Tag: physical geography of tamil nadu

The natural vegetation can be broadly divided into five different types. They are:

When the retreating monsoon blows from the northeast across the Bay of Bengal, it picks up a significant amount of moisture, which is subsequently released after moving back onto the peninsula. Thus, from October to December the coast of Tamil Nadu state receives at least half of its roughly 40 inches (1,000 mm) of annual precipitation. That rainy extension of the generally dry retreating monsoon is called the northeast, or winter monsoon.

As the southwest monsoon starts its downpour of rain in the Western Ghats, the western parts of Tamil Nadu receive about 150 cm of rainfall on an average. Most of the eastern and central parts of Tamil Nadu become rainshadow region for this season. This occurs due to the southwesterly direction of monsoonal winds in this season. In general, the amount of rainfall of south west monsoon decreases from west to east.

Kaveri which is also known as "Dakshin Ganga" is the major river of Tamilnadu. The origin of this river is the hills of Coorg, Karnataka and ends in the Bay of Bengal.

Most of the soils of the plains of Tamil Nadu are alluvial, formed by rivers flowing east.