Land

Tamil Nadu is situated on the south eastern side of the Indian peninsula. It is bounded on the east by Bay of Bengal,  in the south by the Indian ocean,  in the west by the states of Kerala  and Karnataka and in the North by the Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

The land mass of the state can be divided into two natural divisions,

(1) The Eastern coastal plain

(2) The hilly region along the North  and the West

Along the whole length of the western part, the sea varying at a distance from, 80 to 160 km runs the range  of the western Ghats, a steep and rugged mass averaging 1220 metres above the sea level and rising to 2440 metres at the highest point. The Palghat  Gap about 25 km in width is the only marked break in the great mountain wall. To the south of this gap, the range is known as Anamalai (Elephant Hills) On the east are the Palani Hills on which the famous  hill station  Kodaikanal is situated. The slopes of the western Ghats  are covered  with heavy  ever green forests. The Nilgiris and the Anamalai  are the hill groups with the maximum height. In the famous Ootacamund area of the Nilgiris district, is the highest peak Doddabetta, 2640 metres above the sea level. Ootacamund  is known as the 'Queen of hill  stations' in India. Almost every district has a hill-station or a sea-side resort.

Rivers

The rivers of the state flow eastward from the western ghats  and are entirely  rain-fed. The perennial river fed by both the monsoons  is the Cauvery which  flows  across Tamil Nadu cutting the state in to two halves. The perennial rivers  are :- Palar, Cheyyar, Ponnaiyar Kaveri, Meyar, Bhavan, Amaravati, Vaigai, Chittar  and Tamaraparni. The non-perennial  rivers are the Vellur, Noyal, Suruli, Gundar, Vaipar, Valparai and Varshali. The 760 km  long Cauveri is the largest  river of the state.