1.
Godavari River
–
The Godavari is the second longest river in India after the river Ganges having its source at Tryambakeshwar, Maharashtra. Measuring up to 312,812 km2, it one of the largest river basins in the Indian subcontinent, with only the Ganges. However, in the past few decades, the river has been abused with relentless construction of barrages and dams. The river delta, supporting 729 persons/km2 – nearly twice the density average for the nation, has been categorized as having substantial risk to greater risk of flooding with rising sea levels. The Godavari originates 80 km from the Arabian Sea in the Western Ghats of central India near Nasik in Maharashtra. The Godavari River has an area of 312,812 km2. The river basin is considered to be divided into 3 sections, Upper, Middle and these put together account for 24. 2% of the total basin area. The rivers annual average water inflows are nearly 110 billion cubic metres, nearly 50% of the water availability is being harnessed. The water allocation from the river among the states are governed by the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal. The river has highest flood flows in India and experienced recorded flood of 3.6 million cusecs in the year 1986, within Nashik District the river assumes a north-easterly course till it flows into the Gangapur Reservoir created by a dam of the same name. The reservoir along with the Kashypi Dam provides potable water to Nashik, about 25 km below Nasik is the confluence of the Godavari and one of its tributaries, the Darna river. The stream occupies, for nine months in the year, a space in a wide and gravelly bed. A few kilometres after its meeting with the Darna, the Godavari swerves to the north-east, till the Banganga, from the north-west, the course of the main stream then tends more decidedly south. At Nandur-Madhmeshwar, the Kadva, a large affluent, brings considerable increase to the waters of the Godavari. The river begins its southeasterly course characteristic of rivers of the Deccan Plateau, the river beyond exits the Niphad Taluka of Nashik and enter the Kopargaon taluka, Ahmednagar District. Within Ahmednagar the river completes its short course, flowing alongside the town of Kopargaon. By virtue of a sub-tributary of Pravara – Mandohol, which originates in Pune District – the basin impinges the Pune District, the river at Paithan has been impounded by the Jayakwadi Dam forming the NathSagar Reservoir. Kalsubai located in Godavari basin, is the highest peak in Maharashtra, Beed and Jalna Beed and Parbhani, Located along here is its merger with Sindphana, an important tributary which drains a considerably large area within Beed
2.
Papikonda Wildlife Sanctuary
–
Papi Hills is a scenic gorge located on a section of the Godavari river in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, India
3.
Andhra Pradesh
–
Andhra Pradesh is one of the 29 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of the country. The state is the eighth largest state in India covering an area of 162,968 km2, as per 2011 Census of India, the state is tenth largest by population with 49,386,799 inhabitants. On 2 June 2014, the portion of the state was bifurcated to form a new state of Telangana. In accordance with the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act,2014, Hyderabad will remain the de jure capital of both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states for a period of not exceeding 10 years. The new riverfront proposed capital in Guntur district is Amaravati, which is under the jurisdiction of APCRDA, the Gross State Domestic Product of the state in the 2016–2017 financial year at current prices stood at ₹6,800.3 billion. The state has a coastline of 974 km with jurisdiction over nearly 15,000 km2 territorial waters, the second longest among all the states of India after Gujarat. It is bordered by Telangana in the north-west, Chhattisgarh in the north, Odisha in the north-east, Karnataka in the west, Tamil Nadu in the south and the water body of Bay of Bengal in the east. A small enclave of 30 km2 of Yanam, a district of Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh is composed of two regions, Coastal Andhra, located along the Bay of Bengal, and Rayalaseema, in the inland southwestern part of the state. These two regions comprise 13 districts, with 9 in Coastal Andhra and 4 in Rayalaseema, Andhra Pradesh hosted 121.8 million visitors in 2015, a 30% growth in tourist arrivals over the previous year. The Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati is one of the worlds most visited religious sites, a tribe named Andhra has been mentioned in the Sanskrit texts such as Aitareya Brahmana. According to Aitareya Brahmana of the Rig Veda, the Andhras left north India, archaeological evidence from places such as Amaravati, Dharanikota and Vaddamanu suggests that the Andhra region was part of the Mauryan Empire. Amaravati might have been a centre for the Mauryan rule. After the death of emperor Ashoka, the Mauryan rule weakened around 200 BCE, the Satavahana dynasty dominated the Deccan region from the 1st century BCE to the 3rd century CE. The Satavahanas have been mentioned by the names Andhra, Andhrara-jatiya and Andhra-bhrtya in the Puranic literature, Dharanikota along with Amaravathi was the capital of the later Satavahanas. Amaravathi became a trade and pilgrimage centre during the Satavahana rule. According to the Buddhist tradition, Nagarjuna lived here, possibly in second, Andhra Ikshvakus were one of the earliest recorded ruling dynasties of the Guntur-Krishna regions of Andhra Pradesh. They ruled the eastern Andhra country along the Krishna river during the half of the second century CE. Puranas called Andhra Ikshvakus Shri Parvatiya Andhras, archaeological evidence has suggested that the Andhra Ikshvakus immediately succeeded the Satavahanas in the Krishna river valley
4.
India
–
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
5.
Summit
–
A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a maximum in elevation. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak, and zenith are synonymous, the UIAA definition is that a summit is independent if it has a prominence of 30 metres or more, it is a mountain if it has a prominence of at least 300 metres. This can be summarised as follows, A pyramidal peak is an exaggerated form produced by ice erosion of a mountain top, Summit may also refer to the highest point along a line, trail, or route. In many parts of the western United States, the term refers to the highest point along a road, highway. For example, the highest point along Interstate 80 in California is referred to as Donner Summit while the highest point on Interstate 5 is Siskiyou Mountain Summit, geoid Hill List of highest mountains Maxima and minima Nadir Summit accordance Peak finder
6.
Topographic prominence
–
It is a measure of the independence of a summit. A peaks key col is a point on this contour line. By convention, the prominence of Mount Everest, the Earths highest mountain, is taken to equal the elevation of its summit above sea level, if the peaks prominence is P metres, to get from the summit to any higher terrain one must descend at least P metres. Together with the convention for Mount Everest, this implies that the prominence of any island or continental highpoint is equal to its elevation above sea level, for every ridge connecting the peak to higher terrain, find the lowest point on the ridge. The key col is defined as the highest of these cols, the prominence is the difference between the elevation of the peak and the elevation of the key col. The following mental exercise may illustrate the meaning of topographic prominence, imagine you are standing at the top of a peak and imagine that an imaginary sea level rises to your feet. Now slowly lower the sea level and an imaginary island appears beneath your feet. Your island will grow and will merge with other islands that emerge, the parent peak may be either close or far from the subject peak. The summit of Mount Everest is the parent peak of Aconcagua at a distance of 17,755 km, the key col may also be close or far from the subject peak. The key col for Aconcagua is the Bering Strait at a distance of 13,655 km, the key col for the South Summit of Mount Everest is about 100 m distant. Prominence is interesting to many mountaineers because it is a measurement that is strongly correlated with the subjective significance of a summit. Peaks with low prominences are either subsidiary tops of some higher summit or relatively insignificant independent summits, peaks with high prominences tend to be the highest points around and are likely to have extraordinary views. Only summits with a sufficient degree of prominence are regarded as independent mountains, for example, the worlds second-highest mountain is K2. While Mount Everests South Summit is taller than K2, it is not considered an independent mountain because it is a subsummit of the main summit, many lists of mountains take topographic prominence as a criterion for inclusion, or cutoff. John and Anne Nuttalls The Mountains of England and Wales uses a cutoff of 15 m, in the contiguous United States, the famous list of fourteeners uses a cutoff of 300 ft /91 m. Also in the U. S.2000 feet of prominence has become a threshold that signifies that a peak has major stature. This generates lists of peaks ranked by prominence, which are different from lists ranked by elevation. Such lists tend to emphasize isolated high peaks, such as range or island high points, one advantage of a prominence-ranked list is that it needs no cutoff, since a peak with high prominence is automatically an independent peak
7.
Odisha
–
Odisha (/ɒˈrɪsə, ɔː-, oʊ-/, is one of the 29 states of India, located in the eastern coast. It is surrounded by the states of West Bengal to the north-east, Jharkhand to the north, Chhattisgarh to the west and north-west, Odisha has 485 kilometres of coastline along the Bay of Bengal on its east, from Balasore to Malkangiri. It is the 9th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population and it is also the 3rd most populous state of India in terms of tribal population. Odia is the official and most widely spoken language, spoken by 33.2 million according to the 2001 Census. The ancient kingdom of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka in 261 BCE resulting in the Kalinga War, the modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April 1936, as a province in British India, and consisted predominantly of Odia-speaking regions. April 1 is celebrated as Odisha Day, the region is also known as Utkala and is mentioned in Indias national anthem, Jana Gana Mana. Cuttack was made the capital of the region by Anantavarman Chodaganga in c,1135, after which the city was used as the capital by many rulers, through the British era until 1948. Thereafter, Bhubaneswar became the capital of Odisha, the term Odisha is derived from the ancient Prakrit word Odda Visaya as in the Tirumalai inscription of Rajendra Chola I, which is dated to 1025. Sarala Das, who translated the Mahabharata into the Odia language in the 15th century, calls the region Odra Rashtra, the inscriptions of Kapilendra Deva of the Gajapati Kingdom on the walls of temples in Puri call the region Odisha or Odisha Rajya. After a brief debate, the house, Lok Sabha, passed the bill. On 24 March 2011, Rajya Sabha, the house of Parliament, also passed the bill. Prehistoric Acheulian tools dating to Lower Paleolithic era have been discovered in places in the region. Kalinga has been mentioned in ancient texts like Mahabharata, Vayu Purana, the Sabar people of Odisha have also been mentioned in the Mahabharata. Baudhayana mentions Kalinga as not yet being influenced by Vedic traditions, Ashoka of the Mauryan dynasty conquered Kalinga in the bloody Kalinga War in 261 BCE, which was the eighth year of his reign. According to his own edicts, in that war about 100,000 people were killed,150,000 were captured, the resulting bloodshed and suffering of the war is said to have deeply affected Ashoka. He turned into a pacifist and converted to Buddhism, by c.150 CE, emperor Kharavela, who was possibly a contemporary of Demetrius I of Bactria, conquered a major part of the Indian sub-continent. He also built the monastery atop the Udayagiri hill, subsequently, the region was ruled by monarchs, such as Samudragupta and Shashanka. It was also a part of Harshas empire, later, the kings of the Somavamsi dynasty began to unite the region
8.
Karnataka
–
Karnataka is a state in south western region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, originally known as the State of Mysore, it was renamed Karnataka in 1973. The capital and largest city is Bangalore, the state covers an area of 191,976 square kilometres, or 5.83 percent of the total geographical area of India. It is the seventh largest Indian state by area, with 61,130,704 inhabitants at the 2011 census, Karnataka is the eighth largest state by population, comprising 30 districts. Kannada, one of the languages of India, is the most widely spoken. Most of these rivers flow out of Karnataka eastward into the Bay of Bengal, though several etymologies have been suggested for the name Karnataka, the generally accepted one is that Karnataka is derived from the Kannada words karu and nādu, meaning elevated land. Karu nadu may also be read as karu, meaning black, the British used the word Carnatic, sometimes Karnatak, to describe both sides of peninsular India, south of the Krishna. With an antiquity that dates to the paleolithic, Karnataka has been home to some of the most powerful empires of ancient, the philosophers and musical bards patronised by these empires launched socio-religious and literary movements which have endured to the present day. Karnataka has contributed significantly to both forms of Indian classical music, the Carnatic and Hindustani traditions, Karnatakas pre-history goes back to a paleolithic hand-axe culture evidenced by discoveries of, among other things, hand axes and cleavers in the region. Evidence of neolithic and megalithic cultures have also found in the state. Gold discovered in Harappa was found to be imported from mines in Karnataka, prior to the third century BCE, most of Karnataka formed part of the Nanda Empire before coming under the Mauryan empire of Emperor Ashoka. Four centuries of Satavahana rule followed, allowing them to large areas of Karnataka. The decline of Satavahana power led to the rise of the earliest native kingdoms, the Kadambas, the Kadamba Dynasty, founded by Mayurasharma, had its capital at Banavasi, the Western Ganga Dynasty was formed with Talakad as its capital. These were also the first kingdoms to use Kannada in administration, as evidenced by the Halmidi inscription, the Western Chalukyas patronised a unique style of architecture and Kannada literature which became a precursor to the Hoysala art of 12th century. Parts of modern-day Southern Karnataka were occupied by the Chola Empire at the turn of 11th century, the Cholas and the Hoysalas fought over the region in the early 12th century before it eventually came under Hoysala rule. At the turn of the first millennium, the Hoysalas gained power in the region, literature flourished during this time, which led to the emergence of distinctive Kannada literary metres, and the construction of temples and sculptures adhering to the Vesara style of architecture. The expansion of the Hoysala Empire brought minor parts of modern Andhra Pradesh, in the early 14th century, Harihara and Bukka Raya established the Vijayanagara empire with its capital, Hosapattana, on the banks of the Tungabhadra River in the modern Bellary district. The empire rose as a bulwark against Muslim advances into South India, in 1565, Karnataka and the rest of South India experienced a major geopolitical shift when the Vijayanagara empire fell to a confederation of Islamic sultanates in the Battle of Talikota
9.
