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Tamil Nadu Geography and Economic Impact

Tamil Nadu geography, natural resources, economic impact

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๐ŸŒ Geographical structure of Tamil Nadu

South Eastern State of India - Different Landforms!

๐Ÿ—บ๏ธ Geography basics
๐Ÿ—บ๏ธ Geological system of Tamil Nadu ๐Ÿ“ Basic geographical information ๐Ÿ“ area 1,30,058 kmยฒ 3.96% of India Rank: 11th largest state ๐Ÿ’ก Rajasthan > MP > Maharashtra... ๐Ÿ‘ฅ Population 7.21 crore 5.96% of India Rank: 6th most populous ๐Ÿ’ก Density: 555/kmยฒ (Census 2011) ๐Ÿ๏ธ Beach 1,076 km 2nd longest in India 13 coastal districts ๐Ÿ’ก Gujarat > Tamil Nadu ๐Ÿ”๏ธ Physiographic Divisions ๐Ÿ”๏ธ Western Ghats Western Ghats โœ“ Nilgiris - 2,637m โœ“ Anaimalai - 2,695m โœ“ Palani Hill ๐Ÿ’ก UNESCO World Heritage โ›ฐ๏ธ East Coast Eastern Ghats โœ“ Javvadu Hill โœ“ Servarayan Hill โœ“ Kolli Hill ๐Ÿ’ก Tribal habitat ๐ŸŒพ Plains Plains & Deltas โœ“ Cauvery Delta โœ“ Vaigai plains โœ“ Tamiraparani ๐Ÿ’ก Rice Pantry! ๐Ÿ–๏ธ Seaside Coastal Plains โœ“ Coromandel Beach โœ“ Fishing port โœ“ 13 districts ๐Ÿ’ก 1,076 km long ๐ŸŒŠ Major rivers ๐ŸŒŠ Cauvery Length: 805 km TN Area: 416 km Origin: Thalikaviri South Indian Ganges ๐ŸŒŠ Stay Length: 258 km Origin: Varusanadu Flowing through Madurai Pandya river ๐ŸŒŠ Tamiraparani Length: 128 km Appearance: Package Can appear in TN A single river only in TN ๐ŸŒŠ Balaru Length: 348 km Origin: Nandidurg KA โ†’ AP โ†’ TN Northern Tamil Nadu ๐ŸŒŠ the girl Length: 597 km Origin: Nandidurg KA โ†’ TN North Arcot ๐ŸŒก๏ธ Climate โ˜€๏ธ Temperature: 25ยฐC - 42ยฐC ๐ŸŒง๏ธ Rainfall: 900-1200mm ๐ŸŒ€ Season: Northeast ๐Ÿ’ก Tamil Nadu = Dependent on Northeast Monsoon (Oct-Dec) ๐Ÿ›๏ธ Administrative units 38 districts Capital: Chennai New: Mayiladuthurai (2020) ๐ŸŒณ forests 26,419 kmยฒ (20.3%) Reserve Forest: 22,877 kmยฒ Wildlife Sanctuaries: 30 ๐Ÿ“ Boundaries North: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka West: Kerala East & South: Bay of Bengal
๐Ÿ“Š Geographic Information - Comparison
feature Tamil Nadu Indian Rank Special
area 1,30,058 km² 11th 3.96%
Population 7.21 crore 6th 5.96%
the beach 1,076 km 2nd Coromandel
Districts 38 - Mayiladuthurai is new
Forests 20.3% - 26,419 km²

๐Ÿ’Ž Natural Resources of Tamil Nadu

Mineral resources, water resources, forest resources!

