central Europe. The regularity of the latter favours use as a source for masonry, either as a building material or as a facing stone. These physical properties allow the grains to survive multiple recycling events. Quartz grains evolve from rock, which are felsic in origin. Feldspathic framework grains are commonly the second most abundant mineral in sandstones, Feldspar can be divided into two smaller subdivisions, alkali feldspars and plagioclase feldspars. The different types of feldspar can be distinguished under a petrographic microscope, below is a description of the different types of feldspar. Alkali feldspar is a group of minerals in which the composition of the mineral can range from KAlSi3O8 to NaAlSi3O8. Plagioclase feldspar is a group of solid solution minerals that range in composition from NaAlSi3O8 to CaAl2Si2O8. Lithic framework grains are pieces of ancient source rock that have yet to weather away to individual mineral grains, accessory minerals are all other mineral grains in a sandstone, commonly these minerals make up just a small percentage of the grains in a sandstone
Sandstone
–
Cut slab of sandstone showing
Liesegang banding
Sandstone
–
Devonian Sandstone at Suur Taevaskoda,
Põlva County,
Estonia
Sandstone
–
Alcove in the
Navajo Sandstone
Sandstone
–
Sandstone Rock-cut tombs (
Kokhim) in
Petra,
Jordan
41.
Clay
–
Clay is a fine-grained natural rock or soil material that combines one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure. Clays are plastic due to water content and become hard, brittle. Depending on the content in which it is found, clay can appear in various colours from white to dull grey or brown to deep orange-red. Although many naturally occurring deposits include both silts and clay, clays are distinguished from other fine-grained soils by differences in size, silts, which are fine-grained soils that do not include clay minerals, tend to have larger particle sizes than clays. There is, however, some overlap in size and other physical properties. The distinction between silt and clay varies by discipline, geologists and soil scientists usually consider the separation to occur at a particle size of 2 µm, sedimentologists often use 4–5 μm, and colloid chemists use 1 μm. Geotechnical engineers distinguish between silts and clays based on the plasticity properties of the soil, as measured by the soils Atterberg limits, ISO14688 grades clay particles as being smaller than 2 μm and silt particles as being larger. These solvents, usually acidic, migrate through the rock after leaching through upper weathered layers. In addition to the process, some clay minerals are formed through hydrothermal activity. There are two types of deposits, primary and secondary. Primary clays form as residual deposits in soil and remain at the site of formation, secondary clays are clays that have been transported from their original location by water erosion and deposited in a new sedimentary deposit. Clay deposits are associated with very low energy depositional environments such as large lakes. Depending on the source, there are three or four main groups of clays, kaolinite, montmorillonite-smectite, illite, and chlorite. Chlorites are not always considered to be a clay, sometimes being classified as a group within the phyllosilicates. There are approximately 30 different types of clays in these categories. Varve is clay with visible annual layers, which are formed by deposition of those layers and are marked by differences in erosion. This type of deposit is common in glacial lakes
Clay
–
Gay Head cliffs in
Martha's Vineyard consist almost entirely of clay.
Clay
–
Electron microscope photograph of smectite clay – magnification 23,500
Clay
–
Quaternary clay in
Estonia
Clay
–
Deforestation for clay extraction in
Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil. The picture is of Morro da Covanca, Jacarepaguá.
42.