Tamil Nadu
–
Tamil Nadu is one of the 29 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai, Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Puducherry and the South Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. The state shares a border with the nation of Sri Lanka. Tamil Nadu is the eleventh-largest state in India by area and the sixth-most populous, the state was ranked sixth among states in India according to the Human Development Index in 2011, with the second-largest state economy after Maharashtra. Tamil Nadu is the second largest state economy in India with ₹13,842 billion in gross domestic product after Maharashtra. Tamil Nadu was ranked as one of the top seven developed states in India based on a Multidimensional Development Index in a 2013 report published by the Reserve Bank of India and its official language is Tamil, which is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world. Tamil Nadu is home to natural resources. In addition, its people have developed and continue classical arts, classical music, historic buildings and religious sites include Hindu temples of Tamil architecture, hill stations, beach resorts, multi-religious pilgrimage sites, and eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Archaeological evidence points to this area being one of the longest continuous habitations in the Indian peninsula, the ASI archaeologists have proposed that the script used at that site is very rudimentary Tamil Brahmi. Adichanallur has been announced as a site for further excavation. About 60 per cent of the epigraphical inscriptions found by the ASI in India are from Tamil Nadu. A Neolithic stone celt with the Indus script on it was discovered at Sembian-Kandiyur near Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu, according to epigraphist Iravatham Mahadevan, this was the first datable artefact bearing the Indus script to be found in Tamil Nadu. Mahadevan claimed that the find was evidence of the use of the Harappan language, the date of the celt was estimated at between 1500 BCE and 2000 BCE. The early history of the people and rulers of Tamil Nadu is a topic in Tamil literary sources known as Sangam literature, numismatic, archaeological and literary sources corroborate that the Sangam period lasted for about six centuries, from 300 BC to AD300. Three dynasties, namely the Chera, Chola and Pandya, ruled the area of present-day Tamil Nadu, the Chera ruled the whole of present-day Kerala and parts of western Tamil Nadu comprising Coimbatore, Dharmapuri, Karur, Salem and Erode districts from the capital of Vanchi Muthur. The Chola dynasty ruled the northern and central parts of Tamil Nadu from their capital, Uraiyur, All three dynasties had extensive trade relationships with Rome, Greece, Egypt, Ceylon, Phoenicia, Arabia, Mesopotamia and Persia. Trade flourished in commodities such as spices, ivory, pearls, beads, Chera traded extensively from Muziris on the west coast, Chola from Arikamedu and Puhar and Pandya through Korkai port. A Greco-Roman trade and travel document, the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea gives a description of the Tamil country, besides these three dynasties, the Sangam era Tamilakam was also divided into various provinces named nadu, meaning country
10.
West Bengal
–
West Bengal is an Indian state, located in East India on the Bay of Bengal. It is Indias fourth-most populous state, with over 91 million inhabitants and it has a total area of 34,267 sq mi, making it similar in size to Serbia. A part of the ethno-linguistic Bengal region, it borders Bangladesh in the east and Nepal and it also has borders five Indian states, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim and Assam. The state capital is Kolkata, the seventh-largest city in India, the geography of West Bengal includes the Darjeeling Himalayan hill region in its extreme north, the Ganges delta, the Rarh region and the coastal Sundarbans. The main ethnic group are the Bengali people, with Bengali Hindus forming the demographic majority, Ancient Bengal was the site of several major janapadas, including Vanga, Radha, Pundra and Suhma. In the 2nd century BC, the region was conquered by the emperor Ashoka, in the 4th century AD, it was absorbed into the Gupta Empire. From the 13th century onward, the region was ruled by sultans, powerful Hindu states and Baro-Bhuyan landlords. The British East India Company cemented their hold on the following the Battle of Plassey in 1757. Between 1977 and 2011, the state was administered by the worlds longest elected Communist government, a major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to Indias net domestic product. It is noted for its activities and the presence of cultural and educational institutions. The states cultural heritage, besides varied folk traditions, ranges from stalwarts in literature including Nobel-laureate Rabindranath Tagore to scores of musicians, film-makers and artists. West Bengal is also distinct from most other Indian states in its appreciation and practice of playing football besides cricket. The origin of the name Bengal is unknown, one theory suggests that the word derives from Bang, a Dravidian tribe that settled the region around 1000 BC. The word might have derived from the ancient kingdom of Vanga. Although some early Sanskrit literature mentions the name, the early history is obscure. At the end of British Rule over the Indian subcontinent, the Bengal region was partitioned in 1947 along religious lines into east and west, the east came to be known as East Bengal and the west came to known as West Bengal, which continued as an Indian state. In 2011, the Government of West Bengal proposed a change in the name of the state to Poschimbongo. This is the name of the state, literally meaning western Bengal in the native Bengali language
11.
Eastern India
–
East India is a region of India consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and also the union territory Andaman and Nicobar Islands. West Bengals capital Kolkata is the largest city of this region, the Kolkata Metropolitan Area is the countrys third largest. The state of West Bengal share some cultural and linguistic characteristics with Bangladesh, Odisha is the only state of India, which has a classical language Odia, a classical dance Odissi and a classical music Odissi music. Odia is the language in east India accorded the status of a Classical Language of India. Together with Bangladesh, West Bengal formed the region of Bengal before partition in 1947. The modern state of Odisha was known as Kalinga, Odra desha and it was ruled by indigenous rulers of the Mahameghavahana dynasty, Eastern Ganga dynasty and Gajapati Dynasty. The bulk of the lies on the east coast of India by the Bay of Bengal. Jharkhand, on the Chhota Nagpur plateau, is a hilly, Odisha is also a mineral rich state of India. It is connected to the Seven Sister States of Northeast India by the narrow Siliguri Corridor in the north east of West Bengal, in medieval India, it was incorporated into the Mughal, Maratha and then the British empire. After independence in 1947, the joined the Indian Union. Today, they continue to face problems of overpopulation, environmental degradation and pervasive corruption despite significant economic, after the Kalinga War the Maurya king Ashoka sent emissaries to spread Buddhism across Asia. The famous university of Nalanda was in Bihar, chinese travellers visited Buddhist and Hindu temples and libraries in the universities of Magadha Empire. The Emperor of Kalinga Mahameghavahana Aira Kharavela was one of the most powerful monarchs of ancient India, the Jain thirkhankar Mahaveer was born here and founded Jainism. Islamic invasions in the 13th century resulted in the collapse of Hindu kings and most Buddhists, especially in East Bengal, East India including Bihar and West Bengal was part of the Mughal Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries. Odisha remained a powerful Hindu dynasty under the rule of Soma/Keshari Dynasty, Eastern Ganga Dynasty, the mighty Nalanda University existed at Nalanda which was destroyed by Bakhtiar Khilji during the 12th century and also defeated Sena Dynasty. Sher Shah Suri, who became king of India after defeating Humayun, with the arrival of the Europeans in the 17th century, outposts were established in Odisha Coast and Bengal. The European traders established their trade centres in the ports of Balasore, Pipili. The Portuguese were in Chittagong, Dutch in Chinsura, French in Pondicherry, in 1756, the British East India Company defeated the local Indian Muslim rulers in Plassey and established British Rule in the subcontinent
12.
South India
–
The region occupies 19. 31% of Indias land area. Covering the southern part of the peninsular Deccan Plateau, South India is bounded by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west, and the Indian Ocean in the south. The geography of the region is diverse, with two ranges, the Western and Eastern Ghats, bordering the plateau heartland. The Godavari River, Krishna River, Kaveri, Tungabhadra and Vaigai rivers are important non-perennial sources of water, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Coimbatore and Kochi are the largest urban areas. Majority of the people in South India speak one of the four major Dravidian languages, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam. During its history, a number of kingdoms ruled over parts of South India whose invasions across southern and southeastern Asia impacted the history. Major dynasties that were established in South India include the Cheras, Cholas, Pandyas, Pallavas, Satavahanas, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, european countries entered India through Kerala and the region was colonised by Britain and other nations. HDI in the states is high and the economy has undergone growth at a faster rate than most northern states. Literacy rates in the states are higher than the national average with approximately 80% of the population capable of reading and writing. The fertility rate in South India is 1.9, the lowest of all regions in India, South India also known as Peninsular India has been known by several other names. Carnatic derived from Karnād or Karunād meaning high country has also associated with South India. Carbon dating on ash mounds associated with Neolithic cultures in South India date back to 8000 BCE, artefacts such as ground stone axes, and minor copper objects have been found in the region. Towards the beginning of 1000 BCE, iron technology spread through the region, however, the region was in the middle of a trade route that extended from Muziris to Arikamedu linking the Mediterranean and East Asia. Trade with Phoenicians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Syrians, Jews, the region was part of the ancient Silk Road connecting the Asian continent in the East and the West. C. to 14th century A. D. The Vijayanagara Empire, founded in 14th century A. D. was the last Indian dynasty that ruled over the region. The Europeans arrived in the 15th century and by the middle of the 18th century, the French, the British Empire took control of the region from the British East India Company in 1857. During the British colonial rule, the region was divided into the Madras Presidency, Hyderabad state, Mysore, Travancore, Kochi, Vizianagaram and a number of other minor princely states. After the independence of India in 1947, the region was organised into four states, Madras State, Mysore State, Hyderabad State and Travancore-Cochin
13.
Visakhapatnam
–
Visakhapatnam is the largest city, both in terms of area and population in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located on the coast of Bay of Bengal in the eastern region of the state. It is the headquarters of Visakhapatnam district and also the Financial Capital of Andhra Pradesh. As of 2011, the population of the city was recorded as 2,035,922, making it the 14th largest city in the country, Visakhapatnam Port is the fifth busiest port in India in terms of cargo handled. Visakhapatnam is home to the oldest shipyard and the natural harbour on the east coast of India. Visakhapatnams history stretches back to the 6th century BCE, historically, it was considered part of the Kalinga ancient region, and later ruled by the Vengi kingdom, the Pallava and Eastern Ganga dynasties. Conquered by the Mughals in the 16th century, European powers eventually set up trading interests in the city, control passed to the British in 1804 and it remained under British colonial rule until Indias independence in 1947. After independence, Visakhapatnam developed into one of the chief ports. The city is located between the Eastern Ghats mountain range and the Bay of Bengal, and is known as The Jewel of the East Coast, The City of Destiny. Visakhapatnams beaches, parks, museums, and proximity to areas of beauty have helped the city become a significant tourist destination. Visakhapatnam has been selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a city under PM Narendra Modis flagship Smart Cities Mission. Visakhapatnam was ranked as the fifth cleanest city in India according to the governments Swachhta Sarvekshan rankings, the name Visakhapatnam was derived from the shrine of God Visakha, built by a King of Andhrain 4th century. The city coordinates lies between 17. 6883° N latitude, and 83. 2186° E longitude and its periphery consists of plains along the coast line while the interiors boast of the beautiful hills of the Eastern Ghats which surround it on the North and the West. This region is called the Agency Division. It occupies an area of approximately 11,161 km2, visakhapatnams history stretches back to the 6th century B. C. E. and the city finds mention in ancient texts, such as the 4th century B. C. E. Historically considered part of the Kalinga region, it was ruled by the Vengi kingdom, archaeological records suggest that the present city was built around the 11th and 12th centuries C. E. by the Chola Dynasty king Kulothunga I. Control over the city fluctuated between the Chola Dynasty of Tamil Nadu and the Gajapati Kingdom of Odisha until its conquest by the Vijayanagara Empire in the 15th century, in the 16th century, it was conquered by the Mughals. European powers eventually set up trading interests in the city, the city was ruled by Andhra Kings of Vengi and Pallavas
14.
