Palakkad District - Geography

Geography

It is a predominantly rural district. Coimbatore city of Tamil Nadu lies to the east of Palakkad. Palakkad is the gateway to Kerala due to the presence of the Palakkad Gap, in the Western Ghats. The total area of the district is 4480 km² which is 11.5% of the state's area. Out of the total area of 4480 km², about 1360 km² of land is covered by forests. Most parts of the district fall in the midland region (elevation 75–250 m), except the Nelliampathy-Parambikulam area in the Chittur taluk in the south and Attappadi-Malampuzha area in the north, which are hilly and fall in the highland region (elevation >250 m). Some of the notable peaks in the district are Anginda (2325 m), Karimala (1998 m), Nellikotta or Padagiri (1585 m) and Karimala Gopuram (1439 m).

The climate is hot and humid for most part of the year. Palakkad is one of the hottest places in Kerala. There is sufficient rainfall. The district is blessed with many small and medium rivers, which are tributaries of the Bharathapuzha River. A number of dams have been built across these rivers, the largest being Malampuzha dam. The largest in volume capacity is the Parambikulam Dam