Estuary
–
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a zone between river environments and maritime environments. They are subject both to marine influences—such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water—and to riverine influences—such as flows of fresh water and sediment. The inflows of sea water and fresh water provide high levels of nutrients both in the water column and in sediment, making estuaries among the most productive natural habitats in the world. Most existing estuaries formed during the Holocene epoch with the flooding of river-eroded or glacially scoured valleys when the sea began to rise about 10. Estuaries are typically classified according to their geomorphological features or to water-circulation patterns, the banks of many estuaries are amongst the most heavily populated areas of the world, with about 60% of the worlds population living along estuaries and the coast. The word estuary is derived from the Latin word aestuarium meaning tidal inlet of the sea, there have been many definitions proposed to describe an estuary. However, this definition excludes a number of water bodies such as coastal lagoons. This broad definition also includes fjords, lagoons, river mouths, an estuary is a dynamic ecosystem having a connection to the open sea through which the sea water enters with the rhythm of the tides. The sea water entering the estuary is diluted by the water flowing from rivers. The pattern of dilution varies between different estuaries and depends on the volume of water, the tidal range. Drowned river valleys are known as coastal plain estuaries. In places where the sea level is rising relative to the land, sea water progressively penetrates into river valleys and this is the most common type of estuary in temperate climates. Well-studied estuaries include the Severn Estuary in the United Kingdom and the Ems Dollard along the Dutch-German border, the width-to-depth ratio of these estuaries is typically large, appearing wedge-shaped in the inner part and broadening and deepening seaward. Water depths rarely exceed 30 m, examples of this type of estuary in the U. S. are the Hudson River, Chesapeake Bay, and Delaware Bay along the Mid-Atlantic coast, and Galveston Bay and Tampa Bay along the Gulf Coast. They are relatively common in tropical and subtropical locations and these estuaries are semi-isolated from ocean waters by barrier beaches. Formation of barrier beaches partially encloses the estuary, with only narrow inlets allowing contact with the ocean waters, bar-built estuaries typically develop on gently sloping plains located along tectonically stable edges of continents and marginal sea coasts. They are extensive along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the U. S. in areas with active coastal deposition of sediments, barrier beaches form in shallow water and are generally parallel to the shoreline, resulting in long, narrow estuaries
Estuary
–
Estuary of the
Klamath River in
Northern California
Estuary
–
River Exe estuary
Estuary
–
River Nith estuary
Estuary
–
Estuary mouth located in
Darwin,
Northern Territory,
Australia
43.
Rice
–
Rice is the seed of the grass species Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima. As a cereal grain, it is the most widely consumed staple food for a part of the worlds human population. It is the agricultural commodity with the third-highest worldwide production, after sugarcane and maize, wild rice, from which the crop was developed, may have its native range in Australia. Chinese legends attribute the domestication of rice to Shennong, the emperor of China. Genetic evidence has shown that rice originates from a single domestication 8, previously, archaeological evidence had suggested that rice was domesticated in the Yangtze River valley region in China. From East Asia, rice was spread to Southeast and South Asia, Rice was introduced to Europe through Western Asia, and to the Americas through European colonization. There are many varieties of rice and culinary preferences tend to vary regionally, in some areas such as the Far East or Spain, there is a preference for softer and stickier varieties. Rice, a monocot, is grown as an annual plant, although in tropical areas it can survive as a perennial. The rice plant can grow to 1–1.8 m tall, occasionally more depending on the variety and it has long, slender leaves 50–100 cm long and 2–2.5 cm broad. The small wind-pollinated flowers are produced in a branched arching to pendulous inflorescence 30–50 cm long, the edible seed is a grain 5–12 mm long and 2–3 mm thick. Rice cultivation is well-suited to countries and regions with low costs and high rainfall, as it is labor-intensive to cultivate. However, rice can be grown practically anywhere, even on a hill or mountain area with the use of water-controlling terrace systems. Although its parent species are native to Asia and certain parts of Africa, centuries of trade, the traditional method for cultivating rice is flooding the fields while, or after, setting the young seedlings. The name wild rice is used for species of the genera Zizania and Porteresia. The Greek word is the source of all European words, the origin of the Greek word is unclear. It is sometimes held to be from the Tamil word அரிசி, however, Krishnamurti disagrees with the notion that Old Tamil arici is the source of the Greek term, and proposes that it was borrowed from descendants of Proto-Dravidian *wariñci instead. The varieties of rice are typically classified as long-, medium-, the grains of long-grain rice tend to remain intact after cooking, medium-grain rice becomes more sticky. Medium-grain rice is used for dishes, for risotto in Italy
Rice
–
A mixture of brown, white, and red indica rice, also containing
wild rice, Zizania species
Rice
–
Oryza sativa with small
wind-pollinated flowers
Rice
–
Cooked brown rice from Bhutan
Rice
–
Rice can come in many shapes, colours and sizes. Photo by the
IRRI.
44.