Vijayawada
–
Vijayawada is a city on the banks of the Krishna River, in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a corporation and the headquarters of Vijayawada mandal in Krishna district of the state. The city forms a part of Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and the headquarters of Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority is located in the city. The city is one of the trading and business centres of the state and hence. The city is one of the two metropolis in the state, with the other being Visakhapatnam. As of 2011 census, the city had a population of 1,048,240, making it the second largest city in the state in terms of population and it had an urban agglomeration population of 1,491,202. As per the Demographia World Urban Areas,2016, the city is the third most densely populated in terms of population in built-up areas of the world. The city has been recognised as a Global City of the Future by McKinsey Quarterly and it is one of the commercial hubs of Andhra Pradesh with a nominal GDP of $3 billion in 2010, and is expected to increase to $17 billion by 2025. There are many legends behind the origin of the name Vijayawada, Goddess Durga killed the demon and relaxed in this place for some time. As she was victorious, the place came to be known as Vijayawada, the epic Mahabharata refers to the Indrakiladri hills as the place where Arjuna secured Pashupatastra from Lord Shiva. The city thereafter came to be known as Vijayavatika and later as Vijayawada, in some legends, Vijayawada was referred to as Rajendracholapura. A tale behind its acquiring the name Bezawada is that Goddess Krishnaveni requested Arjuna to make a passage for her to merge into the Bay of Bengal, hence, Arjuna made a bejjam through the mountains and the place came to be known as Bejjamwada which later changed to Bezawada. Vijayawada history reveals that Bezawada was ruled by King Madhava Varma, Vijayawada is located at 16. 5193°N80. 6305°E /16.5193,80.6305 and has an altitude of 11 m. It lies on the banks of Krishna River and is surrounded on the north by Budameru River. The topography of Vijayawada is flat, with a few small to medium-sized hills, the Krishna River runs along the city. These hills are part of the Eastern Ghats cut through by the Krishna river, three canals originating from the north side of the Prakasham barrage reservoir, Eluru, Bandar and Ryves, run through the city. Vijayawada has a climate with hot summers and a monsoon season. Temperatures can reach 47 °C in May–June, while the temperatures rarely fall below 15 °C
15.
Tirupati
–
Tirupati is a city in Chittoor district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a corporation and the headquarters of Tirupati mandal. As of 2011 census, it had a population of 374,260 and it is the seventh most urban agglomerated city in the state, with a population of 459,985. Tirupati is also home to educational institutions and universities. For the year 2012-13, Indias Ministry of Tourism named Tirupati as the Best Heritage City, Tirupati has been selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under Smart Cities Mission by Government of India. As per the book Symposium written by Dr. Jagannatha Rao, tri is a Sanskrit word referring to Lord of Tripathy of the sacred hill. In Dravidian translation, Tiru means sacred and also referred to as Goddess Lakshmi, Tirumala According to Varaha Purana, during Treta Yugam, Lord Sri Rama resided here along with Sita Devi and Lakshmana on his return from Lankapuri. The town was a centre of Vaishnavism around the 5th century A. D. during which it was praised by Alvars. The temple rites were formalised by the Vaishnavite saint Ramanujacharya in the 11th century AD, Tirupati survived the Muslim and British invasions. During the early 1300s Muslim invasion of South India, the deity of Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, the temple was built and upgraded in parts by various kingdoms. During the 15th century, Sri Tallapaka Annamacharya sung many songs in praise of the town in Telugu. He compared it to be divine, including the rocks, streams, trees, animals, with the growing importance of Upper Tirupati, a village formed at the present day Kapilatheertham Road area and was named kotturu. It was later shifted to the vicinity of Govindarajaswamy Temple which was consecrated around the year 1130 CE, later the village grew into its present-day form around Govindaraja Swamy Temple which is now the heart of the city. It has now gained a lot of popularity as a tourism place, in 1932, Tirumala Venkateswara Temple was handed over to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams by the TTD Act of 1932. The fourth World Telugu Conference, a conference for furtherance of Telugu language, was conducted at Tirupati during December,2012 for three days. Tirupati is located at 13. 65°N79. 42°E /13.65,79.42 in the Chittoor District of South Indian State of Andhra Pradesh and it lies at the foot of Seshachalam Hills of Eastern Ghats which were formed during Precambrian era. One of its suburbsTirumala, which is the home to Sri Venkateswara Temple, is located within the hills. Tirupati Urban agglomeration includes Tirupati and its suburbs Tirumala, Tiruchanur, Chandragiri, Tirupati is surrounded by Srikalahasti towards the East, Puttur towards the South, Poothalapattu towards the west and the Seshachalam hills towards the North
16.
Kurnool
–
Kurnool is a city, former princely state and the headquarters of Kurnool district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The city is referred as The Gateway of Rayalaseema. It was the capital of Andhra State from 1 October 1953 to 31 October 1956, as of 2011 census, it is the fifth most populous city in the state with a population of 460,184. The name Kurnool is derived from Kandanavolu, the Ketavaram rock paintings from the Paleolithic era and are. Also the Jurreru Valley, Katavani Kunta and Yaganti in Kurnool District have some important rock arts and paintings in the vicinity, little was known about Kurnool town before the 11th century. The earliest knowledge of this settlement dates from the 11th century and it has developed as transit place on the southern banks of the river Tungabhadra. It was ruled by Cholas and later by Kakatiya kings in the 12th and 13th centuries, later on it became a jagir. Late it came under the influence of Vijayanagar kings and it was during the 16th century that Achyuta Raya built the Kurnool Fort, during the 17th century it was ruled by Gopal Raja. The Pathan general Abdul Wahab conquered king Gopal Raja and ruled over the country for 16 years, the town became a vassal princely state of the Mughal empire under Aurangazeb, who took control in 1686. The town was the capital and seat of ruling Muslim princes, in 1858 it was made over to a Collector under the General regulations. Kurnool is located at 15. 8333°N78. 05°E /15.8333,78.05 and it has an average elevation of 273 metres. Kurnool lies on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, the Hundri and Neeva rivers also flow through the city. Canal was built by the Dutch for transportation, but later used for irrigation, landmarks in and around the city include Konda Reddy Fort is the remnant of Kurnool fort on the north east part of the city. Orvakal rock Garderns with a cave museum lies on the south east of the city, the climate is tropical with temperatures ranging from 26 °C to 46 °C in the summer and 12 °C to 31 °C in the winter. The average annual rainfall is about 705 millimetres, as per final data of 2011 census, Kurnool urban agglomeration had a population of 484,327. The literacy rate was 77.37 per cent, note, The Office of Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India. It is the headquarters of the mandal, the revenue division, from 1 October 1953 to 31 October 1956, Kurnool was also the state capital of Andhra State, which was carved out of Madras State in 1953. Tanguturi Prakasam was the minister of Andhra State during this period
17.
Srisailam
–
The town of Srisailam is reputed for the shrine of Lord Mallikarjuna on the flat top of Nallamala Hills. It has played a dominant role in the Hindu religious, cultural and social history since ancient times, the epigraphical evidence reveals that the history of Srisailam began with the Satavahanas who were the first empire builders in South India. It is on the banks of the Krishna River about 212 km south of Hyderabad and 179 km from Kurnool, the temple town is one of fifty five Shakti Peethas. Srisailam is located at 16. 074°N78. 868°E /16.074,78.868 and it has an average elevation of 409 meters. The Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga located in Srisailam is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga temples dedicated to Lord Shiva, the Bhramarambha Temple is also located in the same complex. It is considered as one of the eighteen Shakti Peethas in India, Bhramarambha is a very ferocious deity. Originally she was worshipped by the Chenchu people, however, during British rule, the temple was taken over by the Pushpagiri peetham forcibly with the help of the British Government ruling the Madras Presidency. Siddhavatam is located on the bank of the river Penna in Kadapa District in the south where Jyothisideswara Swamy, Alampur is on the bank of the river Tungabhadra in Mahaboobnagar District in the west where Navabrahma Alayas, a group of nine temples of the Chalukya period, are. This Kshetram is also the seat of Goddess Jogulamba, one of the eighteen Mahasakthis, umamaheswaram is located in Rangapur, Achampeta Mandal, Mahaboobnagar District in the North where God Umamaheswara Swamy and Goddess Umamaheswari Devi are the presiding deities. Somasila, Located on the bank of the river Penna in the southeast with Skanda Someshwara as the presiding deity, Pushpagiri, Located in Kadapa District in the southwest with Santana Malleshwara as presiding deity. Sangameswaram, Located at the confluence of the River Krishna and Tungabhadra in Kurnool District in the northwest and this temple has been re-built at Alampur. Shivananda Lahari Srisaila Devasthana Official Website Ancient Srisaila Pancha Mutts Official Website An Official website Sri Pothuluru Veerabrahmendra Swami, Kandimallayapalle, Kadapa Dist
18.
St. Thomas Mount
–
St. Thomas Mount is a small hillock located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, near the neighbourhood of Guindy and very close to Chennai International Airport. The ancient Syrian Christian community of India trace the origin of their church to St. Thomas the Apostle, from the 17th century, this part of Chennai was populated predominantly by Anglo-Indians. The neighbourhood is served by the St. Thomas Mount railway station on the line of the Chennai Suburban Railway Network. Integration of the Metro and MRTS with the station in the neighbourhood, is expected to make the suburb the citys largest transit hub after Chennai Central. In the state elections of 1967 and 1971, there was a constituency known as the Saint Thomas Mount. The St. Thomas Mount block is a block in the Chennai district of Tamil Nadu. The altar of this shrine was built on the spot where St. Thomas death traditionally believed to have been occurred, at the northern foot of the mount, is a gateway of four impressive arches surmounted by a cross bearing the inscribed date 1547. A flight of 160 steps leads up to the summit of the mount, there are 14 stations of the cross erected on the way to the summit. St. Thomas Mount National Shrine St. Thomas and San Thome, Mylapore
19.
Chennai
–
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
20.
Vellore
–
Vellore is a city and the administrative headquarters of Vellore District in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Vellore has four zones which covers an area of 87.915 km2 and has a population of 423,425 based on 2001 census and it is located about 145 kilometres west of the state capital Chennai and about 211 kilometres east of Karnataka capital Bengaluru. Vellore is administered by a Vellore Municipal Corporation under a mayor, Vellore is part of Vellore and Vellore. Vellore is the base of two of Indias top ten institutions, Christian Medical College & Hospital and VIT University. It is also a centre for medical tourism in India. Vellore region is the top exporter of finished goods in the country. Vellore leather accounts for more than 37% of the export of leather. The Government of India has released next round of smart cities project list, the Tamil Nadu state district Vellore also got the place into the list of 27 cities in the prestigious project. In Tamil, the word vel means spear that is seen as the weapon of Hindu god Murugan, as per Hindu legend, Murugan is seen as a tribal hunter who appeared in a lotus pond with his weapon to attack the enemies. Thus Vellore is seen as the place where Murugan appeared, as per another legend, the region was surrounded by Velan trees, resulting in the place to be called Vellore. The recorded history of Vellore dates back to the ninth century, further inscriptions made before ninth century indicate the rule of Pallava kings, whose capital was Kanchipuram. The Chola Kings ruled over the region from 850 to 1280, after the rule of Cholas, it came under the Rashtrakutas, the later Cholas, Reddys and Vijayanagar kings. The Vellore Fort was built during the time of Chinna Bommi reddy, during the 17th century, Vellore came under the dominion of the Nawab of the Carnatic. As the Mughal empire came to an end, the Nawab lost control of the town, with confusion, subsequently, there were periods of Hindu and Muslim stewardship of the region. The poligars were opposing British rule but were subdued, during the first half of the 19th century, the town came under British rule. Vellore is at 12. 92°N79. 13°E /12.92,79.13, the city has a semi-arid climate with high temperatures throughout the year and relatively low rainfall. It is in Vellore district of the South Indian state, Tamil Nadu,135 km west of the state capital Chennai, Vellore lies in the Eastern Ghats region and Palar river basin. The topography is almost plain with slopes from west to east, there are no notable mineral resources
21.
