Eastern Ghats

Eastern Ghats (Purvaghat)
Malayadri Mountains
Range
The Eastern Ghats near Visakhapatnam
Country	India
States	West Bengal, Orissa, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu
City	Vishakhapatnam
Highest point	Jindhagada Peak
- elevation	1,690 m (5,545 ft)
Biome	forests
The Eastern Ghats lie roughly parallel to the east coast of India

The Eastern Ghats or Eastern Ghauts (Telugu: తూర్పు కనుమలు, Tūrpu Kanumalu,Oriya: ପୂର୍ବଘାଟ ପର୍ବତମାଳା, Pūrbaghāṭa Parbatamāḷā, Kannada: ಪೂರ್ವ ಘಟ್ಟ, Pūrva Ghaṭṭa, Tamil: கிழக்குத் தொடர்ச்சி மலைகள் Kiḻakkut Toṭarcci Malaikaḷ) are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats run from West Bengal state in the north, through Orissa and Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka. They are eroded and cut through by the four major rivers of southern India, the Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna, and Kaveri. The mountain ranges run parallel to the Bay of Bengal. The Deccan Plateau lies to the west of the range, between the Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats. The coastal plains lies between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal. The Eastern Ghats are not as high as the Western Ghats. As with the Western Ghats, these mountain ranges also have their local names, e.g. the Velikonda Range of Andhra Pradesh.

At their southern end, the Eastern Ghats form several ranges of low hills. The southernmost of the Eastern Ghats are the low Sirumalai and Karanthamalai Hills of southern Tamil Nadu. North of the River Kaveri are higher Kollimalai, Pachaimalai, Shevaroy (Servaroyan), Kalrayan Hills, Chitteri, Palamalai and Mettur Hills in northern Tamil Nadu state. The climate of the higher hill ranges is generally cooler and wetter than the surrounding plains and the hills are home to coffee plantations and enclaves of dry forest. The hill station of Yercaud is located in the Shevaroy Hills. The Bilgiri Hills, which run east from the Western Ghats to the River Kaveri, forms a forested ecological corridor that connects the Eastern and Western Ghats, and allows the second-largest wild elephant population in India to range between the South Eastern Ghats, the Biligiri and Nilgiri Hills, and the South Western Ghats.The famous temple Malai Mahadeshwara Hills Temple is situauted in Chamarajanagar District in the Karnataka state on the Eagtern Ghat.

The Ponnaiyar and Palar Rivers flow from headwaters on the Kolar Plateau eastward through gaps in the Ghats to empty into the Bay of Bengal; the Javadi Hills lie between the two rivers. There are waterfalls in remote areas, such as the Kiliyur Falls.

North of the Palar River in Andhra Pradesh, the central portion of the Eastern Ghats consist of two parallel ranges running approximately north-south; the lower Velikonda Range lies to the east, and the higher Palikonda-Lankamalla-Nallamalla Ranges lie to the west. The Palar River cuts through the ranges. The Velikonda Range eventually descends to the coastal plain in northern Nellore district, while the Nallamalla Range continues to the River Krishna. A range of low hills lie between the Krishna and the Godavari, but north of the Godavari the Eastern Ghats increase again in height, forming the boundary between Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. The Similipal Massif is considered the farthest northeast extension of the Eastern Ghats.

A view of eastern ghats at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India

Jindhagada

Rock-cut Lord --Buddha-- Statue at Bojjanakonda near Anakapalle of Visakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh

The epic mountain Jindhagada is the highest mountain in the Eastern Ghats situated in Araku, district Vishakapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. The foot of the hill joins with village Pooluguda. This scenic place is 30 km from Araku Valley.

The region boasts of fertile soil but hydropower generation here is not as profitable as it is in the Western Ghats.

Buddhist Culture

The Eastern Ghats are older than the Western Ghats, and have a complex geologic history, related to the assembly and breakup of the ancient supercontinent of Rodinia and the assembly of the Gondwana supercontinent. The Eastern Ghats is the homeland for many buddhist ruins from orissa to south andhra. Andhra Pradesh has 140 listed Buddhist sites, which provide a panoramic view of the history of Buddhism from 3rd century B.C. to 14th century A.D. The list of inscriptions engraved on various media, lithic, copper plates, crystals, pots, conches are 501(360 lithic records, 7 sets of copper plates, 134 inscribed pots and conches etc.) in number. Some of the famous Buddhist sites in Andhra are Nagarjunakonda, Amaravati and Bavikonda. It is Buddhism that encouraged people to transform the prevailing ideas and ideals into a definite and concretized shape, especially the form of art and architecture, philosophy and literature. Historical role of Buddhism in Andhra was to incline local people given to animistic beliefs into an organized religion and launch them on the road of civilization. The cosmopolitan spirit of Buddhism helped to remove the tribal barriers, integrated the people and gave them a cultural identity paving way for the rise of Andhras as an imperial power under the satavahana rule. It also gave a stimulus to the creative genius of the people resulting in the sculptural exuberance of the stupas at Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda and scores of other Buddhist sites in the state. Fourteen Buddha relic caskets have been so far recovered from the sites of Andhra, the largest number for any state in India.

Rock-cut buddhist cave ruins at Gurubhaktula Konda Ramatheerrtham

Gallery

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  The Eastern Ghats in the city of Vishakhapatnam

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  Javadi Hills in Tamil Nadu

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  Mahadeshwara Temple at Male Mahadeshwara Hills on Karnataka.

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  View from a cave overlooking Puttur, Andra Pradesh

See also

• Western Ghats
• Javadi Hills