Western Ghats

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Location of the Western Ghats on the map of the Indian subcontinent.

The Western Ghats (English Western Ghats ) are a mountain range in India, which runs along the edge of the Deccan Plateau and this separates from the narrow strip of coastal plain and the Arabian Sea.

Geography

The mountain takes its starting south of the River Tapti on the border of the Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra and runs over a length of about 1600 km through the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu almost to the tip of the Indian subcontinent. The average altitude is about 900 m. Higher peaks occur in the north in Maharashtra on, for example, Kalsubai (1646 m), Mahabaleshwar ( 1438 m) and Harishchandragarh (1424 m), in south-western Karnataka, Kudremukh (1862 m), and reach their highest altitude in the south with Anamudi in Kerala ( 2695 m). The only major gap in the mountain range, the Palghat, connects Tamil Nadu with Kerala. Smaller side chains of the Western Ghats are the Nilgiri Hills in northwestern Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in the south east Billigirirangans, the further east to meet the Servaraya and Tirumala Mountains and thus connect the Western Ghats to the Eastern Ghats. The mountain ranges are the wild animals, such as the Indian elephant, as natural corridors to move between fields.

The northern portion of the narrow coastal plain between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea is known as Konkanküste, the southern part of the Malabar Coast. The Vorgebirgsregion east of the Ghats in Maharashtra Desh is known, while the Vorgebirgsregion Central Karnataka's Malnad is called (from kannada Male Nadu = rain country). The largest city in the Western Ghats, Pune in Desh.

The mountains provide a natural barrier to the west monsoon, which means that its water-rich rain clouds rain down on the slopes, as the slopes rising clouds to keep her through the cooling water stored no more. The dense forests also contribute to a warm and humid climate. This will benefit only the western slopes of the Western Ghats, while the east with the Deccan is relatively dry. They also represent the most important watershed of the Indian peninsula is and from them flow the one hand, the relatively short rivers of the west side, flowing to the Arabian Sea, from the other hand, the longer rivers in the east, such as Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri, which eventually into the Gulf pour of Bengal. Many of these rivers are heavily burdened by pollution, which is supported by mining, agriculture, settlements and industry in the rivers.

Flora and Fauna

Originally, the Western Ghats were well- covered by rainforest. These forests were home to a diverse flora and fauna. But man has had a strong impact on the natural landscape. Numerous national parks and protected areas lie within the territory of the Western Ghats, but it is assumed that only a small part of the area will remain in its natural state.

Biogeografen have recognized some time ago that the flora and fauna of the Western Ghats is very diverse and partially unique in the world. Many endemic species, especially in the area of ​​amphibians and reptiles are common here. The Uropeltidae inside of serpents family is unique for the area. In addition, the frog Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis was discovered in 2003, which represents a living fossil. The Travancore tortoise from the kind of Asian tortoises is limited to this mountain range.

The Western Ghats are ecologically different from the arid regions to the north and east, and can be divided into four ecoregions. The north is slightly drier than the south, reached slightly lower heights and forms the ecoregion deciduous rain forests of the northern Western Ghats, as the key species has teak trees and species of Dipterocarpaceae. Above 1000 m altitude is the cool - humid ecoregion mountain rain forests of the northern Western Ghats of which belong to evergreen main representatives of the Lauraceae family.

The evergreen Wayanad forests of Kerala and Tamil Nadu are the transition region of the northern and southern ecoregions of the Western Ghats. The southern ecoregions are generally wetter and more species-rich. At low altitudes one finds the ecoregion deciduous rain forests of southern Western Ghats, with the main types Cullenia, teak, and other Dipterocarpaceae. In the East, this deciduous in the dry forests ecoregion level of the southern Deccan goes on. Above 1000 meters in the ecoregion mountain rain forests of southern Western Ghats, which is cool and humid than the surrounding lowland forests, although grassland and dwarf forests can be found in the highest regions. This region is the richest in India. 80 % of all flowering plants throughout the Western Ghats be found here. 35 % of plants, 42 % of the fish, 48 % of reptiles and 75 % of amphibians that occur here are endemic species.

The Western Ghats are one of the world's major biodiversity hotspots. In 2012, 39 protected areas were included in the Western Ghats in the list of UNESCO World Natural Heritage.