Physiography

TOPOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE
Pathanamthitta district consists of three natural divisions, viz., the lowland, the midland and the highland.

The highland stretches through the western ghats and descends to the midland in the center, down to the lowland and coconut gardens on the western borders of Alappuzha district.

The topography of Pathanamthitta district is highly undulating. It starts from the tall hill slopes covered with thick forests on the East along the mountains down to the valleys and small hills to the  flat land of coconut trees in the West.

climatic conditions
Pathanamthitta district has more or less the same climatic conditions as prevalent elsewhere in the state, Viz., dry seasons from December to February and hot seasons from March to May.

The south west monsoon from June to September and the north west monsoon from October to November provide fairly good rains. The south west monsoon is usually very heavy and about 75% of the annual rainfall is received during this season.

The climate is generally moderate, the temperature rising from 20^oc to 39^oc .

FOREST
Forest covers an area of 1390.73 sq.kms. in the district of Pathanamthitta. This is more than 50% of the total area of the district, while the optimum area fixed by experts is only 33% . The total cropped area in Pathanamthitta district is 1086.53 sq.kms. The forests in the district can broadly be classified as evergreen, semi-evergreen and moist deciduous forest.

Timber is the most important forest produce in Pathanamthitta district. In fact, forest is the main source of raw materials for wood based industrial units. Teak, rosewood, Jack tree, Manjakadamu, Anjili, Pala etc. are some of the important timbers available . These are used in the production of rayon, newsprint, plywood etc. These forests also serve as a source of raw materials and livelihood for a number of persons depended on forest produce.

RIVERS
Three important rivers flow through this district. These are Pampa, Achankovil and Manimala rivers.

The Pampa river is formed by the confluence of Pambayar, Arthayar, Kakkadayar, Kakkar and Kallar. It descends from Sabrimala, flows through various parts of Ranny taluk enters Alappuzha district and empties itself into the Vembanad lake.

The river Achankovil is formed by the confluence of several small streams originating from Rishimala, Pasukidamettu and Ramakkalteri and joins the Pamba at Veeyapuram in Alappuzha district.

One third of the electricity produced in the State comes from this district. Power is generated from the Sabarigiri Hydro-electric Project situated at the Pamba basin in the district.

The abundant water resource in the district is also utilized for irrigation purpose through the Kallada Irrigation Project and the Pampa Irrigation Project.

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