Mysticc India: Kerala The Heaven

Kerala

Kerala is a state on the Western Coast of south-western India. To its east and north-east, Kerala borders Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, to its west lies the Arabian Sea and to its south the Indian Ocean islands of Lakshadweep and the Maldives, respectively. Kerala envelops Mahé, a coastal exclave of Pondicherry. Kerala is one of four states that compose the linguistic-cultural region known as South India.

History:-

During Neolithic times, humans largely avoided Kerala's malarial rainforests and wetlands; thus, the first evidence of habitation — potsherds and dolmens — dates to the 10th century BC. These were produced by speakers of the Tamil language from north-western India, suggesting that ancient Kerala and Tamil Nadu (part of Tamilakam) once shared a common language, ethnicity, and culture. By the early 14th century, Kerala had become a linguistically distinct region. The first major recorded kingdom, the Chera, ruled Kerala from Vanchi. Allied with the Pallavas, they warred against the Chola and Pandya kingdoms. A Keralite identity — distinct from the Tamils and associated with the second Chera empire and the development of Malayalam — evolved during the 8th–14th centuries. In written records, Kerala was first mentioned in the Sanskrit epic Aitareya Aranyaka. Later, figures such as Katyayana, Patanjali, Pliny the Elder, and the unknown author of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea displayed familiarity with Kerala.

Geography:-

Kerala’s 38, 863 km² landmass (1.18% of India) is wedged between the Arabian Sea to the west and the Western Ghats — identified as one of the world's twenty-five biodiversity hotspots — to the east. Lying between north latitudes 8°18' and 12°48' and east longitudes 74°52' and 72°22', Kerala is well within the humid equatorial tropics. Kerala’s coast runs for some 580 km (360.4 miles), while the state itself varies between 35–120 km (21.74 - 74.56 miles) in width. Geographically, Kerala can be divided into three climatically distinct regions: the eastern highlands (rugged and cool mountainous terrain), the central midlands (rolling hills), and the western lowlands (coastal plains). Located at the extreme southern tip of the Indian subcontinent, Kerala lies near the centre of the Indian tectonic plate; as such, most of the state (notwithstanding isolated regions) is subject to comparatively little seismic and volcanic activity Geologically, pre-Cambrian and Pleistocene formations compose the bulk of Kerala’s terrain.

Flora & Fauna :-

Kerala's notable biodiversity is concentrated in the east. Almost a fourth of India's plant species, some 10,000 plant species, are found in the state. Among the almost 4,000 flowering plant species (1,272 of which are endemic to Kerala and 159 threatened) are 900 species of highly-sought medicinal plants. Its 9,400 km² of forests include tropical wet evergreen and semi-evergreen forests (lower and middle elevations — 3,470 km²), tropical moist and dry deciduous forests (mid-elevations — 4,100 km² and 100 km², respectively), and montane subtropical and temperate (shola) forests (highest elevations — 100 km²). Altogether, 24% of Kerala is forested. Two of the world’s Ramsar Convention-listed wetlands — LakeSasthamkotta and the Vembanad-Kol wetlands — are in Kerala, as well as 1455.4 km² of the vast Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Subjected to extensive clearing for cultivation in the 20th century,much of Kerala's forest cover is now protected from clearfelling. Kerala's fauna are notable for their diversity and high rates of endemism: 102 species of mammals , 476 species of birds, 202 species of freshwater fishes, 169 species of reptiles, and 89 species of amphibians .These are threatened by extensive habitat destruction (including soil erosion, landslides, salinization, and resource extraction).

**Most Data Got from Wikipedia -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerala**