Geography and Climate
The district is located in the southern part of Tamil Nadu. It is surrounded by Virudhunagar District in the north, the Western Ghats in the west, Kanyakumari District in the south and Thoothukudi District in the east. The district covers an area of 6,823 km2. It lies between 8°05’ and 9°30’ north latitude and 77°05’ and 78°25’ east longitude. The district has diverse geographical and physical features. It has mountains (a stretch of the Western Ghats and lowland plains. It has a perennial river (the Tamirabarani) and small seasonal rivers. The district has many scenic waterfalls. Its physical features include sandy soil and fertile alluvium, a variety of flora, fauna and protected wildlife. The district also has inland and mountainous forests.
Tirunelveli has rainfall in all seasons (953.1 mm in 2005-2006). The district benefits from both the northeast and southwest monsoons. Most precipitation came from the northeast monsoon (548.7 mm) followed by the southwest monsoon (147.8 mm) and summer rains (184.2 mm). The district is irrigated by several rivers originating in the Western Ghats such as the Pachaiyar River, which flows into the Tambaraparani River. The Tambaraparani and Manimuthar Rivers have many dams, with reservoirs providing water for irrigation and power generation. The Tamiraparani River provides consistent irrigation to a large agricultural area. The Chittar River also originates in this district. The Courtallam and Manimuthar waterfalls are the two major falls in the district.
Read more about this topic: Tirunelveli District
Famous quotes containing the words geography and, geography and/or climate:
“The totality of our so-called knowledge or beliefs, from the most casual matters of geography and history to the profoundest laws of atomic physics or even of pure mathematics and logic, is a man-made fabric which impinges on experience only along the edges. Or, to change the figure, total science is like a field of force whose boundary conditions are experience.”
—Willard Van Orman Quine (b. 1908)
“The totality of our so-called knowledge or beliefs, from the most casual matters of geography and history to the profoundest laws of atomic physics or even of pure mathematics and logic, is a man-made fabric which impinges on experience only along the edges. Or, to change the figure, total science is like a field of force whose boundary conditions are experience.”
—Willard Van Orman Quine (b. 1908)
“When we consider how much climate contributes to the happiness of our condition, by the fine sensation it excites, and the productions it is the parent of, we have reason to value highly the accident of birth in such a one as that of Virginia.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)