Seshachalam Hills are hilly ranges part of the

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and cut ...

in southern

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

state, in southeastern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The Seshachalam hill ranges are predominantly present in

Tirupati district Tirupati district () is one of the twenty-six districts in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and one of the eight districts in the Rayalaseema region of the Andhra Pradesh state. The district headquarters is located at Tirupati city. Tirupat ...

of the Rayalaseema region in

Geology

The ranges were formed during the

Precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the ...

supereon (3.8 billion to 539 million years ago). Minerals contained in these hills include sandstone and shale interbedded with limestone. The ranges are bounded by the

Rayalaseema Rayalaseema () is a geographic region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It comprises eight south western districts of the State namely, Kurnool, Nandyal, Anantapur, Sri Sathya Sai, YSR, Annamayya, Tirupati and Chittoor districts ...

uplands to the west and northwest, and the

Nandyal Nandyal is a city and District headquarters of Nandyal district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the headquarters of Nandyal mandal in Nandyal revenue division. Demographics In the 2011 census of India, Nandyal ...

Valley to the north.

Religious significance

Tirupati Tirupati () is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirupati district. The city is home to the important Hindu shrine of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple and other historic temples and is refe ...

, a major

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

pilgrimage town is located in the hills. The hills contain seven peaks namely, Anjanadri, Garudadri, Narayanadri, Neeladri, Seshadri, Venkatadri and Vrishabhadri, the highest at about 600 m (2,000 ft) above sea level. The seven peaks are said to represent the seven hoods of Lord Adisesha, the king of serpents in

Hindu mythology Hindu mythology is the body of myths and literature attributed to, and espoused by, the adherents of the Hindu religion, found in Hindu texts such as the Vedic literature, epics like ''Mahabharata'' and ''Ramayana'', the Puranas, and reg ...

. The

Srivenkateshwara National Park Sri Venkateswara National Park is a national park and biosphere reserve in Tirupati of Andhra Pradesh, India. The total area of the park is 353 km2. The park is known for its many waterfalls, including the Talakona, Gundalakona and Gunja ...

is also located in these ranges. The famous Natural Arch, Tirumala Hills is also a part of Seshachalam Hills, which dates back to the period in between Middle and Upper

Proterozoic Eon The Proterozoic () is a geological eon spanning the time interval from 2500 to 538.8million years ago. It is the most recent part of the Precambrian "supereon". It is also the longest eon of the Earth's geologic time scale, and it is subdivided i ...

. The Seshachalam hill ranges running to North West to South East, over to a length about 80 km and width ranged from 32 to 40 km in the two Rayalaseema region districts, Tirupati and Kadapa. These ranges have typical gorges and gaps due to faulting and stream erosion resulting in to discontinuous ranges. The altitude of Seshachalam hill ranges varies from 168 to 1187 m above MSL. The highest hill peak is Tellaralla penta (1187 m) and most of the other hill peaks are above 900 m MSL.

Protected reserve forest

In 2010, it was designated as a

Biosphere Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

. It has large reserves of

red sandalwood ''Pterocarpus santalinus'', with the common names red sanders, red saunders, protect it Yerra Chandanam, Chenchandanam, red sandalwood, Rakta Chandana, and saunderswood, is a species of ''Pterocarpus'' endemic to the southern Eastern Ghats mou ...

which is used in medicines, soaps, spiritual rituals, etc.

Gallery

File:Malwadi Gundam waterfalls on Tirumala hills.jpg, Malwadi Gundam waterfalls on Tirumala hills File:After heavy rain sky has been joined with cirrus and sun.......!.jpg, A scenic view of Seshachalam Hills

References

Encyclopædia Britannica

Seshachalam Biosphere Reserve
Hills of Andhra Pradesh Tirupati district Tirupati Eastern Ghats Geography of Tirupati district {{AndhraPradesh-geo-stub