Nilgiri hills
Also called: Nilgiris · Topic: Structure and Physiography of India: Himalayas, Plains, Peninsula, Coasts and Islands · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 2 "Structure and Physiography"; Class 11, Ch 5 "Natural Vegetation"
Meaning
The Nilgiri hills are a high block of hills where the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats meet. They lie mainly in Tamil Nadu and touch Karnataka and Kerala. Their highest peak is Dodabetta (2,637 m). They are covered with shola forests, which are patches of evergreen forest in valleys, surrounded by grassland. In 1986 they became India's first biosphere reserve, an area protected for nature and the people who live there.
Example
Ooty (Udhagamandalam), in Tamil Nadu, is a hill station in the Nilgiris, with Dodabetta close by. To the south, the Palghat Gap separates the Nilgiris from the Anaimalai hills.
Don't confuse with
- Anaimalai hills: they lie south of the Palghat Gap in Kerala and hold Anamudi, the Peninsula's highest peak. The Nilgiris lie north of the gap.
Related concepts
- Deccan Plateau
- Western Ghats
- Eastern Ghats
- Anamudi
- Dodabetta
- Palghat Gap
- Thal Ghat and Bhor Ghat
- Nallamala hills