Temperature
–
A temperature is an objective comparative measurement of hot or cold. It is measured by a thermometer, several scales and units exist for measuring temperature, the most common being Celsius, Fahrenheit, and, especially in science, Kelvin. Absolute zero is denoted as 0 K on the Kelvin scale, −273.15 °C on the Celsius scale, the kinetic theory offers a valuable but limited account of the behavior of the materials of macroscopic bodies, especially of fluids. Temperature is important in all fields of science including physics, geology, chemistry, atmospheric sciences, medicine. The Celsius scale is used for temperature measurements in most of the world. Because of the 100 degree interval, it is called a centigrade scale.15, the United States commonly uses the Fahrenheit scale, on which water freezes at 32°F and boils at 212°F at sea-level atmospheric pressure. Many scientific measurements use the Kelvin temperature scale, named in honor of the Scottish physicist who first defined it and it is a thermodynamic or absolute temperature scale. Its zero point, 0K, is defined to coincide with the coldest physically-possible temperature and its degrees are defined through thermodynamics. The temperature of zero occurs at 0K = −273. 15°C. For historical reasons, the triple point temperature of water is fixed at 273.16 units of the measurement increment, Temperature is one of the principal quantities in the study of thermodynamics. There is a variety of kinds of temperature scale and it may be convenient to classify them as empirically and theoretically based. Empirical temperature scales are historically older, while theoretically based scales arose in the middle of the nineteenth century, empirically based temperature scales rely directly on measurements of simple physical properties of materials. For example, the length of a column of mercury, confined in a capillary tube, is dependent largely on temperature. Such scales are only within convenient ranges of temperature. For example, above the point of mercury, a mercury-in-glass thermometer is impracticable. A material is of no use as a thermometer near one of its phase-change temperatures, in spite of these restrictions, most generally used practical thermometers are of the empirically based kind. Especially, it was used for calorimetry, which contributed greatly to the discovery of thermodynamics, nevertheless, empirical thermometry has serious drawbacks when judged as a basis for theoretical physics. Theoretically based temperature scales are based directly on theoretical arguments, especially those of thermodynamics, kinetic theory and they rely on theoretical properties of idealized devices and materials
Temperature
–
Annual mean temperature around the world
Temperature
–
Body temperature variation
Temperature
–
A typical Celsius thermometer measures a winter day temperature of -17 °C.
Temperature
–
Plots of pressure vs temperature for three different gas samples extrapolated to absolute zero.
45.
Mangroves
–
A mangrove is a shrub or small tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are salt tolerant trees, also called halophytes, and are adapted to life in coastal conditions. They contain a complex filtration system and complex root system to cope with salt water immersion. They are adapted to the low oxygen conditions of waterlogged mud, the saline conditions tolerated by various mangrove species range from brackish water, through pure seawater, to water concentrated by evaporation to over twice the salinity of ocean seawater. The term mangrove comes to English from Spanish, and is likely to originate from Guarani and it was earlier mangrow, but this word was corrupted via folk etymology influence of the word grove. Mangrove swamps are found in tropical and subtropical tidal areas, areas where mangal occurs include estuaries and marine shorelines. The intertidal existence to which trees are adapted represents the major limitation to the number of species able to thrive in their habitat. High tide brings in water, and when the tide recedes. The return of tide can flush out these soils, bringing back to salinity levels comparable to that of seawater. At low tide, organisms are exposed to increases in temperature and desiccation. About 110 species are considered mangroves, in the sense of being a tree grows in such a saline swamp, though only a few are from the mangrove plant genus. However, a mangrove swamp typically features only a small number of tree species. It is not uncommon for a mangrove forest in the Caribbean to feature three or four tree species. For comparison, the tropical rainforest biome contains thousands of tree species, though the trees themselves are few in species, the ecosystem that these trees create provides a home for a great variety of other organisms. Mangrove plants require a number of adaptations to overcome the problems of anoxia, high salinity. Each species has its own solutions to problems, this may be the primary reason why, on some shorelines. Small environmental variations within a mangal may lead to greatly differing methods for coping with the environment, once established, mangrove roots provide an oyster habitat and slow water flow, thereby enhancing sediment deposition in areas where it is already occurring
Mangroves
–
The world's mangrove forests in 2000.
Mangroves
–
A red mangrove, Rhizophora mangle.
Mangroves
–
Above and below water view at the edge of the mangal.
Mangroves
–
Salt crystals formed on grey mangrove leaf.
46.
