Eastern Ghats


The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats run from the northern Odisha through Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and cut through by four major rivers of peninsular India, viz. Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna, and Kaveri.
The cradle of Eastern Ghats is Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu.
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, including the Coromandel Coast region, lie between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal. The Eastern Ghats are not as high as the Western Ghats.

Geography

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 are made up of charnockites, granite gneiss, khondalites, metamorphic gneisses and quartzite rock formations. The structure of the Eastern Ghats includes thrusts and strike-slip faults all along its range. Limestone, bauxite and iron ore are found in the Eastern Ghats hill ranges.
The Eparchaean Unconformity of the Tirumala Hills is a major discontinuity of stratigraphic significance that represents an extensive period of erosion and non-deposition. It is seen at the steep natural slopes, road scars and ravines in the Tirumala ghat roads in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh.

Hill ranges

As with the Western Ghats, these mountain ranges also have local names along the discontinuous hill ranges.
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 Kaveri River are the higher Kollimalai, Pachaimalai, Shevaroy, Kalrayan Hills, Chitteri, Javadhu Hills, 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 Biligiriranga Hills, which run east from the Western Ghats to the River Kaveri, form a forested ecological corridor that connects the Eastern and Western Ghats, and allows the second-largest wild Asian elephant population in India to range between the South Eastern Ghats, the Biligiriranga Hills and Nilgiri Hills, and the South Western Ghats.
The Male Mahadeshwara Hills Temple is situated in Chamarajanagar district in Karnataka state in the Eastern Ghats.
The Kurumbalakotta hillock is also another single hill range located in Wayanad district in Kerala state in Eastern ghats.
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 Javadhu 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 consists of two parallel ranges running approximately north-south. The lower Velikonda Range lies to the east, and the higher Palikonda-Lankamalla-Nallamala Ranges lie to the west. They run in a nearly north-south alignment, parallel to the Coromandel Coast for close to 430 km between the Krishna and Pennar rivers. Its northern boundaries are marked by the flat Palnadu basin, while in the south it merges with the Tirupati hills. An extremely old system, the hills have been extensively weathered and eroded over the years. The average elevation today is about 520 m, but reaches 1,100 m at Bhairani Konda and 1,048 m at Gundla Brahmeswara.
The Tirumala Hills are located along the Seshachalam-Velikonda Range of the Eastern Ghats. The Palar River cuts through the ranges. The Velikonda Range eventually descends to the coastal plain in northern Nellore district, while the Nallamalla Range in Kurnool continues to the River Krishna.
The Kondapalli Hills are a range of low hills which lie between the Krishna and the Godavari rivers. These hills are located in the Guntur, Krishna, West Godavari and Khammam districts of Andhra Pradesh. The Krishna River bisects these hills of the Eastern Ghats. The main hill range starts from Nandigrama to Vijayawada known as Kondapalli.
The Papi Hills are distributed among the Khammam, East Godavari and West Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh and lie in the Eastern Ghats and ends at Rajamahendravaram.
Madhurawada Dome in the Eastern Ghats mobile belt is formed by a tectonic arrangement with the khondalite suite and quartz Archean rocks along the Eastern Ghats north of Visakhapatnam.
The Maliya Range is located in the northern portion of the Eastern Ghats. The Maliya Range generally ranges between elevations of 900–1200 m, although some of its summits soar higher. The tallest peak in this range is Mahendragiri.
The Madugula Konda Range is located in the northern portion of the Eastern Ghats. The Madugula Konda range is higher than the Maliyas and generally ranges between elevations of 1100–1400 m. Prominent summits include the highest peak of the Eastern Ghats - Arma Konda, Gali Konda and Sinkram Gutta.
The highest mountain peak in the state of Odisha is Deomali, which is situated in the Koraput district of southern Odisha. It is part of the Chandragiri-Pottangi mountain system. The region covers about three-fourths of the entire Odisha state. Geologically it is a part of the Indian Peninsula which was a part of the ancient land mass of Gondwanaland. The major rivers of Odisha with their tributaries have cut deep and narrow valleys.
The Garhjat Range is a northeastern prolongation of the eastern Ghats which rises abruptly and steeply in the east and slopes gently to a dissected plateau in the west running from north-west to south-west. The Odisha highlands are also known as the Garhjat Hills. This region is well marked by a number of interfluves or watersheds which interrupt the terrain in the form of broad and narrow river valleys and flood plains. The average height of this region is about 900 metres above mean sea level.
The Similipal massif is considered the farthest northeast extension of the Eastern Ghats.
The Kolli Hills is the Southern end of Eastern Ghats up to the SH161 of Namakkal-Thuraiyur road.