Salem, Tamil Nadu
–
Salem is a city in Salem district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located about 160 kilometres northeast of Coimbatore,186 kilometres southeast of Bangalore and about 340 kilometres southwest of the state capital, Salem is the Fifth largest city in Tamil Nadu by population and covers 91.34 km2. The town and the hilly regions were part of the Chera dynasty and was part of the trade route with Roman empire. It was later governed by Poligars, who built temples and forts in and it was part of the Vijayanagara empire before being captured by Hyder Ali during the early 18th century, after the Mysore-Madurai war. It was ceded to the British in 1768 and the became part of the struggle between Kongu Nadu led by Dheeran Chinnamalai and the British. Salem became part of Salem district since independence in 1947, Salem is located at 11. 669437°N78. 140865°E /11.669437,78.140865, at an average elevation of 278 m. The city is surrounded by hills, Nagaramalai on the north, Jarugumalai on the south, Kanjamalai on the west, Godumalai on the east, kariyaperumal Hill is in southwestern Salem. The Thirumanimutharu River flows through the city, dividing it in two, the fort area is the oldest part of Salem. The citys climate is dry, except during the monsoon season, january and February are generally pleasant, the dry summer begins in March, with the years highest temperatures during May. The weather becomes more temperate in June and July, and August is cloudy, the northeast monsoon occurs from September to November, and December is clear and pleasant. Salem is the headquarters of Salem district, the town was constituted as a municipality in 1867, and was upgraded to a special-grade municipality in 1979 and to a municipal corporation on 1 April 1994. The Salem municipal corporation has 60 wards, each with an elected councillor, the functions of the municipal corporation are divided into six departments, general administration and personnel, engineering, revenue, public health, city planning and information technology. All six departments are governed by a municipal commissioner, Legislative power is vested in the 60-member council, headed by an elected chairperson and assisted by a deputy chairperson. Law and order is maintained by the Salem city subdivision of the Tamil Nadu Police, special units include prohibition enforcement, district crime, social justice and human rights, district crime records and a district-level special branch headed by a superintendent of police. Salem is a part of the Salem North, Salem West, the city elects the three members to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly once every five years. Present MLAs are R. Mohan Raj from Desiya Murpokku Dravidar Kazhagam, M. K. Selvaraju, until 2008, the city was part of the Salem I and Salem II assembly constituencies. Since 1977, the ADMK party won the Salem I assembly seat five times, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam won twice, and the Indian National Congress won in 1991. Since 1977, the ADMK won the Salem II assembly seat three times and the DMK also won three times, the Janata Party won in 1977 and Pattali Makkal Katchi won in 2001
22.
Sirumalai
–
Sirumalai is a region of 60,000 acres situated 25 km from Dindigul and 90 km from Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. There are many hills in the area. Hillock International School is located in Sirumalai, Sirumalai is a dense forest region with a moderate climate throughout the year. With an altitude of 1600 metres above sea level, it contains diversified flora, the hill has 18 hairpin bends. On the 18th bend is a church and a point of Dindigul city. The hill contains a waterfall as well. The famous Sirumalai banana is slowly disappearing from disease, which scientists have been unable to prevent, man-made fires on the hills have destroyed medicinal plants and threatened the fauna habitat. Fires are often set to promote vegetation growth used for fodder, clear land for cultivation. Mathamalai Annai Veilankanni Church is situated on top of one of the hills, residents observe the festival for Our Lady Of Good Health annually in September, with a flag hoisted prior to the festival. Sirumalai Lake contains a lake that was artificially created in the year 2010. In the region of sirumalai the Agasthiarpuram is a place where siddas have lived since ancient days. The area is surrounded with medicinal herbs and plants, in the tip of the hill there is historic Shiva Lingam, which dates back at least 500 years. The famous Lord Murugan temple is located in the mountain which is away from 45 minutes climbing over the valley, much of the Sirumalai is covered by deciduous forests - the lower slopes by dry deciduous and the higher slopes and riverine valleys by moist and wet deciduous forests. Trees such as Terminalia, Shorea, Magnolia champaca are dominant in these hills, other rare plants such as Lianas and Orchids also occur in the higher elevation evergreen tracts. Coffee estates form a portion of present-day landscape. These Reserve Forests are protected under Tamil Nadu Forest Department, a rich animal life including threatened animals such as Slender loris, Gaur, Sambar deer, Sloth bear, Asian palm civet, Indian hare, Jungle cat and Indian pangolin are to be seen in the wild. Birds such as Indian peafowl, Asian koel, Indian grey hornbill, lizards such as the Bengal monitor, the Indian chameleon, the flying lizard or Draco dussumieri, Calotes calotes, Ophisops minor and Cnemaspis geckoes are to be seen here. Special mention must be made of the only endemic reptile of the hill - the Sirumalai Shieldtail Snake Uropeltis dindigalensis, rare and endemic amphibians such as Hylarana, Indirana, Zakerana brevipalmata and the direct-developing bush frog Pseudophilautus wynaadensis occur here
23.
Dindigul
–
Dindigul is a city in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Dindigul district. Dindigul is located 420 km southwest of the capital, Chennai and 100 km away from Thiruchirapalli. Dindigul has a number of monuments, the Rock Fort being the most prominent. Industries in Dindigul include lock making, leather, textile spinning, administrative services, agricultural trading, banking, agricultural machinery, Dindigul is upgraded to a municipal corporation. The city covers an area of 14.01 km2 and had a population of 207,327 in 2011, Dindigul is well-connected by road and rail with the rest of Tamil Nadu. It is the 12th-largest urban agglomeration in the state and has a population of 292,512 according to Tamil Nadus 2011 census, Dindigul has 200,000 hectares of cultivable land, and agriculture continues to be the main occupation of its inhabitants. Located between the Palani and Sirumalai Hills, Dindigul has a reserved forest area of 85 hectares, the citys name comes from a portmanteau of the Tamil words dind pillow and kal rock and refers to the bare hill located near the city. The Śaiva poet Tirunāvukkaracar visited the city and noted it in his Tevaram, Dindigul finds mention in the book Padmagiri Nadhar Thenral Vidu thudhu written by the poet Palupatai sokkanathar as Padmagiri. This was later stated by U. V. Swaminatha Iyer in his foreword to the above book and he also mentions that Dindigul was originally called Dindeecharam. The history of dindigul is centered around the fort over the rock hill. Dindigul region was the border of the three prominent kingdoms of South India, the Pandyas, Cheras and Cholas, the Chera king Dharmabalan is believed to have built the temples of Abirami and Padmagirinathar. The ancient Tamil book, Silappathikaram records the city as the border of the Pandya kingdom whose capital was Madurai. Historian Strabo mentions about the city in his 20 A. D. work and Pillni, during the first century A. D. the Chola king Karikal Cholan captured the Pandya kingdom and Dindigul came under the Chola rule. During the sixth century, the Pallavas took over most provinces of Southern India, dindugul was under the rule of Pallavas until Cholas regained the state in the 8th century. In the 14th century, South India was invaded by the Delhi Sultanate, Dindigul was safe in the hands of VijayaNagara. The commander of the Vijaya Nagar army Kampanna Udayar played an important role in the war in capturing Madurai which was under Madurai sultanate, in 1559 Nayaks became powerful and their territory bordered with Dindigul in the north. After the death of king Viswanatha Nayak in 1563, Muthukrisna Nayakka became the king of kingdom in 1602 A. D who built the hill fort in 1605 A. D
24.
Tiruvannamalai
–
Tiruvannamalai is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The city is administered by a special grade municipality that covers an area of 16.33 km2 and had a population of 145,278 in 2011 and it is the administrative headquarters of Tiruvannamalai District. Roadways are the mode of transport in Tiruvannamalai, while the town also has rail connectivity. Chennai International Airport is the nearest domestic and international airport to the town, Tiruvannamalai is named after the central deity of the Annamalaiyar Temple, Annamalaiyar. The Karthigai Deepam festival is celebrated during the day of the moon between November and December, and a huge beacon is lit atop the Annamalai hill. The event is witnessed by three million pilgrims, on the day preceding each full moon, pilgrims circumnavigate the temple base and the Annamalai hills in a worship called Girivalam, a practice carried out by one million pilgrims yearly. It served as the city of the Hoysalas. The town is built around the Annamalaiyar Temple like other Nayak capitals, Tiruvannamalai is administered by a special-grade a municipality constituted in 1886. Tiruvannamalai has an elevation of 200 metres and experiences a hot. Being a pilgrimage town, most of the people are employed in the tertiary sector, there are 25 elementary schools, nine high schools,18 higher secondary schools, four arts & science colleges, one government medical college and four engineering colleges in the town. In Hindu mythology, Parvati, wife of Shiva, once closed the eyes of her husband playfully in a garden at their abode atop Mount Kailash. Although only a moment for the gods, all light was taken from the universe, Parvati performed penance with other devotees of Shiva, and her husband appeared as a column of fire at the top of Annamalai hills, returning light to the world. He then merged with Parvati to form Ardhanarishvara, the half-female, half-male form of Shiva, the Annamalai, or red mountain, lies behind the Annamalaiyar temple, and is associated with the temple of its namesake. The hill is sacred and considered a lingam, or iconic representation of Shiva, another legend is that once, while Vishnu and Brahma contested for superiority, Shiva appeared as a flame, and challenged them to find his source. Brahma took the form of a swan, and flew to the sky to see the top of the flame, while Vishnu became the boar Varaha, the scene is called lingothbava, and is represented in the western wall at the sanctum of most Shiva temples. Neither Brahma nor Vishnu could find the source, and while Vishnu conceded his defeat, Brahma lied, in punishment, Shiva ordained that Brahma would never have temples on earth in his worship. In Tamil, the word Arunam means red or fire and Asalam means hill, since Shiva manifested himself in the form of fire in this place, this name Arunachalam came to be associated with Annamalai hill and the town. The first mention of Annamalai is found in Tevaram, the seventh century Tamil Saiva canonical work by Appar and Tirugnanasambandar, the history of Tiruvannamalai revolves around the Annamalaiyar Temple
25.
Bhubaneswar
–
Bhubaneswar, also spelt as Bhubaneshwar /ˌbʊbəˈneɪʃwər/, the capital of the Indian state of Odisha. It is the largest city in Odisha and is a centre of economic, along with the old town, the region of Bhubaneswar, historically was often depicted as Ekamra Kshetra. Although the modern city of Bhubaneswar was formally established only in 1948, with many 8th-12th century CE Hindu temples, which span the entire spectrum of Kalinga architecture, Bhubaneswar is often referred to as a Temple City of India. With Puri and Konark it forms the Swarna Tribhuja, one of eastern Indias most visited destinations, Bhubaneswar replaced Cuttack as the capital on 19 August 1949,2 years after India gained its independence from Britain. The modern city was designed by the German architect Otto Königsberger in 1946, along with Jamshedpur and Chandigarh, it was one of modern Indias first planned cities. Bhubaneswar and Cuttack are often referred to as the cities of Odisha. The metropolitan area formed by the two cities had a population of 1.7 million in 2011, Bhubaneswar is categorised as a Tier-2 city. An emerging information technology and education hub, Bhubaneswar is one of the countrys fastest-developing cities, the foundation of the modern Bhubaneswar city was laid in 1948, although the areas in and around the city have a history going back to 1st century BCE or earlier. Dhauli, near Bhubaneswar is the site of the Kalinga War, one of the most complete edicts of the Mauryan Emperor, Ashoka, dating from between 272–236 BCE, remains carved in rock 8 kilometres to the southwest of the modern city. After the decline of the Mauryan empire, the area came under the rule of Mahameghavahana dynasty and his Hathigumpha inscription is located at the Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves near Bhubaneswar. The area was ruled by several dynasties, including Satavahanas, Guptas, Matharas. In 7th century, Somavamshi or Keshari dynasty established their kingdom in the area, after the Kesharis, the Eastern Gangas ruled Kalinga area until 14th century CE. Their capital Kalinganagar was located in present-day Bhubaneswar district, after them, Mukunda Deva of the Bhoi dynasty – the last Hindu ruler of the area until the Marathas – developed several religious buildings in the area. Most of the temples in Bhubaneswar were built between 8th and 12th centuries, under Shaiva influence. The Ananta Vasudeva Temple is the old temple of Vishnu in the city. In 1568, the Karrani dynasty of Afghan origin gained control of the area, during their reign, most of the temples and other structures were destroyed or disfigured. In the 16th century, the area came under Mughal control, the Marathas, who succeeded the Mughals in mid-18th century, encouraged pilgrimage in the region. In 1803, the area came under British colonial rule, and was part of the Bengal Presidency, Bihar and Orissa Province, the capital of the British-ruled Orissa Province was Cuttack, which was vulnerabile to floods and suffered from space constraints
26.