Avicennia
–
Avicennia is a genus of flowering plants currently placed in the bears breeches family, Acanthaceae. It contains mangrove trees, which occur in the zones of estuarine areas and are characterized by aerial roots. It is commonly known as api api which in the Malay language means fires, species of Avicennia occur worldwide south of the Tropic of Cancer. The taxonomic placement of Avicennia is contentious, in some classifications it has been placed in the family Verbenaceae, but more recently has been placed by some botanists in the monogeneric family Avicenniaceae. Recent phylogenetic studies have suggested that Avicennia is derived from within Acanthaceae, designation of species is made difficult by the great variations in form of Avicennia marina. Between eight and ten species are recognised, with Avicennia marina further divided into a number of subspecies. The generic name honours Persian physician Avicenna, members of the genus are among the most salt tolerant mangroves and are often the first to colonise new deposits of sediment. The sap is salty and excess salt is secreted through the leaves, the spreading root system provides stability in shifting substrates. There are vertical roots called pneumatophores projecting from the mud and these are used in gas exchange as there is very little oxygen available in the mud. The flowers are fragrant and rich in nectar and are pollinated by insects, the embryos exhibit cryptovivipary, a process where they start to develop before the seed is shed but do not break through the outside of the fruit capsule. Synonym of Avicennia germinans L. Avicennia alba Blume synonym of Avicennia marina Vierh, Avicennia alba var. latifolia Moldenke synonym of Avicennia marina Vierh. Avicennia balanophora Stapf & Moldenke Avicennia bicolor Standl, synonym of Avicennia germinans L. Avicennia elliptica var. martii Moldenke synonym of Avicennia germinans L. Avicennia eucalyptifolia Zipp. Ex Moldenke synonym of Avicennia marina subsp, Avicennia lamarckiana C. Presl synonym of Avicennia germinans L. Avicennia lanata Ridl. Synonym of Avicennia marina var. rumphiana Bakh, Avicennia marina f. angustata Moldenke synonym of Avicennia marina Vierh. Avicennia marina var. anomala Moldenke synonym of Avicennia marina Vierh, australasica J. Everett Avicennia marina var. australasica Moldenke synonym of Avicennia marina subsp. Eucalyptifolia J. Everett Avicennia marina var. eucalyptifolia N. C. Duke synonym of Avicennia marina subsp, eucalyptifolia J. Everett Avicennia marina var. intermedia Bakh. Avicennia marina f. intermedia Moldenke synonym of Avicennia marina Vierh, marina synonym of Avicennia marina Vierh. Avicennia marina var. marina synonym of Avicennia marina Vierh, australasica J. Everett Avicennia marina var. rumphiana Bakh
Avicennia
–
Avicennia
Avicennia
–
Propagule of Avicennia sp.
47.
Sonneratia
–
Sonneratia is a genus of plants in the family Lythraceae. The genus was also named Blatti by James Edward Smith, the Sonneratia genus has twenty identified species, Sonneratia acida L. f. Sonneratia ovata Backer Sonneratia pagatpat Blanco Sonneratia paracaseolaris W. C. Ko, Sonneratia rubra Oken Sonneratia urama N. C. Duke The Sonneratia are called berembang in Malaya, mangrove apple in English, and Mangrovenapfel or Holzapfelmangrove in German. In the Philippines, particularly in the Bataan and Pampanga region, mangroves Graham, S. A. Thorne & Reveal Validation of subfamily names in Lythraceae Taxon 47, pp. 435–436, Shi, Suhua et al. Phylogenetic Analysis of the Sonneratiaceae and its Relationship to Lythraceae Based on ITS Sequences of nrDNA Journal of Plant Research 113, pp. 253–258, Duke, N. C. and Jackes, a Systematic Revision of the Mangrove Genus Sonneratia in Australasia Blumea 32, pp
Sonneratia
–
Mangrove trees and
pneumatophores of genus Sonneratia on the coast of
Yap
Sonneratia
–
Sonneratia
48.
Calamus (palm)
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Calamus is a genus of the palm family Arecaceae. These are among several genera known as rattan palms, there are an estimated 400 species in this genus, all native to tropical and subtropical Asia, Africa, and Australia. They are mostly leaf-climbing lianas with slender, reedy stems, to aid scrambling some species have evolved hooks on the underside of the midrib, or more commonly by modified pinnae or tendrils in the form of stout, backward-pointing spines. These stems may grow to lengths of 200 metres, the Plant List describes 380 species, including, Calamus adspersus Calamus manillensis - Philippines rattan or alimuran Calamus aruensis Becc. - southern lawyer vine Calamus nambariensis Calamus obovoideus Calamus radicalis H. Wendl, & Drude Calamus rotang Calamus suaveolens W. J. Baker & J. Dransf. Ex Becc. -, Dunk Island lawyer vine, Mission Beach wait-a-while Calamus wailong Calamus warburgii K. Schum, - Iron Range wait-a-while Calamus zeylanicus Calamus deerratus in West African plants – A Photo Guide
Calamus (palm)
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Calamus
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