Rivers

The Eastern Ghats are the source area for many small and medium rivers of the east coastal plains of South India.
Rivers flowing through the Eastern Ghats include:
Rivers originating on the Eastern Ghats include:
The endemic fauna of the Eastern Ghats are the Jerdon's courser ' and grey slender loris '. The rare geckos found here are the Indian golden gecko ', granite rock gecko ', Yercaud slender gecko ', other lizards such as Sharma's skink, and snakes such as Gower's shieldtail snake ', Shortt's shieldtail snake ', Nagarjun Sagar racer '.

Mammals

', blackbuck ', Asian palm civet ', small Indian civet ', Madras treeshrew ', common grey mongoose ', sambar deer ', Indian crested porcupine ', Indian bison ', wild boar ', common muntjac ', Indian leopard ', Bengal tiger ', dhole ', golden jackal ', Indian giant squirrel ', Indian hare ', Asian house shrew ', tufted grey langur ', Indian flying fox ', bonnet macaque ', rhesus macaque ', Bengal fox ', smooth-coated otter ', jungle cat ', cheetal ', Nilgai, Indian boar, striped hyena, ', Indian Wolf, Indian mole-rat '

Birds

A survey conducted by ATREE in the northern Eastern Ghats hill region identified more than 205 species of birds including the relatively rarer ones like Brook’s flycatcher and Jerdon’s baza. Threatened bird species like the Malabar pied hornbills were also spotted in a couple of habitats. Other bird species found in the Eastern Ghats include the Great Indian bustard ', red-wattled lapwing ', spot-billed pelican ', blue peafowl ', Indian pond heron ', hoopoe ', spotted owlet ', greater coucal ', pied crested cuckoo ', Oriental white ibis ', Indian pitta ', Indian paradise flycatcher ', red-vented bulbul ', red-whiskered bulbul ', jungle babbler ', painted stork ', black-rumped flameback ', brahminy kite ', jungle myna ', Indian spotted eagle ', Indian vulture ', and Malabar whistling thrush '

Amphibians

Up to 30 species of amphibians including the Gunther's toad, pond frogs, cricket frog, bull frogs, burrowing frogs, balloon frogs, small-mouthed frogs, and tree frog occur here. Endemic ones include the golden-backed frogs , the bush frog Raorchestes terebrans and the recently described caecilian Gegeneophis orientalis and an Ichthyophis'' species that is known from old records.

Reptiles

Nearly 100 species of reptiles occur in the Eastern Ghats. Many endangered species are also present, including the mugger crocodile ', Indian black turtle ', Indian flapshell turtle ', Indian tent turtle ', Indian star tortoise ', Leith's softshell turtle ', many of which are found in the northern rivers and riverine valley tracts.
Among lizards are the Roux's forest calotes Monilesaurus rouxii, those of the genera,, Indian chameleon, Reticulated gecko ', the rock geckoes Hemidactylus giganteus, Hemidactylus graniticolus, the golden gecko, the slender gecko, the rare ground geckoes,, the recently rediscovered, Leschenault's snake-eye, Blinking snake-eye, Ashwamedh's skink, Beddome's skink Eutropis beddomei, Nagarjun's skink and Bengal monitor '. Noteworthy lizards include the endemic, fossorial genera of leg-less skinks such as Sepsophis punctatus, Barkudia melanosticta and Barkudia insularis that are known only from the northern ranges and along the adjoining Eastern coastal plains in northern Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
Among snakes are the beaked worm snake, the endemic shield-tailed snakes like Uropeltis ellioti, Uropeltis shorttii, the recently described Rhinophis goweri, the endangered Indian rock python, Forsten's cat snake, yellow-green cat snake, Srilankan flying snake, Nagarjun Sagar racer, green keelback, Duméril's black-headed snake, Indian reed snake. Apart from the Big Four Indian venomous snakes, endemic ones like the Beddome's coral snake ' and the Indian green Bamboo pit viper and the rare King cobra ' and the Banded krait are also known from parts of this region.

Protected areas

Sanctuaries and national parks of the Eastern Ghats:
According to a study published in 2018, the forest cover of the Eastern Ghats has shrunk drastically since 1920 and several plant species endemic to this region face the threat of extinction.