Namakkal
–
Namakkal or Namagiri is a town and a municipality in Namakkal district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of Namakkal district, as of 2011, the town had a population of 55,145. It is a part of Kongu Nadu region of Tamil Nadu which was contested and coveted by both the ancient Pallavas and the Pandyas. Namakkal was in the hands of Atiakula King called Gunasila who has marriage with Pallava King, then the Madurai Nayakas came to power in 1623 AD. Two of the Polygons of Thirumalai Nayak namely, Ramachandra Nayaka, the Namakkal Fort is reported to have been built by Ramachandra Nayakas. After about 1625 AD, the area came successively under the rule of Muslim Sultans of Bijapur and Golkonda Mysore kings and then the Marathas, during this period, it was a history of power struggle between Hyder Ali and later Tippu, with the British. The Rock Fort in Namakkal is a feature of the Town. The Fort covers an area of one and half acres of surface and is accessible from South-West by a flight of narrow steps. Namakkal was held by Killdhar on Hyder Ali until it was captured by British in 1768, for a brief period during late 18th and early 19th century Namakkal was under Tiruchirappalli district of British Rule. Later Namakkal was transferred back to Salem District, Namakkal is located at 11. 23°N78. 17°E /11.23,78.17. It has an elevation of 218 metres. It is close to Kolli Hills - which is part of the Eastern Ghats, the closest river is Kaveri and it is located 360 km southwestof Chennai and 250 km south of Bangalore. Namakkal is a town with reference back to at least 7th century. The name Namakkal derives from Namagiri, which is the name of the rock formation at the center of the town. Two cave temples at Namakkal were called as Adiyendra Visnugrha and Adiyanavaya Visnugrha and these Rock cut shrines were built by King Gunaseela of Adhiyaman clan descendant. Because of his relations with Pallavas the temples were built of Pallava Architectural style during 7th century. Generally, Namakkal is considered to be a Vaishnava Kshetram, the rock is enormous -65 meters high and more than a kilometre in circumference. Over this massive rock, is a fort, Namakkal_Fort, the fort over the rock were built by Ramachandra Nayakar, a small king who ruled Namakkal during 16th century
27.
Biome
–
A biome /ˈbaɪoʊm/ is a community of plants and animals that have common characteristics for the environment they exist in, and can be found over a range of continents. Spanning continents, biomes are distinct biological communities that have formed in response to a shared physical climate, biome is a broader term than habitat, any biome can comprise a variety of habitats. While a biome can cover large ares, a microbiome is a mix of organisms that coexist in a space as well. For example, the microbiome is the collection of bacteria, viruses. The biotas of the Earth make up the biosphere, the term was suggested in 1916 by Clements, originally as a synonym for biotic community of Möbius. In 1935, Tansley added the climatic and soil aspects to the idea, the International Biological Program projects popularized the concept of biome. However, in contexts, the term biome is used in a different manner. Both includes many biomes in fact and their boundaries must therefore be drawn arbitrarily and their characterization made according to the average conditions that predominate in them. A1978 study on North American grasslands found a positive correlation between evapotranspiration in mm/yr and above-ground net primary production in g/m2/yr. These findings help explain the categories used in Holdridge’s bioclassification scheme, Holdridge uses the four axes to define 30 so-called humidity provinces, which are clearly visible in his diagram. While this scheme largely ignores soil and sun exposure, Holdridge acknowledged that these were important and his scheme can be seen as a simplification of Holdridges, more readily accessible, but missing Holdridges greater specificity. Whittaker based his approach on theoretical assertions and empirical sampling and he was in a unique position to make such a holistic assertion because he had previously compiled a review of biome classifications. Physiognomy, the apparent characteristics, outward features, or appearance of communities or species. Biome, a grouping of terrestrial ecosystems on a continent that are similar in vegetation structure, physiognomy, features of the environment. Formation, a kind of community of plants on a given continent. Biome-type, grouping of convergent biomes or formations of different continents, whittakers distinction between biome and formation can be simplified, formation is used when applied to plant communities only, while biome is used when concerned with both plants and animals. Whittakers convention of biome-type or formation-type is simply a method to categorize similar communities. Whittaker considered four main ecoclines in the terrestrial realm, changes in physiognomic complexity vary with how favorable of an environment exists
28.
Igneous rock
–
Igneous rock, or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava, the magma can be derived from partial melts of existing rocks in either a planets mantle or crust. Typically, the melting is caused by one or more of three processes, an increase in temperature, a decrease in pressure, or a change in composition, solidification into rock occurs either below the surface as intrusive rocks or on the surface as extrusive rocks. Igneous rock may form with crystallization to form granular, crystalline rocks, Igneous and metamorphic rocks make up 90–95% of the top 16 km of the Earths crust by volume. Igneous rocks form about 15% of the Earths current land surface, most of the Earths oceanic crust is made of igneous rock. In terms of modes of occurrence, igneous rocks can be either intrusive or extrusive, the mineral grains in such rocks can generally be identified with the naked eye. Intrusive rocks can also be classified according to the shape and size of the intrusive body, typical intrusive formations are batholiths, stocks, laccoliths, sills and dikes. When the magma solidifies within the earths crust, it cools slowly forming coarse textured rocks, such as granite, gabbro, the central cores of major mountain ranges consist of intrusive igneous rocks, usually granite. When exposed by erosion, these cores may occupy huge areas of the Earths surface, intrusive igneous rocks that form at depth within the crust are termed plutonic rocks and are usually coarse-grained. Intrusive igneous rocks that form near the surface are termed subvolcanic or hypabyssal rocks, hypabyssal rocks are less common than plutonic or volcanic rocks and often form dikes, sills, laccoliths, lopoliths, or phacoliths. Extrusive igneous rocks, also known as rocks, are formed at the crusts surface as a result of the partial melting of rocks within the mantle. Extrusive igneous rocks cool and solidify quicker than intrusive igneous rocks and they are formed by the cooling of molten magma on the earths surface. The magma, which is brought to the surface through fissures or volcanic eruptions, hence such rocks are smooth, crystalline and fine-grained. Basalt is an extrusive igneous rock and forms lava flows, lava sheets. Some kinds of basalt solidify to form long polygonal columns, the Giants Causeway in Antrim, Northern Ireland is an example. The molten rock, with or without suspended crystals and gas bubbles, is called magma and it rises because it is less dense than the rock from which it was created. When magma reaches the surface from beneath water or air, it is called lava, eruptions of volcanoes into air are termed subaerial, whereas those occurring underneath the ocean are termed submarine. Black smokers and mid-ocean ridge basalt are examples of volcanic activity
29.
Iron
–
Iron is a chemical element with symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series and it is by mass the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earths outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earths crust, like the other group 8 elements, ruthenium and osmium, iron exists in a wide range of oxidation states, −2 to +6, although +2 and +3 are the most common. Elemental iron occurs in meteoroids and other low oxygen environments, but is reactive to oxygen, fresh iron surfaces appear lustrous silvery-gray, but oxidize in normal air to give hydrated iron oxides, commonly known as rust. Unlike the metals that form passivating oxide layers, iron oxides occupy more volume than the metal and thus flake off, Iron metal has been used since ancient times, although copper alloys, which have lower melting temperatures, were used even earlier in human history. Pure iron is soft, but is unobtainable by smelting because it is significantly hardened and strengthened by impurities, in particular carbon. A certain proportion of carbon steel, which may be up to 1000 times harder than pure iron. Crude iron metal is produced in blast furnaces, where ore is reduced by coke to pig iron, further refinement with oxygen reduces the carbon content to the correct proportion to make steel. Steels and iron alloys formed with metals are by far the most common industrial metals because they have a great range of desirable properties. Iron chemical compounds have many uses, Iron oxide mixed with aluminium powder can be ignited to create a thermite reaction, used in welding and purifying ores. Iron forms binary compounds with the halogens and the chalcogens, among its organometallic compounds is ferrocene, the first sandwich compound discovered. Iron plays an important role in biology, forming complexes with oxygen in hemoglobin and myoglobin. Iron is also the metal at the site of many important redox enzymes dealing with cellular respiration and oxidation and reduction in plants. A human male of average height has about 4 grams of iron in his body and this iron is distributed throughout the body in hemoglobin, tissues, muscles, bone marrow, blood proteins, enzymes, ferritin, hemosiderin, and transport in plasma. The mechanical properties of iron and its alloys can be evaluated using a variety of tests, including the Brinell test, Rockwell test, the data on iron is so consistent that it is often used to calibrate measurements or to compare tests. An increase in the content will cause a significant increase in the hardness. Maximum hardness of 65 Rc is achieved with a 0. 6% carbon content, because of the softness of iron, it is much easier to work with than its heavier congeners ruthenium and osmium. Because of its significance for planetary cores, the properties of iron at high pressures and temperatures have also been studied extensively
30.
Limestone
–
Limestone is a sedimentary rock, composed mainly of skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral, forams and molluscs. Its major materials are the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate, about 10% of sedimentary rocks are limestones. The solubility of limestone in water and weak acid solutions leads to karst landscapes, most cave systems are through limestone bedrock. The first geologist to distinguish limestone from dolomite was Belsazar Hacquet in 1778, like most other sedimentary rocks, most limestone is composed of grains. Most grains in limestone are skeletal fragments of organisms such as coral or foraminifera. Other carbonate grains comprising limestones are ooids, peloids, intraclasts and these organisms secrete shells made of aragonite or calcite, and leave these shells behind when they die. Limestone often contains variable amounts of silica in the form of chert or siliceous skeletal fragment, some limestones do not consist of grains at all, and are formed completely by the chemical precipitation of calcite or aragonite, i. e. travertine. Secondary calcite may be deposited by supersaturated meteoric waters and this produces speleothems, such as stalagmites and stalactites. Another form taken by calcite is oolitic limestone, which can be recognized by its granular appearance, the primary source of the calcite in limestone is most commonly marine organisms. Some of these organisms can construct mounds of rock known as reefs, below about 3,000 meters, water pressure and temperature conditions cause the dissolution of calcite to increase nonlinearly, so limestone typically does not form in deeper waters. Limestones may also form in lacustrine and evaporite depositional environments, calcite can be dissolved or precipitated by groundwater, depending on several factors, including the water temperature, pH, and dissolved ion concentrations. Calcite exhibits a characteristic called retrograde solubility, in which it becomes less soluble in water as the temperature increases. Impurities will cause limestones to exhibit different colors, especially with weathered surfaces, Limestone may be crystalline, clastic, granular, or massive, depending on the method of formation. Crystals of calcite, quartz, dolomite or barite may line small cavities in the rock, when conditions are right for precipitation, calcite forms mineral coatings that cement the existing rock grains together, or it can fill fractures. Travertine is a banded, compact variety of limestone formed along streams, particularly there are waterfalls. Calcium carbonate is deposited where evaporation of the leaves a solution supersaturated with the chemical constituents of calcite. Tufa, a porous or cellular variety of travertine, is found near waterfalls, coquina is a poorly consolidated limestone composed of pieces of coral or shells. During regional metamorphism that occurs during the building process, limestone recrystallizes into marble
31.
Mahanadi
–
The Mahanadi is a major river in East Central India. It drains an area of around 141,600 square kilometres and has a course of 858 kilometres. The river flows through the states of Chhattisgarh and Odisha. The word Mahanadi literally comes from two odia words maha and nadi meaning The Great River. Like many other seasonal Indian rivers, the Mahanadi too is a combination of mountain streams. However its farthest headwaters lie 6 kilometres from Pharsiya village 442 metres above sea level south of Nagri town in Dhamtari district of Chhattisgarh, the hills here are an extension of the Eastern Ghats and are a source of many other streams which then go on to join the Mahanadi. For the first 80 kilometres of its course, the Mahanadi flows in a direction and drains the Raipur district. It is a narrow river at this stage and the total width of its valley does not exceed 500–600 metres. After being joined by the Seonath, the flows in an easterly direction through the remaining part of its journey. It is joined by the Jonk and Hasdeo rivers here before entering into Odisha after covering about half of its total length, near the city of Sambalpur, it is dammed by the largest earthen dam in the world, the Hirakud Dam. A composite structure of earth, concrete and masonry, the dam measures 24 kilometres including the Dykes and it spans two hills, the Lamdungri on the left and the Chandili Dunguri on the right. It also forms the biggest artificial lake in Asia, with a reservoir holding 743 square kilometres at full capacity, after the formation of Chhattisgarh State, the major portion of Mahanadi basin now lies in Chhattisgarh. Presently, only 154 square kilometres area of Hasdeo River in Anuppur District lies in Madhya Pradesh. Before the construction of the dam in 1953, the Mahanadi was about a mile wide at Sambalpur and carried massive amounts of silt, especially during the monsoon. Today, it is a rather tame river after the construction of the dam and is joined by the Ib, Ong, Tel and other minor streams. It then skirts the boundaries of the Baudh district and forces a tortuous way between ridges and ledges in a series of rapids until it reaches Dholpur, Odisha. The rapids end here and the river rolls towards the Eastern Ghats, the Satakosia Gorge ends at Badamul of Nayagarh. Dense forests cover the hills flanking the river here, the river enters the Odisha plains at Naraj, about 11 kilometres from Cuttack, where it pours down between two hills that are a mile apart. A barrage has been constructed here to regulate the flow into Cuttack
32.
