Think of Karnataka and myriad beautiful

Tourism of Karnataka

Think of Karnataka and myriad beautiful images come to mind-the old world charm of villages and towns; friendly rural folk; misty mountain ranges of the Western Ghats; lovely waterfalls at Jog and Sivasamudra; cacophony of migratory birds at Ranganathittu; call of the wild at Bandipur and Nagarhole; and the mild aroma of teak, ebony and rosewood in the forests. The state is steeped in tradition yet is one of the forerunners of the information technology revolution in the country.

LOCATION

Karnataka is the eighth largest state in India. Located in the southern part of the country, it is surrounded by other states like Maharashtra and Goa in the north, Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the south, Andhra Pradesh in the east and the Arabian Sea in the west. The state of Karnataka is situated approximately between the latitudes 11.5° and 18.5° North and the longitudes 74° and 78.5° East.

The state of Karnataka is part of two well-defined regions of India, namely the Deccan Plateau and the Coastal Plains and Islands and it can be further divided into four physiographic regions-the Northern Karnataka Plateau, Central Karnataka Plateau, Southern Karnataka Plateau, Karnataka Coastal Region.

The Northern Karnataka Plateau, at an elevation of 300 to 600 meter, is largely composed of the Deccan Trap. It represents a monotonous, treeless extensive plateau landscape rich in black cotton soils.

The Central Karnataka Plateau is the area between the Northern and Southern Karnataka Plateaus, which results in the general elevation varying between 450 and 700 meter. This region represents the area of the Tungabhadra basin.

The Southern Karnataka Plateau covers the area of the Cauvery river basin lying in Karnataka and is encircled by the Western Ghats in the west and south. The region is situated between 600 and 900 meter above sea level.

The coastal plains and the Western Ghats constitute the Karnataka Coastal Region. The coastal stretch, with an average width of 50 to 80 km, covers about 267 km from north to south.

The state boasts of a wide range of topological features. There are chains of mountains, the highest being the Mullayyana Giri (1,925m). Other than the mountains, there are plateaus, residual hills and coastal plains.

The state possesses six percent of the total water resources in the country as there are many rivers flowing through it. The most famous among them are the Krishna, Cauvery, Godavari, North Pennar, South Pennar and Palar.

BEST TIME TO VISIT

The variation in the geographical features affects the climate of the region. Coastal Karnataka experiences a hot, rainy tropical monsoon climate. In the southern inland places the climate is hot and dry and the interior northern areas are semi arid and hot.