Geography of Karnataka - Landforms of Karnataka

Landforms of Karnataka

The state has three principal physical zones;

• The coastal strip, called Karavalli, between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, which is lowland, with moderate to high rainfall levels. This strip is around 320 km in length and 48–64 km wide.
• The Western Ghats, called Malenadu, a mountain range inland from the Arabian Sea, rising to about 900 m average height, and with moderate to high rainfall levels.
• The Deccan Plateau, called Bayalu Seeme, comprising the main inland region of the state, which is drier and verging on the semi-arid. The humidity in these plains or maidans never exceeds 50%.

Karnataka has one of the highest average elevations of Indian states at 1,500 feet. The highest recorded temperature was 45.6 °C (114.08 °F) at Raichur on May 23, 1928. The lowest recorded temperature was 2.8 °C (37.04 °F) at Bidar on December 16, 1918.