๐Ÿ’Ž Mineral Resources
๐Ÿ’Ž Natural Resources of Tamil Nadu โ›๏ธ Major Minerals Granite Black Granite Capital โœ“ 1st Rank in India โœ“ Madurai, Krishnagiri โœ“ 80% Export Share ๐Ÿ’ก Black Gold of TN! ite limestone Limestone โœ“ 3rd Rank in India โœ“ Ariyalur, Perambalur โœ“ Cement industry ๐Ÿ’ก Cement Hub ๏ฟฝite Lignite Brown Coal โœ“ 1st Rank in India โœ“ Neyveli (NLC) โœ“ Power generation ๐Ÿ’ก Neyveli Lignite Corp! ๐Ÿ’Ž Sand (Garnet Sand) โœ“ India Rank: 1 โœ“ Tuticorin Beach โœ“ Industrial Use Beach Sand Minerals โ˜ข๏ธ Ilmenite โœ“ India Rank: 2 โœ“ Manapapa, Manavalakurichi โœ“ Titanium Ore Atomic Minerals โšก Monazite โœ“ India Rank: 2 โœ“ Beach sand โœ“ Thorium, Rare Earth Nuclear Energy ๏ฟฝite Magnesite โœ“ India Rank: 1 โœ“ Salem, Namakkal โœ“ Refractory Industry Steel Making ๐Ÿ’ง Water Resources ๐ŸŒŠ Rivers & Dams 17 River Irrigation โœ“ 87 Dams (Major) โœ“ Mettur - Big Dam ๐Ÿ’ก 1934 - Cauvery River ๐ŸŠ Lakes & Ponds 41,127 lakes โœ“ More in India! โœ“ PWD, Panchayat Union ๐Ÿ’ก Water conservation tradition ๐Ÿ’ง Ground water 22,423 MCM โœ“ Over-exploited: 139 Blocks โœ“ Safe: 138 Blocks ๐Ÿ’ก Rainwater harvesting is essential! ๐ŸŒณ Forest Resources ๐ŸŒฒ Forest area 26,419 kmยฒ โœ“ 20.3% of total area โœ“ Reserved Forest: 22,877 kmยฒ ๐Ÿ’ก Target: 33% ๐Ÿฆ Sanctuaries 30 Wildlife Sanctuaries โœ“ 5 National Parks โœ“ 5 Tiger Reserves ๐Ÿ’ก Mudumalai, Anamalai ๐ŸŒฟ Biosphere Reserves 4 Biospheres โœ“ Nilgiris (1st in India) โœ“ Gulf of Mannar ๐Ÿ’ก Agasthyamalai ๐ŸŸ Fisheries ๐ŸŒŠ Marine: 1,076 km of coastline ๐ŸŸ Inland: 41,127 lakes ๐Ÿฆ Export: โ‚น7,000+ crore โšก Energy Resources ๐ŸŒฌ๏ธ Wind: 9,000+ MW โ˜€๏ธ Solar: 5,000+ MW โš›๏ธ Nuclear: Kalpakkam
๐Ÿ“Š Mineral Resources - India Rank
mineral India Rank District benefit
Lignite 1st Neyveli Power generation
black stone 1st Madurai, Krishnagiri Export
Magnesite 1st Salem Steel
Garnet Sand 1st Tuticorin Industrial
Ilmenite 2nd the beach Titanium

๐Ÿ’ฐ Economic impact of geography

Natural Resources → Economic Growth!

๐Ÿ’ฐ Economic development
๐Ÿ’ฐ Geography โ†’ Economics ๐Ÿ“Š Tamil Nadu GSDP (Economy) ๐Ÿ’ต GSDP โ‚น24.85 lakh crore (2023-24) India Rank: 2nd ๐Ÿ’ก Maharashtra > Tamil Nadu ๐Ÿ“ˆ Per Capita Income โ‚น2,72,000 (2023-24) India Average: โ‚น1,72,000 ๐Ÿ’ก TN > India Average! ๐Ÿ“Š Growth Rate 8.2% (2023-24) India Growth: 7.2% ๐Ÿ’ก Consistent Growth! ๐Ÿญ Industrial Sector ๐Ÿš— Vehicle manufacturing Automobile Hub โœ“ Detroit of India - Chennai โœ“ 40% India Car Production โœ“ Hyundai, Ford, BMW, Nissan ๐Ÿ’ก Beach โ†’ Export Easy! ๐Ÿงต Textile industry Textile Industry โœ“ Manchester of South - Coimbatore โœ“ India Rank: 1st โœ“ Tirupur - Knitwear Capital ๐Ÿ’ก Water Resources โ†’ Dyeing! ๐Ÿ’ป IT/ITES Software Hub โœ“ India Rank: 2nd โœ“ TIDEL Park, SIPCOT IT Park โœ“ 10 Lakh+ IT Employees ๐Ÿ’ก Next to Bangalore! ๐ŸŒพ Agriculture ๐ŸŒพ Rice production โœ“ India Rank: 5th โœ“ Cauvery Delta โœ“ Rice storage Plains โ†’ Paddy! ๐Ÿฅœ Groundnut โœ“ India Rank: 4th โœ“ Villupuram, Tiruvannamalai โœ“ Oil Seeds Dry land โ†’ Oil! ๐ŸŒ Banana โœ“ India Rank: 1st โœ“ Trichy, Thanjavur โœ“ 50%+ Production Water Resources โ†’ Banana! ๐Ÿฅฅ Coconut โœ“ India Rank: 3rd โœ“ Coimbatore โœ“ Coconut Oil Beach โ†’ Coconut! ๐Ÿšข Port & Trade ๐Ÿšข Chennai Port Chennai Port (1881) โœ“ India 2nd largest Port โœ“ Container Traffic Leader โœ“ Automobile Export Hub ๐Ÿ’ก Beach โ†’ Trade! ๐Ÿญ Tuticorin Port VOC Port (1974) โœ“ South Indian Gateway โœ“ Thermal Coal Import โœ“ Salt Export ๐Ÿ’ก Pearl City! โœˆ๏ธ Chennai Airport Meenambakkam โœ“ India is the 4th largest โœ“ International Cargo โœ“ 20M+ Passengers/Year ๐Ÿ’ก South India Hub! โšก Renewable Energy - India Leader ๐ŸŒฌ๏ธ Wind: 9,000+ MW (Rank 2) โ˜€๏ธ Solar: 5,000+ MW (Top 5) โšก Total RE: 15,000+ MW ๐ŸŽฏ Geography โ†’ Economic impact ๐Ÿ”๏ธ Mountain โ†’ Tea, Coffee ๐ŸŒŠ Sea โ†’ fish, salt ๐ŸŒพ plains โ†’ paddy ๐Ÿ’Ž Mineral โ†’ Industry
๐Ÿ“Š Sector wise contribution - GSDP
Dept % of GSDP Main Areas Geographical reason
Services 54% IT, Banking, Tourism Coastal + Urban
Industry 32% Auto, Textile, Cement Minerals + Port
Agriculture 14% Rice, Banana, Sugarcane Rivers + Delta

