Tamil Nadu lies on the Peninsular Plateau, known as the Deccan Plateau, and is a part of the ancient Gondwana land that broke away 135 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period. This chapter covers its location, size, physical divisions, rivers, climate, soils, natural vegetation, wildlife and natural disasters. Physical geography is the branch of geography dealing with landforms, drainage, climate, soil and natural vegetation.
1. Location and Size
- Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India, located in the southernmost part of the country.
- Latitudinal extent: 8°4'N to 13°35'N; longitudinal extent: 76°18'E to 80°20'E.
- Area: 1,30,058 sq.km – the 11th largest state in India, covering 4% of the country's area.
- Coastline: 906.9 km, the third-longest in India after Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.
- At its formation the state had only 13 districts. All districts except Chennai, The Nilgiris and Kanyakumari were bifurcated at different points of time.
- As per the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, state boundaries were reorganised on a linguistic basis.