Coastal Tamil Nadu comprises the Coromandel Coast in the north and the Fisheries coast in the south. Mylapore, Poompuhar and Mamallapuram were the famous ancient ports on the Coromandel from where merchant ships sailed to Rome, Greece and the Far East. Once famous for its pearls, the Fisheries coast is a major tourist attraction since it has some of the most important pilgrim centres in India. There are mangrove forests at Pichavaram and prominent bird sanctuaries at Pulicat Lake and Vedanthangal, though the latter is not on the coast itself. The arid land in the state is confined to a small area in Tirunelveli district and is known as the Palai.

Tamil Nadu's famous hill stations, Udhagamandalam, Kodaikanal, Kothagiri and Yercaud are situated in the Western and Eastern Ghats, which meet in Tamil Nadu and run along its eastern and western borders.

Tamil Nadu's famous hill stations, Udhagamandalam, Kodaikanal, Kothagiri and Yercaud are situated in the Western and Eastern Ghats, which meet in Tamil Nadu and run along its eastern and western borders. The 25 km wide Palakkad gap and Shencottah gap are the only breaks into the long chain of hills that border western Tamil Nadu. Contrasting with the low rocky hills of the Eastern Ghats, the hills of the Western Ghats have dense forests.

This area receives abundant rainfall and the scenic valleys of Cumbum and Pollachi are tilled with plantations of tea, coffee and spices. Yercaud in the Shevaroy hills is famous for its fruit orchards and banana and coffee plantations.

The perennial river of the state is the Cauveri, which originates in Coorg in the neighbouring state of Karnataka. The Cauveri and its delta in Thanjavur irrigate the fertile Coromandel plains. Nagapattinam region is known as the granary of Tamil Nadu. The other rivers in the state are the Palar, Ponnaiyar, Pennar, Vaigai and Tamiraparani all of which flow eastward from the inland hills. The Cauveri and its tributaries are Tamil Nadu's most important sources of water and power.

Apart from the rich alluvial soil of the river deltas, the predominant soils are clay, loam and red laterite (soils with a high content of iron oxides and aluminum hydroxide). The black cotton-growing soil known as regur is found in parts of Salem and Coimbatore in the west, Ramanathapuram and Tirunelveli in the south, and Tiruchchirappalli in the central region of Tamil Nadu.

The mixed deciduous forests of the region have over 3000 plant species. One of the most noteworthy flowers is the Kurinji of Kodaikanal, which blooms once in 12 years. Cinchona from which quinine - a drug for treating malaria - is extracted and eucalyptus grow abundantly in the Nilgiris. Forests of medicinal herbs are found in Palani hills and Courtallam. Products of Palmyrah trees are used as raw materials for several cottage industries. Rubber is the main plantation crop in Kanniyakumari and the more exotic sandalwood grows, though not in very large numbers, in the Javadhu hills of Vellore district.

Tamil Nadu's wildlife sanctuaries like Mudumalai and Annamalai (Indira Gandhi wild life sanctuary) are situated in the hills of the Western Ghats and are the habitat of elephants, tigers, bisons and a variety of monkey and deer.

Compiled by Puneet Sachdeva