Western Ghats

Introduction

Western ghats are one of the biological hotspots of India. It is situated in India. It is a mountain range that traverses through the state of Kerala,Karnataka, Gujrat, Goa, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra. The length of the western ghats is almost 1600 Km. The area of this mountain range is 160,000 Sq. Km. western Ghats is considered a Biological hotspot. It was considered a UNESCO world heritage site in 2012. The highest point of Western ghats is the Cardamom hills. The passes that passed through the “Western ghats”are “Palakkad gap”, “Kasara Ghat”, and “Naneghat”.

Location of Western Ghats

The “Western Ghats” is a “mountain range” that is situated in India. It is a chain of low elevated mountains that runs 1600 Km parallel to the “western coast” from Gujrat. It passes through thirty-nine protected areas in seven different states of India. Western ghats pass through the southern part of India. More precisely, it is located in the Peninsular plateau region which is the southern part of the “Deccan plateau”. It is parallel to the western coast of India. 

Mountains in the Western Ghats

Geologists have found that the mountains of the Western Ghats are the block mountains that are created due to the “down wrapping” phenomenon of a land part into the Arabian Sea. The mountains that are present in the Western Ghats region are Anamudi, Nilgiri, Doddabetta, etc. Anamudi is the highest peak of the western ghats . The elevation of this mountain is almost 2695 meters. Block mountains are the mountains that are formed due to the fault in the crust. The mountains of the western ghats region are formed due to faults in the crust. The highest peaks of the Western Ghats region and their location are given in the below table.

Western Ghats: a biological hotspot

A biological hotspot can be defined as a biogeographic place where a significant amount of biodiversity is present. The biodiversity hotspots are created due to human habitation. There are four hotspots in India. Western ghats is a biodiversity hotspot as almost 325 globally endangered species are found in this mountain region. It is a noticeable factor that almost 5000 flowering plant species are present in this region. In addition, 139 mammals and 179 amphibian species can be found in the Western Ghats region. Moreover, 508 different exotic bird species are found in this region. As various species of animals, birds, plants, and globally endangered species are found in the Western Ghats region it is called a biodiversity hotspot.

Geographical differences between Eastern and the Western Ghats

Western Ghats:

• Western ghats is a continuous mountain chain.
• It has various passes.
• The length of the Western Ghats  is 1600 Km.
• The elevation of the mountains of this region is from 1600 to 27700 meters.
• It is a biological hotspot.

Eastern Ghats:

• It is not a continuous chain of mountains as it is cut by different rivers in various regions.

• The length of the eastern ghats  is 1500 km.
• In this mountain region, the elevation of the mountains is 800-1200 m.
• It is not a biological hotspot.

Conclusion

A detailed description of “Western Ghats” is given in this section. The highest mountain in the “Western Ghats” region is the Anamudi. It is situated in Kerala and its elevation is almost 2695 meters. On the other hand, the highest peak in the “Eastern Ghats” region is Jindhagada. The elevation of this mountain is almost 1690 m. The Western Ghats is located in the sound-west part of India whereas, the Eastern Ghats is located in the North-East part of India.