Anaimalai Hills

Coordinates: 10°10′12.0″N 77°03′40.9″E / 10.170000°N 77.061361°E / 10.170000; 77.061361
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Anamala Hills
Elephant Hills
Anamala Hills
Country
mya
Type of rockFault[2]
Jambu Malai is a part of Anaimalai Hills

The Anamala or Anaimalai, also known as the Elephant Mountains, are a range of mountains in the southern Western Ghats of central Kerala (Idukki district, Ernakulam district, Palakkad district, Thrissur district) and span the border of western Tamil Nadu (Coimbatore district and Tiruppur district) in Southern India. The name anamala is derived from the Malayalam word aana and the Tamil word yaanai, meaning elephant, or from tribal languages. Mala or Malai means 'mountain', and thus literally translatable as 'Elephant mountain'.[3]

tea plantations(especially around Valparai), as well as teak plantations of high economic value.[4] The rest are mostly forests, of mainly two ecoregions-the South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests (mainly in Palakkad district and Idukki district of Kerala, as well as Tamil Nadu) and the South Western Ghats montane rain forests(mainly in Idukki district, Ernakulam district, Palakkad district of Kerala, Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu
).

The Western Ghats and Anaimalai Sub-Cluster, including the Anaimalai Hills, are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[5]

Geography

The hills are located between 10° 13' and 10° 31' N. and 76° 52' and 77° 23' E with a central point of: 10°22′N 77°07.5′E / 10.367°N 77.1250°E / 10.367; 77.1250. They are south of where the Western Ghats are broken by the

Palni Hills lies to the east, extending into Kerala as the Pampadum Shola National Park. They are spread largely over Palakkad district, Thrissur district, Ernakulam district and Idukki district of Kerala(mainly Palakkad and Idukki), Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore district and Tiruppur district.[citation needed
]

Their geological formation is metamorphic gneiss, veined with feldspar and quartz, and interspersed with reddish porphyrite.[6] Twelve major forest types are found in the area. The landscape is fragmented by many coffee and tea plantations on the lower slopes and teak plantations higher up. Monsoon rains are heavy. Annual rainfall varies from 2,000 mm to 5,000 mm in the area.[7] Formed by fault-block movements in the Holocene Epoch (i.e., about the past 11,700 years), the Anaimalai Hills descend to form a series of terraces about 3,300 feet (1,000 metres) high.[citation needed]

Fauna

Wild elephants in Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Tamilnadu

The Anamala/Anaimalai Hills are known for their abundant wildlife.

black buck, and 31 groups of endangered lion-tailed macaques.[8][9]
Birds seen include the Pied hornbill, Red whiskered bulbul and Drongo.

Recently, a new frog species,

Beddomixalus bijui, was found within the forest.[10]

Hydrology

Amaravathi Reservoir and Dam

There are several rivers in the area including the Chalakkudipuzha, Aliayar, Apambar, Chinnar , Kaddambarrai , Neerar, Mannambhally,

Idamalayar, and thereby, visitors are now prohibited from entering the Idamalayar Dam area. Vadattupara is the last destination that one is allowed to reach on the Bhoothathankettu-Idamalayar Dam Road. The area is also ecologically very sensitive.[citation needed
]

Tourism

The Anaimalai Hills are a popular trekking destination in the Western Ghats. Due to heavy rains during the wet season, the ideal time for tourism is between the months of November and May.[

are the nearest railway stations.

References

  1. ^ "Anamudi, India". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  2. .
  3. ^ Fabricius, Johann Philipp. (1972) J. P. Fabricius's Tamil and English dictionary, 4th ed., rev. and enl. Tranquebar: Evangelical Lutheran Mission Pub. House, retrieved 6/18/2007 anai (āṉai), an elephant Archived 24 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Anamala Hills | mountains, India". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  5. ^ UNESCO, World Heritage sites, Tentative lists, Western Ghats sub cluster, Niligiris. retrieved 4/20/2007 World Heritage sites, Tentative lists
  6. ^  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Anamalai Hills". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 913.
  7. ^ Sajeev T.K. et al., Management of Forests in India for Biological Diversity and Forest Productivity- A New Perspective, WII-USDA Forest Service Collaborative Project Grant No. FG-In-780 (In-FS-120), Volume III (ACA) Anaimalai Conservation Area Archived 16 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  8. S2CID 43014595
    .
  9. ^ Kumara, H. N.; Kumar, M. Ananda; Sharma, A. K.; Sushma, H. S.; Singh, Mridula; Singh, Mewa (2004). "Diversity and management of wild mammals in tea gardens in the rainforest regions of the Western Ghats, India: A case study from a tea estate in the Anamala / Anaimalai Hills" (PDF). Current Science. 87 (9): 1282–.
  10. ^ Two novel genera and one new species of treefrog (Anura: Rhacophoridae) highlight cryptic diversity in the Western Ghats of India. Zootaxa 3640 (2): 177–189.

Further reading

External links