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geography of kerala

Kerala is a small strip of land lying at the south-west corner of India. It lies to the north of the equator between 8° 18' and 12° 48' north latitude and 74° 52' and 77° 24' east longitude.

Kerala extends over an area of 38,863 sq.km which is only 1.03 percent of the total area of India. It has a total coastline of 580 km. Its width varies greatly from west to east. It is about 120 kilometres at its maximum and just 30 kilometres at its minimum.

Kerala is bordered by land on three sides and by the Arabian sea at the west. It shares its border with the state of Karnataka at the north and the rest of Kerala shares it border with Tamil Nadu. In fact, almost the whole of the western and southern frontiers of Kerala is surrounded by Tamil Nadu.

The major features of the geography of Kerala are the golden seashores, zigzag rocky terrain of the Western Ghats, abundant coconut trees, the beautiful rivers and gushing cascades, along with straggling plantations and paddy fields and fascinating flora and fauna. Of course, without the mention of languid backwaters, no account of the geography of Kerala can be complete.