Krishna River
–
The Krishna River is the fourth-biggest river in terms of water inflows and river basin area in India, after the Ganga, Godavari and Brahmaputra. The river is almost 1,300 kilometres long, the river is also called Krishnaveni. It is a source of irrigation for Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana. Krishna river originates in the western ghats near Mahabaleshwar at an elevation of about 1,300 metres and it is one of the longest rivers in India. The Krishna river is around 1,400 km in length and it flows through the state of Karnataka before entering Telangana State. The delta of river is one of the most fertile regions in India and was the home to ancient Satavahana. Vijayawada is the largest city on the River Krishna and it causes heavy soil erosion during the monsoon floods. It flows fast and furious, often reaching depths of over 75 feet, ironically, there is a saying in Marathi Shant vaahate Krishnamaai which means quiet flows Krishna. This term is used to describe that a person should be as quiet as Krishna, there are four rivers that join the Krishna at a confluence known as Preeti Sangam, or Lovers Meeting Point in the Satara District. These are Venna River, Urmodi River, Tarli River and Koyna River, three tributaries meet Krishna river near Sangli. These places are considered very holy and it is said that Lord Dattatreya spent some of his days at Audumber on the banks of river Krishna. Sangameswaram of Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh is a pilgrim center for Hindus where Tungabhadra. The Sangameswaram temple is now drowned in the Srisailam reservoir, Krishna Basin extends over an area of 258,948 km2 which is nearly 8% of the total geographical area of the country. This large basin lies in the states of Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, the Krishna river rises in the Western Ghats, at an elevation of about 1,337 m just north of Mahabaleshwar, about 64 km from the Arabian Sea. It flows for about 1,400 km and outfalls into the Bay of Bengal, the principal tributaries joining Krishna are the Ghataprabha River, Malaprabha River, Bhima River, Tungabhadra River and Musi River. Most of this basin comprises rolling and undulating country, except for the western border, the important soil types found in the basin are black soils, red soils, laterite and lateritic soils, alluvium, mixed soils, red and black soils and saline and alkaline soils. An average annual surface water potential of 78.1 km3 has been assessed in this basin, out of this,58.0 km3 is utilizable water. Culturable area in the basin is about 203,000 km2, the irrigation canals of Prakasam Barrage form part of National Waterway 4
33.
Kaveri
–
The Kaveri is a large Indian river. Rising in southwestern Karnataka, it flows southeast some 800 kilometres to enter the Bay of Bengal, in Mandya district it forms the island of Shivanasamudra, on either side of which are the scenic Shivanasamudra Falls that descend about 100 metres. The river is the source for an irrigation system and for hydroelectric power. The river has supported irrigated agriculture for centuries and served as the lifeblood of the ancient kingdoms, after the river leaves the Kodagu hills and flows onto the Deccan plateau, it forms two islands in mandya districts Srirangapatna and Shivanasamudra. First comes the Srirangapatna which forms the sangam and then comes Shivanasamudra, at Shivanasamudra the river drops 98 metres, forming the famous Shivanasamudra Falls known separately as Gagana Chukki and Bhara Chukki. Asias first hydroelectric plant was on the falls and supplied power to the city of Bangalore. In its course through Karnataka, the channel is interrupted by 12 anekattu for the purpose of irrigation, three kilometers away from Srirangapatna, the Kaveri is the basis for the Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary. Near Srirangapatna is also an aqueduct, the Bangara Doddi Nala and it is said to be the only aqueduct where the water from a river, dammed upstream, is carried by the aqueduct over the very same river few miles downstream. The river enters Tamil Nadu through Dharmapuri district leading to the plains where it meanders. It drops into the Hogenakkal Falls just before it arrives in the town of Hogenakkal in Tamil Nadu, the three minor tributaries, Palar, Chennar and Thoppar enter into the Kaveri on her course, above Stanley Reservoir in Mettur, where the dam has been constructed. It then flows further through the length of Erode district where the river Bhavani, running through the breadth of the district, merges with it. The confluence of the rivers Kaveri, Bhavani and Akash Ganga is at the place of Bhavani, Tamil Nadu Kooduthurai or Tiriveni Sangamam. While passing through Erode, two tributaries merge. Thirumani Mutharu joins it in a village called Kududurai in Namakkal District, noyyal and Amaravathi join it in Karur district before it reaches Tiruchirapalli district. Here the river becomes wide, with a bed. The northern branch of the river is called the Kollidam while the southern branch retains the name Kaveri and these two rivers join again and form the Srirangam island that is a part of the city of Tiruchirapalli. The fourth oldest functional damGrand Anicut or Kallanai was present at this place, from Thanjavur, the river splits and goes to few places in the Delta kaveri. It was built as far back as 1,800 years ago or even more, on both sides of the river are found walls spreading to a distance of 330 metres
34.
Bay of Bengal
–
The Bay of Bengal, the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Roughly triangular, it is bordered mostly by India and Sri Lanka to the west, Bangladesh to the north, and Myanmar, the Bay of Bengal occupies an area of 2,172,000 square kilometres. Among the important ports are Chennai, Chittagong, Colombo, Kolkata, Mongla, Paradip, Tuticorin, Visakhapatnam, on the south, Adams Bridge and from the southern extreme of Dondra Head to the north point of Poeloe Bras. The bay gets its name from the historical Bengal region, in ancient Hindu scriptures, this water body is referred to as Mahodadhi while it appears as Sinus Gangeticus or Gangeticus Sinus, meaning Gulf of the Ganges, in ancient maps. The other Sanskrit names for Bay of Bengal are Vangopasagara, also called as Vangasagara. Even today in Bengali, it is known as Bongoposagor, many major rivers of the Indian subcontinent flow west to east before draining into the Bay of Bengal. The Ganga is the northernmost of these and its main channel enters and flows through Bangladesh, where it is known as the Padma River, before joining the Meghna River. However, the Brahmaputra River flows from east to west in Assam before turning south and this joins the Padma whereupon the Padma joins the Meghna River that finally drains into Bay of Bengal. The Sundarbans mangrove forest at the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers lies partly in West Bengal, the Brahmaputra at 2,948 km is the 28th longest River in the world. The Hooghly River, another channel of the Ganga that flows through Calcutta drains into Bay of Bengal in India itself, the Ganga–Brahmaputra rivers deposits nearly 1000 million tons of sediment per year. The Bay of Bengal used to be deeper than the Mariana Trench, the fan has buried organic carbon at a rate of nearly 1.1 trillion mol/yr since the early Miocene period. The two rivers currently contribute nearly 8% of the organic carbon deposited in the worlds oceans. Due to high TOC accumulation in the sea bed of the Bay of Bengal. Bangladesh can reclaim land substantially and economically from the sea area by constructing sea dikes, bunds, causeways and by trapping the sediment from its rivers. Further south of Bengal, the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri Rivers are the rivers that flow from west to east in the Indian subcontinent. Many small rivers drain directly into the Bay of Bengal. The Irrawaddy River in Myanmar flows into the Andaman Sea of the Bay of Bengal, some of the biggest ports in the world — Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Paradip, Kolkata in India as well as Chittagong and Mongla in Bangladesh — are on the bay. Other Indian ports on the bay include Kakinada, Pondicherry, Dhamra, the islands in the bay are numerous, including the Andaman Islands, Nicobar and Mergui groups of India
35.
Deccan Plateau
–
The Deccan Plateau is a large plateau in southern India. It rises to 100 metres in the north, and to more than 1 kilometre in the south and it extends over eight Indian states and encompasses a wide range of habitats, covering most of central and southern India. It is separated from the Gangetic plain to the north by the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges, the name Deccan is an anglicised form of the Prakrit word dakkhin, itself derived from the Sanskrit word dákṣiṇa, as the Deccan Plateau is located in southern part of Indian subcontinent. The Deccan region has historically lacked an enduring geo-political centre, and has been defined in various ways, geographers have attempted to define it using indices such as rainfall, vegetation, soil type or physical features. When considering physical features, it is taken to be the bounded by the Narmada River, the Eastern Ghats. The 16th century historian Firishta defined Deccan as the inhabited by the native speakers of Kannada, Marathi. Richard M. Eaton also settled on this linguistic definition, the Western Ghats mountain range is very tall and blocks the moisture from the southwest monsoon from reaching the Deccan Plateau, so the region receives very little rainfall. The eastern Deccan Plateau is at an elevation spanning the southeastern coast of India. Its forests are relatively dry but serve to retain the rain to form streams that feed into rivers that flow into basins. Most Deccan plateau rivers flow south, most of the central plateau is drained by the Tungabhadra River, Krishna River and its tributaries, including the Bhima River, which also run east. The climate of the region varies from semi-arid in the north to tropical in most of the region with distinct wet, rain falls during the monsoon season from about June to October. March to June can be dry and hot, with temperatures regularly exceeding 40 °C. The name derives from the Sanskrit daksina, the plateau is bounded on the east and west by the Ghats, while its northern extremity is the Vindhya Range. The Deccans average elevation is about 2,000 feet, sloping generally eastward, its rivers, the Godavari, Krishna. The plateaus climate is drier than that on the coasts and is arid in places, having once constituted a segment of the ancient continent of Gondwanaland, this land is the oldest and most stable in India. The average height of the Western Ghats, which run along the Arabian Sea, anaimudi Peak in Kerala, with a height of 2,695 m above sea level, is the highest peak of peninsular India. In the Nilgiris lie Ootacamund, the hill station of southern India. The western coastal plain is uneven and swift rivers flow through it that forms beautiful lagoons and backwaters, the east coast is wide with deltas formed by the rivers Godavari, Mahanadi and Kaveri
36.
Coromandel Coast
–
The Coromandel Coast is the southeastern coast region of the Indian Subcontinent, between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal of the Indian Ocean. The coastline runs between False Divi Point in the north to Kanyakumari in the south and its definition can also include the northwestern coast of the island of Sri Lanka. The land of the Chola dynasty was called Cholamandalam in Tamil, literally translated as The realm of the Cholas, the alluvial plains created by these rivers are fertile and favour agriculture. The coastline forms a part of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, the region averages 800 mm/year, most of which falls between October and December. As a result, the coast is hit by inclement weather almost every year between October and January, the high variability of rainfall patterns is also responsible for water scarcity and famine in most areas not served by the great rivers. The Coromandel Coast is home to the East Deccan dry evergreen forests ecoregion, by late 1530 the Coromandel Coast was home to three Portuguese settlements at Nagapattinam, São Tomé de Meliapore, and Pulicat. Later, in the 17th and 18th centuries, the Coromandel Coast was the scene of rivalries among European powers for control of the India trade, the Coromandel Coast supplied Indian Muslim eunuchs to the Thai palace and court of Siam. The Thai at times asked eunuchs from China to visit the court in Thailand, eventually the British won out, although France retained the tiny enclaves of Pondichéry and Karaikal until 1954. Chinese lacquer goods, including boxes, screens, and chests, became known as Coromandel goods in the eighteenth century, because many Chinese exports were consolidated at the Coromandel ports. Some of the books on the economic history of the Coromandel Coast are 1. )S. Arasaratnam, Merchants, companies, and commerce on the Coromandel Coast, 1650-1740, Oxford University Press,1986. The earthquake and subsequent tsunami killed over 220,000 people around the rim of the Indian Ocean. The tsunami devastated the Coromandel Coast, killing many and sweeping away many coastal communities, four ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Coromandel after the Indian coast. The Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand was named one of these ships. After the ship reached the shore, some of its sailors deserted, intending to remain behind in South Australia, a red nail varnish made by Chanel is named coromandel due to its suggestions of exoticism. One of the earliest superfast trains of Indian Railways that runs between Howrah and Chennai is named Coromandel Express, in Slovene the idiom Indija Koromandija means a land of plenty, a promised land, a utopia where Houses are bleached with cheese and covered with cake. There is a poem by the Indian poet and freedom fighter Sarojini Naidu titled Coromandel Fishers. Also, the little-known early 20th-century poet Walter J. Turner wrote a poem entitled Coromandel, the Courtship Of The Yonghy-bonghy-bo by Edward Lear is set on the Coast of Coromandel. Coromandel Wood is referred to by Dame Edith Sitwell in her poem Black Mrs Behemoth, part of Façade and her brother, Sir Osbert Sitwell composed a poem entitled On the coast of Coromandel
37.
