Origin of Kerala has been linked to a legend dating back to Satya Yug.
According to this legend, Kerala rose up from the sea when Lord
Parasurama threw his axe into it and the sea receded to bring up this
narrow strip of land from underneath. Lord Parasurama, believed to be
the sixth avatar of Lord Mahavishnu, threw his axe from Gokarnam
southward across the ocean in rage and in repentance for his actions of
killing Kshatriyas. The land of Kerala emerged from the waters of the
Arabian Sea with the blessing of Varuna-the God of Oceans and Bhumidevi-
the Goddess of Earth. The sobriquet “God’s own Country” thus bestows
itself on Kerala.
Kerala lies along the coastline, to the extreme south west of the Indian
peninsula, flanked by the Arabian Sea on the west and the mountains of
the Western Ghats on the east. This land of Parasurama stretches
north-south along a coastline of 580 kms with a varying width of 35 to
120 kms. Cascading delicately down the hills to the coasts covered by
verdant coconut groves, the topography and physical characteristics
change distinctly from east to west. The nature of the terrain and its
physical features, divides an east west cross section of the state into
three distinct regions- hills and valleys, midland and plains and the
coastal region. Located between north latitudes 8018' and 12048' and
east longitudes 74052' and 72022', this land of eternal beauty
encompasses 1.18 per cent of the country.
The strip of hills and valleys on the eastern edge, close to the Ghats,
comprises of steep mountains and deep valleys, covered with dense
forests. Almost all the rivers of the state originate here. There are 44
rivers in the state, of which 41 originate from the Western Ghats and
flow towards west into the Arabian sea. Only three tributaries of the
river Cauvery originate in Kerala and flow east into the neighbouring
States. These rivers and streams flowing down from the Western Ghats
either empty themselves in to the backwaters in the coastal area or
directly into the Arabian Sea. As the Western Ghats are nowhere more
than 120 kms from the sea, all these rivers are comparatively short.
Backwaters & Rivers
The backwaters are a peculiar
feature of the state. Canals link the lakes and backwaters to facilitate
an uninterrupted inland water navigation system from Thiruvananthapuram
to Vadakara, a distance of 450 kms. The Vembanad lake stretching from
Alappuzha to Kochi is the biggest water body in the state and is over
200 sq.kms. in area. Kuttanad in Alappuzha district alone has more than
20 per cent of India's total length of waterways.
The important
rivers from north to south are:
Valapattanam river (110 kms.),
Chaliar
(69 kms.),
Kadalundipuzha (130 kms.),
Bharathapuzha (209 kms.),
Chalakudy river (130 kms.),
Periyar (244 kms),
Pamba (176 kms),
Achancoil (128 kms.) and
Kalladayar (121 kms.).
Other than these, there
are 35 more small rivers and rivulets flowing down from the Ghats. Most
of these rivers are navigable up to the midland region, in country
crafts.
districts:
Thiruvananthapuram,
Kollam,
Alappuzha,
Pathanamthitta,
Kottayam,
Idukki,
Ernakulam,
Thrissur,
Palakkad,
Malappuram,
Kozhikode,
Wayanadu,
Kannur and
Kasaragod.
On the basis of geographical, historical and cultural similarities, the districts are generally grouped into:
North Kerala (Kasaragod, Kannur,
Wayanad, Kozhikode, Malappuram) ,
Central Kerala (Palakkad, Thrissur,
Eranakulam, Idukki) and
South Kerala (Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam,
Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam).
The districts have the same name as
the important town or city in the district, the exception being Wayanad
district.
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