โšก TNPSC Shortcuts – Geography & Economics

Simple ways to remember!

๐Ÿง  Memory Formulas
โšก Geography & Economics - Shortcuts ๐Ÿ“ Geographic Numbers - Remember "130-72-1076-38" 130 โ†’ Area 1,30,058 kmยฒ 72 โ†’ 7.2 crore people 1076 โ†’ Beach km 38 โ†’ Districts ๐ŸŒŠ Major Rivers - Remembrance "Ka-wai-ta-pa-be" Kha โ†’ Cauvery (805 km) Wai โ†’ Waikai (258 km) Tha โ†’ Tamiraparani (only in TN!) โ›ฐ๏ธ Mountains - Remembrance "Ni-A-B = 2637-2695" Ni โ†’ Nilgiris (2,637m) B โ†’ Anaimalai (2,695m) - Highest! B โ†’ Palani Hill ๐Ÿ’Ž Minerals India Rank 1 - Remember "Li-Ga-May-Ga = No.1" Li โ†’ Lignite (Neyveli) K โ†’ Karungal (Madurai) May โ†’ Magnesite (Salem) Ga โ†’ Garnet (Tuticorin) ๐Ÿ’ก 4 Minerals India 1st! ๐Ÿญ Industrial Nicknames ๐Ÿš— Chennai = Detroit of India ๐Ÿงต Coimbatore = Manchester of South ๐Ÿ‘• Tirupur = Knitwear Capital ๐Ÿ’ก D-M-K = Detroit-Manchester-Knitwear ๐Ÿ“Š GSDP Memorial "S-54 I-32 A-14" S โ†’ Services = 54% I โ†’ Industry = 32% A โ†’ Agriculture = 14% ๐ŸŽฏ India Ranks - TN ๐Ÿ“ Area: 11th ๐Ÿ‘ฅ Population: 6th ๐Ÿ’ต GSDP: 2nd ๐Ÿ๏ธ Coast: 2nd ๐Ÿ’ก Remember: "11-6-2-2" = Area-Pop-GDP-Coast ๐Ÿ“ TNPSC Question Patterns โ“ TN Area? โœ… 1,30,058 kmยฒ โ“ Which river flows only in TN? โœ… Tamiraparani โ“ Detroit of India? โœ… Chennai ๐Ÿ’ก One-Liner Facts ๐Ÿ”๏ธ Highest peak = Anaimalai ๐ŸŒŠ Longest river = Cauvery ๐Ÿ›๏ธ New District = Mayiladuthurai
๐Ÿ“‹ Quick Reference Table
Question Pattern Answer Shortcut
TN area 1,30,058 km² 130
Population 7.21 crore 72
Beach length 1,076 km 1076-2nd
Districts 38 Mayiladuthurai is new
Lignite Rank India 1st Neyveli-NLC
GSDP Rank India 2nd MH > TN
TN only six Tamiraparani Package-128km
High peak Anaimalai 2,695m Female > Nilgiris
Detroit of India Chennai 40% Cars
Manchester of South Coimbatore Textile
โœ… Geography & Economics - Key Points:
  • Spread:1,30,058 km² | 11th | 38 districts
  • Beach:1,076 km | India 2nd | 13 districts
  • India 1st Minerals:Lignite, Blackstone, Magnesite, Garnet
  • GSDP:โ‚น24.85 lakh crore | India 2nd | S-54%, I-32%, A-14%
  • Uniqueness:Tamiraparani - Can only appear in TN!
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