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
38.
Rodinia
–
Rodinia is a Neoproterozoic supercontinent that was assembled 1. 13–1.071 billion years ago and broke up 750–600 million years ago. Valentine & Moores 1970 were probably the first to recognise a Precambrian supercontinent and it was renamed Rodinia by McMenamin & McMenamin 1990 who also were the first to produce a reconstruction and propose a temporal framework for the supercontinent. Rodinia formed at c.1.071 Ga by accretion and collision of fragments produced by breakup of a supercontinent, Columbia. Rodinia broke up in the Neoproterozoic with its continental fragments reassembled to form Pannotia 620–555 million years ago, in contrast with Pannotia, little is known yet about the exact configuration and geodynamic history of Rodinia. The idea that a supercontinent existed in the early Neoproterozoic arose in the 1970s, examples are the Grenville orogeny in North America and the Dalslandian orogeny in Europe. Since then, many reconstructions have been proposed for the configuration of the cratons in this supercontinent. Most of these reconstructions are based on the correlation of the orogens on different cratons, though the configuration of the core cratons in Rodinia is now reasonably well known, recent reconstructions still differ in many details. Geologists try to decrease the uncertainties by collecting geological and paleomagnetical data, aUSWUS-Configuration, Australia is at the West of Laurentia. AUSMEX-Configuration, Australia is at the location of nowadays Mexico relative to Laurentia, the Missing-link model by Li et al.2008 which has South China between Australia and the west coast of Laurentia. A revised Missing-link model is proposed in which Tarim Block serves as an extended or alternative missing-link between Australia and Laurentia, Siberia attached to the western US, as in Sears & Price 2000. Little is known about the paleogeography before the formation of Rodinia, paleomagnetic and geologic data are only definite enough to form reconstructions from the breakup of Rodinia onwards. Rodinia is considered to have formed between 1.13 billion and 1.071 billion years ago and broke up again before 750 million years ago, Rodinia was surrounded by the superocean geologists are calling Mirovia. Piper, Rodinia is one of two models for the configuration and history of the continental crust in the part of Precambrian times. The other is Paleopangea, Pipers own concept, piper proposes an alternative hypothesis for this era and the previous ones. Rifting progressed in the same cratons 800—750 Ma and spread into Laurentia, india and the Congo-Säo Francisco Craton were either detached from Rodinia during this period or simply never were part of the supercontinent. 650–550 Ma several events coincided, the opening of the Iapetus Ocean, the closure of the Braziliano, Adamastor, and Mozambique oceans, the result was the formation of Gondwana. The Rodinia hypothesis assumes that rifting did not start everywhere simultaneously, extensive lava flows and volcanic eruptions of Neoproterozoic age are found on most continents, evidence for large scale rifting about 750 million years ago. This rift developed into the Adamastor Ocean during the Ediacaran, around 550 million years ago, on the boundary between the Ediacaran and Cambrian, the first group of cratons eventually fused again with Amazonia, West Africa and the Rio de la Plata cratons
39.
Gondwana
–
In paleogeography, Gondwana, also Gondwanaland, is the name given to an ancient supercontinent. It is believed to have sutured about 600 to 530 million years ago, Gondwana formed prior to Pangaea, and later became part of it. Around 335 to 250 million years ago Gondwana and Laurasia joined together to form the supercontinent Pangaea, Gondwana then separated from Laurasia in the breakup of Pangaea, drifting farther south after the split. Gondwana itself then also broke apart, the continent of Gondwana was named by Austrian scientist Eduard Suess, after the Gondwana region of central northern India which is derived from Sanskrit for forest of the Gonds. The name had previously used in a geological context, first by H. B. From which the Gondwana sedimentary sequences are also described, for example, the plant family Proteaceae, known only from southern South America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, is considered to have a Gondwanan distribution. This pattern is considered to indicate an archaic, or relict. The assembly of Gondwana was a protracted process, several orogenies led to its final amalgamation 550 to 500 million years ago at the end of the Ediacaran, and into the Cambrian. These include the Brasiliano Orogeny, the East African Orogeny, the Malagasy Orogeny, the final stages of Gondwanan assembly overlapped with the opening of the Iapetus Ocean between Laurentia and western Gondwana. During this interval, the Cambrian explosion occurred and this is the Famatinian block and it formerly continued the line of the Appalachians southwards. One of the sites of Gondwanan amalgamation was the East African Orogeny. The East African Orogeny at about 650–630 Mya affected a part of Arabia, north-eastern Africa, East Africa. Collins and Windley propose that in this orogeny, Azania collided with the Congo–Tanzania–Bangweulu Block, the later Malagasy orogeny at about 550–515 Mya affected Madagascar, eastern East Africa and southern India. In it, Neoproterozoic India collided with the already combined Azania and Congo–Tanzania–Bangweulu Block, at the same time, in the Kunga Orogeny Neoproterozoic India collided with the Australia/Mawson continent. Other large continental masses, including the core cratons of North America, Europe, when Pangaea broke up, two large masses, Gondwana and Laurasia, were formed. During the late Paleozoic, Gondwana extended from a point at or near the South Pole to near the Equator, across much of Gondwana, the climate was mild. During the Mesozoic, the world was on average warmer than it is today. Gondwana was then host to a variety of flora and fauna for many millions of years
40.
Charnockite
–
The charnockite suite or series is a particularly widespread form of granofels. Granofels are one of the few non-foliated rocks to form under relatively high temperatures and pressures and this combination is generated only deep in the crust by tectonic forces that operate on a grand scale, so granofels is a product of regional, rather than contact, metamorphism. It is formed mostly from the clan of rocks, or occasionally from thoroughly reconstituted clays. It is of wide distribution and great importance in India, Ceylon, Madagascar and Africa. It was named by geologist T. H. Holland in 1893 after the tombstone of Job Charnock, the founder of Calcutta, in St Johns Church in Calcutta, India, which is made of this rock. A special feature, recurring in many members of the group, is the presence of strongly pleochroic, however, some orthopyroxene-bearing granites with distinct igneous features exist, and these rocks also fall within the definition of charnockite. Many of the minerals of rocks are schillerized, as they contain minute platy or rod-shaped inclusions. The term charnockite in this sense is not the name of a rock. The assemblage is connected by origin, the differentiation of the parent magma. There have also been, of course, earth movements acting on the rock at a later time. The charnockites are widely distributed in the southern hemisphere and they are typically of Proterozoic age. In India they form the Nilgiri Hills, the Shevaroys, the Biligirirangan Hills and part of the Western Ghats, extending southward to Kanyakumari, a commercial variety called green ubatuba is found in Brazil. While the granulite facies metamorphism is dated as 2, although they are certainly for the most part igneous gneisses, rocks occur along with them, such as marbles, scapolite limestones, and corundum rocks, which were probably of sedimentary origin. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh
41.
Granite
–
Granite is a common type of felsic intrusive igneous rock that is granular and phaneritic in texture. Granites can be white, pink, or gray in color. The word granite comes from the Latin granum, a grain, in reference to the structure of such a holocrystalline rock. By definition, granite is a rock with at least 20% quartz. The term granitic means granite-like and is applied to granite and a group of igneous rocks with similar textures and slight variations in composition. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a texture is known as a granite porphyry. Granitoid is a general, descriptive field term for lighter-colored, coarse-grained igneous rocks, petrographic examination is required for identification of specific types of granitoids. The extrusive igneous rock equivalent of granite is rhyolite, Granite is nearly always massive, hard and tough, and therefore it has gained widespread use throughout human history, and more recently as a construction stone. The average density of granite is between 2.65 and 2.75 g/cm3, its compressive strength usually lies above 200 MPa, and its viscosity near STP is 3–6 •1019 Pa·s. The melting temperature of dry granite at ambient pressure is 1215–1260 °C, it is reduced in the presence of water. Granite has poor primary permeability, but strong secondary permeability, true granite according to modern petrologic convention contains both plagioclase and alkali feldspars. When a granitoid is devoid or nearly devoid of plagioclase, the rock is referred to as alkali feldspar granite, when a granitoid contains less than 10% orthoclase, it is called tonalite, pyroxene and amphibole are common in tonalite. A granite containing both muscovite and biotite micas is called a binary or two-mica granite, two-mica granites are typically high in potassium and low in plagioclase, and are usually S-type granites or A-type granites. A worldwide average of the composition of granite, by weight percent, based on 2485 analyses. Much of it was intruded during the Precambrian age, it is the most abundant basement rock that underlies the relatively thin veneer of the continents. Outcrops of granite tend to form tors and rounded massifs, granites sometimes occur in circular depressions surrounded by a range of hills, formed by the metamorphic aureole or hornfels. Granite often occurs as small, less than 100 km² stock masses
42.
Gneiss
–
Gneiss is a common distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks. The foliations are characterized by alternating darker and lighter colored bands, the word gneiss comes from the Middle High German verb gneist. It has occurred in English since at least 1757, gneissic rocks are usually medium- to coarse-foliated, they are largely recrystallized but do not carry large quantities of micas, chlorite or other platy minerals. Gneisses that are metamorphosed igneous rocks or their equivalent are termed granite gneisses, diorite gneisses, gneiss rocks may also be named after a characteristic component such as garnet gneiss, biotite gneiss, albite gneiss, etc. Orthogneiss designates a gneiss derived from a rock, and paragneiss is one from a sedimentary rock. Gneissose rocks have properties similar to gneiss, gneiss appears to be striped in bands, called gneissic banding. The banding is developed under high temperature and pressure conditions, the minerals are arranged into layers that appear as bands in cross section. The appearance of layers, called compositional banding, occurs because the layers, the darker bands have relatively more mafic minerals. The lighter bands contain relatively more felsic and these forces stretch out the rock like a plastic, and the original material is spread out into sheets. Another cause of banding is metamorphic differentiation, which separates different materials into different layers through chemical reactions, not all gneiss rocks have detectable banding. In kyanite gneiss, crystals of kyanite appear as random clumps in what is mainly a plagioclase matrix, henderson gneiss is found in North Carolina and South Carolina, US, east of the Brevard Shear Zone. It has deformed into two sequential forms, the second, more warped, form is associated with the Brevard Fault, and the first deformation results from displacement to the southwest. Most of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland have a formed from Lewisian gneiss. In addition to the Outer Hebrides, they form basement deposits on the Scottish mainland west of the Moine Thrust and on the islands of Coll and Tiree. These rocks are igneous in origin, mixed with metamorphosed marble, quartzite and mica schist with later intrusions of basaltic dikes. Gneisses of Archean and Proterozoic age occur in the Baltic Shield, in antiquity, gneisses were also utilized in architectural construction. They were used to erect the Sphinx of Taharqo in the Nile Valley, list of rock types Blatt, Harvey and Robert J. Tracy. Petrology, Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic, 2nd ed. Freeman, mcKirdy, Alan, Roger Crofts and John Gordon
43.
Khondalite
–
Khondalite is a foliated metamorphic rock. It is also called Bezwada Gneiss and Kailasa Gneiss and it was named after the Khond tribe of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh because well-formed examples of the rock were found in the inhabited hills of these regions of eastern India. Khondalite is found in the Eastern Ghats between Vijayawada and Cuttack in India, but the term khondalite is also used to describe other rocks of similar composition found elsewhere in India as well as in Burma, Sri Lanka and the Inner Mongolia region of China. It may also contain sillimanite and graphite, feldspar may occur in some cases. Khondalites are considered to be metasedimentary rocks, according to Lewis Leigh Fermor, these rocks and the related charnockite were formed when the Eastern Ghat belt was faulted and buried. It was uplifted later, bringing these metamorphic rocks to the surface, khondalites weather easily but still have been used in buildings and temples, for example, the Konark Sun Temple and Jagannath Temple
44.
