National Wetland Atlas: Kerala - Ministry of Environment and Forests

3.0 STUDY AREA
Kerala is located on the southernmost tip of India and embraces the coast of Arabian Sea on the west and is
bounded by the Western Ghats in the east extending from 8 0 17’ and 12 0 48’ north latitude and 74 0 51’ and
77 0 20’ east longitude (Figure 3). Kerala also encloses Mahe, Pondicherry’s coastal exclave. With 14 districts
and other cities the total area of Kerala is 38, 916 sq km. This South Indian state stretches from north to south
along the coast line of 580 kms with an approximate breadth of 35 to 120 km.
Though small in size, Kerala is a land affluent in water sources. 44 rivers drain the land, of which 41 are west
flowing and 3 flow east. Apart from these 44 rivers, their tributaries and distributaries and a countless number
of streams and rivulets crisscross the land making it green and fertile and also serves as inland waterways.
Major rivers include Pampa, Periyar, Achenkovil, Manimala, Bharathapuzha, Chalakudy, Valapatanam,
Kallayi, Meenachil, Muvattupuzha, Mogral.
Beside these rivers, Kerala is bestowed with a number of lakes and backwater lagoon which add to the
beauty of the land. The important wetlands of Kerala are Ashtamudi Lake, Vembanad Lake and Sasthamkotta
Lake. Vembanad backwater lake is the largest in the state while Sasthamkotta lake is the largest natural fresh
water lake. The other important backwaters are Anjengo, Veli, Edava, Kadinakulam, Nadayara, Kayamkulam,
Paravoor, Kowai and Chotwa.
Kerala has the finest beaches like Kovalam, Shangumugham, Varkala, Cherai, Fort Cochin, Kappad, and
Bekkel. Reservoirs are the major wetlands that form the source of hydroelectricity. Major reservoirs include
Neyyar,Peppara, Kallar, Kakki, Idukki, and Walayar.
Kerala has hot and humid climate during April-May and pleasant, cold climate in December-January. Summer
extends from the month of April to June when the temperature reaches to a maximum of 37 0 . Summer is
followed by Southwest monsoon that starts pouring in the month of June and continues till September. Winter
in Kerala lasts from November to January or February. Southwest monsoon and retreating monsoon
(Northeast monsoon) are the main rainy seasons. Kerala receives an average rainfall of 118 inches
(3,000 mm) annually.
The state has fourteen districts and is covered in 86 Survey of India topographical maps on 1:50,000 scale
that form the spatial frame work for mapping (Figure 4). The spatial framework was prepared using 15’ x 15’
grid.
A detail of district information followed in the atlas is given in Annexure-II.
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