Palakkad Gap or Palghat Gap is a low

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

in the Western Ghats between

Coimbatore Coimbatore (Tamil: kōyamputtūr, ), also known as Kovai (), is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India, metropolitan cities in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyy ...

in the Indian state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

and

Palakkad Palakkad (), Renaming of cities in India, also known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery, is a city and a municipality in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of P ...

in the state of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. It has an average elevation of with a width of . The pass is located between the Nilgiri Hills to the north and

Anaimalai Hills The Anamala or Anaimalai, also known as the Elephant Mountains, are a range of mountains in the southern Western Ghats of central Kerala ( Idukki district, Ernakulam district, Palakkad district, Thrissur district) and span the border of wester ...

to the south.

History

The Palakkad Gap likely played a major role in enabling human migration into Kerala from parts of Tamil Nadu. From 300 BC to the 13th century, it also helped the Cheras rule the entire Kerala and the

Kongu Nadu Kongu Nadu, also known as Kongu Mandalam, is the geographical region comprising the western and north-western part of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu and in some instances, parts of southeastern Karnataka a ...

as one geographical unit from

Karur Karur () is a municipal corporation (India), municipal corporation in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Karur district and is administered by the Karur Municipal Cor ...

in Western Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Brahmin Tamil Brahmins are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins, predominantly living in Tamil Nadu, though they number significantly in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Telangana in addition to other regions of India. The ...

s migrated to Palakkad from Central Tamil Nadu via the Palakkad gap from the 15th century to 18th century.

Geography

There are various theories about the origin of Palakkad Gap. One among them is that it was caused by a landslide due to rivers flowing in opposite directions. The Bharathappuzha river from Pollachi, Tamil Nadu (River

Ponnani Ponnani () is a Nagar Palika (Municipality), municipality in Ponnani Taluk, Malappuram District, in the state of Kerala, India. It serves as the administrative center of the Taluk and Block Panchayat of the same name. It is situated at the est ...

) flows through the Palakkad Gap, collecting water from various rivulets and tributaries feeding from steep

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. Due to the similarity, the term '' scarp'' may mistakenly be incorrectly used inte ...

slopes along the flanks of the Ghats. A study published in 2008 suggest that it is the continuation of a

Precambrian The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, 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 t ...

shear-zone that extended from east Africa through Ranotsara Gap of

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

to Palakkad Gap in India. Another theory suggests that the gap may have been created by an asteroid strike around 800 million to 550 million years ago which led to the formation of

Kaveri Crater The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery) is a major river flowing across Southern India. It is the third largest river in the region after Godavari and Krishna. The catchment area of the Kaveri basin is estimated to be and encompasses the states ...

. Hilly terrain in the area might have been wiped out by the massive impact which led to the formation of Palakkad Gap.

Effect on weather

The gap affects the weather patterns in Southern India as it allows the moisture-laden

Southwest monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

winds into western Tamil Nadu, moderating summer temperatures and generating greater rainfall in the region relative to the rest of lowland Tamil Nadu. It affects rainfall activity in parts of western Tamil Nadu, around Coimbatore, Palladam, Kangeyam, Dharapuram, Udumalai by allowing moisture laden winds from the West Coastal region of Kerala and

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

. It also allows the hot winds coming from

which warm the eastern part of Kerala significantly compared to the rest of the state and the

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

winds from

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

bearing rain during the summer.

Transport and trade

The gap is the lowest pass through the Western Ghats in the region. It is an important mountain pass in the Western Ghats that runs along the entire eastern edge of Kerala isolating it from the neighboring Tamil Nadu. It acts as an important transport corridor between the two States by linking Palakkad District of Kerala with

Coimbatore District Coimbatore District is one of the 38 districts in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. Coimbatore is the administrative headquarters of the district. It is one of the most industrialized districts and a major textile, industrial, commercial, educa ...

of Tamil Nadu and has served as a vital trade route between the east and west coasts of peninsular India since ancient times. Both the National Highway 544 and the Jolarpettai - Shoranur railway line, Palakkad - Pollachi railway line joining Kerala to Tamil Nadu pass through the gap. The gap also helps for VHF line of sight communications between the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Wind energy

The Palakkad Gap funnels the winds blowing from the west on to Palakkad District in

and Tirupur districts in

making the region one of the major wind power generation areas. The average annual wind speed is 18–22 km/h. Large windmill farms can be seen in and around Kanjikode, Chittur, Muthalamada, Kollengode,

Pollachi Pollachi is a town and municipality in Coimbatore district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Pollachi taluk. It is situated near the center of the South Indian Peninsula, surrounded by Western Gha ...

, Kinathukadavu, Udumalaipettai, Dharapuram and Madathukulam.

Gallery

File:Train negotiating Palghat Gap.jpg, Palghat Gap as seen from Coimbatore-Shoranur railway line File:Palghat Gap 2.jpg, Palghat Gap as seen from Palghat-Chitoor Road File:Walayar as seen from line.jpg, Western Ghats as seen from Coimbatore-Shoranur rail line File:View of Ghats.jpg, View of Ghats File:Palghat-Coimbatore Rd.Through the gap..jpg, Palghat-Coimbatore NH 544 - NH 66 (re-numbered NH 47) runs through the gap File:Southern end of the Gap..jpg, Southern end of the gap File:One end of the Gap..jpg, One end of the gap File:Train in Walayar Forest.jpg, view from a passenger train in Palghat gap

References

External links

View of Palghat Gap
from the Nelliampathy Mountain ranges {{Mountain passes of India Mountain passes of the Western Ghats Geography of Palakkad district Tourist attractions in Palakkad district Mountain passes of Kerala Transport in Palakkad district