Metamorphic rock
–
Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock types, in a process called metamorphism, which means change in form. The original rock is subjected to heat and pressure, causing profound physical and/or chemical change, the protolith may be a sedimentary, an igneous, or even an existing type of metamorphic rock. Metamorphic rocks make up a part of the Earths crust. They are classified by texture and by chemical and mineral assemblage and they may be formed simply by being deep beneath the Earths surface, subjected to high temperatures and the great pressure of the rock layers above it. They can form from tectonic processes such as continental collisions, which cause horizontal pressure and they are also formed when rock is heated up by the intrusion of hot molten rock called magma from the Earths interior. The study of rocks provides information about the temperatures and pressures that occur at great depths within the Earths crust. Some examples of rocks are gneiss, slate, marble, schist. Metamorphic minerals are those that only at the high temperatures and pressures associated with the process of metamorphism. These minerals, known as index minerals, include sillimanite, kyanite, staurolite, andalusite, and some garnet. Other minerals, such as olivines, pyroxenes, amphiboles, micas, feldspars, and quartz, may be found in metamorphic rocks and these minerals formed during the crystallization of igneous rocks. They are stable at temperatures and pressures and may remain chemically unchanged during the metamorphic process. However, all minerals are only within certain limits. The change in the size of the rock during the process of metamorphism is called recrystallization. Both high temperatures and pressures contribute to recrystallization, high temperatures allow the atoms and ions in solid crystals to migrate, thus reorganizing the crystals, while high pressures cause solution of the crystals within the rock at their point of contact. The layering within metamorphic rocks is called foliation, and it occurs when a rock is being shortened along one axis during recrystallization. This causes the platy or elongated crystals of minerals, such as mica and chlorite and this results in a banded, or foliated rock, with the bands showing the colors of the minerals that formed them. Textures are separated into foliated and non-foliated categories, foliated rock is a product of differential stress that deforms the rock in one plane, sometimes creating a plane of cleavage. For example, slate is a metamorphic rock, originating from shale
45.
Quartzite
–
Quartzite is a hard, non-foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone. Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. Pure quartzite is usually white to grey, though quartzites often occur in shades of pink. Other colors, such as yellow, green, blue and orange, are due to other minerals, when sandstone is cemented to quartzite, the individual quartz grains recrystallize along with the former cementing material to form an interlocking mosaic of quartz crystals. Most or all of the texture and sedimentary structures of the sandstone are erased by the metamorphism. The grainy, sandpaper-like surface becomes glassy in appearance, minor amounts of former cementing materials, iron oxide, silica, carbonate and clay, often migrate during recrystallization and metamorphosis. This causes streaks and lenses to form within the quartzite, orthoquartzite is a very pure quartz sandstone composed of usually well-rounded quartz grains cemented by silica. Orthoquartzite is often 99% SiO2 with only minor amounts of iron oxide and trace resistant minerals such as zircon, rutile. Although few fossils are present, the original texture and sedimentary structures are preserved. The term is traditionally used for quartz-cemented quartz arenites. Quartzite is very resistant to weathering and often forms ridges. The nearly pure silica content of the rock provides little for soil, therefore, because of its hardness and angular shape, crushed quartzite is often used as railway ballast. Quartzite is a stone and may be used to cover walls, as roofing tiles, as flooring. Its use for countertops in kitchens is expanding rapidly and it is harder and more resistant to stains than granite. Crushed quartzite is used in road construction. High purity quartzite is used to produce ferrosilicon, industrial silica sand, during the Paleolithic quartzite was used, in addition to flint, quartz, and other lithic raw materials, for making stone tools. Quartzite is also found in the Morenci Copper Mine in Arizona, the town of Quartzsite in western Arizona derives its name from the quartzites in the nearby mountains in both Arizona and Southeastern California. A glassy vitreous quartzite has been described from the Belt Supergroup in the Coeur d’Alene district of northern Idaho, in the United Kingdom, a craggy ridge of quartzite called the Stiperstones runs parallel with the Pontesford-Linley fault,6 km north-west of the Long Mynd in south Shropshire
46.
Thrust fault
–
A thrust fault is a type of fault, or break in the Earths crust across which there has been relative movement, in which rocks of lower stratigraphic position are pushed up and over higher strata. They are often recognized because they place older rocks above younger, Thrust faults are the result of compressional forces. Thrust faults are a class of reverse faulting that typically have low dip angles. It is often hard to recognize thrusts because their deformation and dislocation can be difficult to detect when they occur within the rocks without appreciable offset of lithological contacts. If the angle of the plane is low and the displacement of the overlying block is large the fault is called an overthrust. Erosion can remove part of the block, creating a fenster when the underlying block is only exposed in a relatively small area. When erosion removes most of the block, leaving only island-like remnants resting on the lower block. If the fault plane terminates before it reaches the Earths surface, because of the lack of surface evidence, blind thrust faults are difficult to detect until they rupture. The destructive 1994 quake in Northridge, California was caused by a blind thrust fault. Thrust faults, particularly involved in thin-skinned style of deformation, have a so-called ramp-flat geometry. Thrusts mostly propagate along zones of weakness within a sequence, such as mudstones or salt layers. The part of the thrust linking the two flats is known as a ramp and typically forms at an angle of about 15°-30° to the bedding. Continued displacement on a thrust over a ramp produces a characteristic fold geometry known as an anticline or, more generally. Fault-propagation folds form at the tip of a thrust fault where propagation along the decollement has ceased, the continuing displacement is accommodated by formation of an asymmetric anticline-syncline fold pair. As displacement continues the thrust tip starts to propagate along the axis of the syncline, such structures are also known as tip-line folds. Eventually the propagating thrust tip may reach another effective decollement layer, when a thrust that has propagated along the lower detachment, known as the floor thrust, cuts up to the upper detachment, known as the roof thrust, it forms a ramp within the stronger layer. With continued displacement on the thrust, higher stresses are developed in the footwall of the due to the bend on the fault. This may cause renewed propagation along the floor thrust until it again cuts up to join the roof thrust, further displacement then takes place via the newly created ramp
47.
Fault (geology)
–
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock, across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movement. Large faults within the Earths crust result from the action of tectonic forces. Energy release associated with movement on active faults is the cause of most earthquakes. A fault plane is the plane that represents the surface of a fault. A fault trace or fault line is the intersection of a plane with the ground surface. A fault trace is also the line commonly plotted on maps to represent a fault. Since faults do not usually consist of a single, clean fracture, the two sides of a non-vertical fault are known as the hanging wall and footwall. By definition, the wall occurs above the fault plane. This terminology comes from mining, when working a tabular ore body, because of friction and the rigidity of rocks, they cannot glide or flow past each other easily, and occasionally all movement stops. A fault in ductile rocks can also release instantaneously when the rate is too great. The energy released by instantaneous strain-release causes earthquakes, a common phenomenon along transform boundaries, slip is defined as the relative movement of geological features present on either side of a fault plane, and is a displacement vector. A faults sense of slip is defined as the motion of the rock on each side of the fault with respect to the other side. In practice, it is only possible to find the slip direction of faults. Based on direction of slip, faults can be categorized as, strike-slip. Dip-slip, offset is predominantly vertical and/or perpendicular to the fault trace, oblique-slip, combining significant strike and dip slip. The fault surface is usually vertical and the footwall moves either left or right or laterally with very little vertical motion. Strike-slip faults with left-lateral motion are known as sinistral faults. Those with right-lateral motion are known as dextral faults
48.
Bauxite
–
Bauxite, an aluminium ore, is the worlds main source of aluminium. It consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite, boehmite and diaspore, mixed with the two iron oxides goethite and haematite, the mineral kaolinite and small amounts of anatase. In 1821 the French geologist Pierre Berthier discovered bauxite near the village of Les Baux in Provence, in 1861, French chemist Henri Sainte-Claire Deville named the mineral bauxite. Lateritic bauxites are distinguished from karst bauxite ores, the lateritic bauxites are found mostly in the countries of the tropics. They were formed by lateritization of various silicate rocks such as granite, gneiss, basalt, syenite, in comparison with the iron-rich laterites, the formation of bauxites depends even more on intense weathering conditions in a location with very good drainage. This enables the dissolution of the kaolinite and the precipitation of the gibbsite, zones with highest aluminium content are frequently located below a ferruginous surface layer. The aluminium hydroxide in the bauxite deposits is almost exclusively gibbsite. In 2009, Australia was the top producer of bauxite with almost one-third of the production, followed by China, Brazil, India. Although aluminium demand is increasing, known reserves of its bauxite ore are sufficient to meet the worldwide demands for aluminium for many centuries. Increased aluminium recycling, which has the advantage of lowering the cost in power in producing aluminium. In November 2010, Nguyen Tan Dung, the minister of Vietnam, announced that Vietnams bauxite reserves might total 11000 Mt. Bauxite is usually strip mined because it is almost always found near the surface of the terrain, as of 2010, approximately 70% to 80% of the worlds dry bauxite production is processed first into alumina and then into aluminium by electrolysis. Bauxite rocks are classified according to their intended commercial application, metallurgical, abrasive, cement, chemical. Usually, bauxite ore is heated in a vessel along with a sodium hydroxide solution at a temperature of 150 to 200 °C. At these temperatures, the aluminium is dissolved as sodium aluminate, the aluminium compounds in the bauxite may be present as gibbsite, boehmite or diaspore, the different forms of the aluminium component will dictate the extraction conditions. The undissolved waste, bauxite tailings, after the aluminium compounds are extracted contains iron oxides, silica, calcia, titania, after separation of the residue by filtering, pure gibbsite is precipitated when the liquid is cooled, and then seeded with fine-grained aluminium hydroxide. The gibbsite is usually converted into aluminium oxide, Al2O3, by heating in rotary kilns or fluid flash calciners to a temperature in excess of 1000oC and this aluminium oxide is dissolved at a temperature of about 960 °C in molten cryolite. Prior to the invention of this process in 1886, elemental aluminium was made by heating ore along with sodium or potassium in a vacuum
49.
Iron ore
–
Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow. The iron itself is found in the form of magnetite, hematite, goethite, limonite or siderite. Ores containing very high quantities of hematite or magnetite are known as ore or direct shipping ore. Iron ore is the raw material used to make pig iron, indeed, it has been argued that iron ore is more integral to the global economy than any other commodity, except perhaps oil. Metallic iron is virtually unknown on the surface of the Earth except as iron-nickel alloys from meteorites, although iron is the fourth most abundant element in the Earths crust, comprising about 5%, the vast majority is bound in silicate or more rarely carbonate minerals. Prior to the revolution, most iron was obtained from widely available goethite or bog ore, for example during the American Revolution. Prehistoric societies used laterite as a source of iron ore, historically, much of the iron ore utilized by industrialized societies has been mined from predominantly hematite deposits with grades of around 70% Fe. These deposits are referred to as direct shipping ores or natural ores. Iron-ore mining methods vary by the type of ore being mined, there are four main types of iron-ore deposits worked currently, depending on the mineralogy and geology of the ore deposits. These are magnetite, titanomagnetite, massive hematite and pisolitic ironstone deposits, banded iron formations are sedimentary rocks containing more than 15% iron composed predominantly of thinly bedded iron minerals and silica. Banded iron formations occur exclusively in Precambrian rocks, and are weakly to intensely metamorphosed. Banded iron formations may contain iron in carbonates or silicates, banded iron formations are known as taconite within North America. The mining involves moving tremendous amounts of ore and waste, the waste comes in two forms, non-ore bedrock in the mine, and unwanted minerals which are an intrinsic part of the ore rock itself. The mullock is mined and piled in dumps, and the gangue is separated during the beneficiation process and is removed as tailings. Taconite tailings are mostly the mineral quartz, which is chemically inert and this material is stored in large, regulated water settling ponds. The typical magnetite iron-ore concentrate has less than 0. 1% phosphorus, 3–7% silica, currently magnetite iron ore is mined in Minnesota and Michigan in the U. S. Direct-shipping iron-ore deposits are exploited on all continents except Antarctica, with the largest intensity in South America
.JPG)
