7.4 Karnataka Geography — Physiography, Western Ghats & Rivers

Location and Boundaries

Karnataka is the 6th largest Indian state by area, covering about 191,791 sq km (5.83% of India), and the 8th largest by population — a pair examiners love to swap. It lies in the southwestern part of the Deccan Peninsula between 11°30′N–18°30′N and 74°E–78°E.

Borders

• North: Maharashtra
• Northeast: Telangana and Andhra Pradesh
• East/Southeast: Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu
• Southwest: Kerala
• West: Arabian Sea (~320 km coastline)
• Capital: Bengaluru

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Physiographic Regions

Karnataka has four major physiographic divisions:

1. The Western Ghats (Sahyadri)

The Western Ghats, locally called the Sahyadri, run north–south along the state's western edge. They form a UNESCO World Heritage biodiversity hotspot and a critical watershed.

• Highest peak: Mullayanagiri (1,930 m) in Chikmagalur district — the highest point in Karnataka
• Other peaks: Baba Budangiri, Kudremukh (1,892 m)
• The Ghats receive heavy orographic rainfall and feed both east- and west-flowing rivers

2. The Malnad (Hilly Region)

The Malnad is the hilly, forested belt immediately east of the Ghats, covering parts of Shimoga, Chikmagalur, Hassan, Kodagu, and Uttara Kannada. It receives high rainfall (>2,500 mm) and supports coffee, pepper, and areca plantations.

3. The Maidan (Plateau Plain)

The Maidan is the rolling plateau east of the Malnad — the drier, flatter part of the Deccan Plateau. It covers most of north and central Karnataka (Dharwad, Belagavi, Kalaburagi, Bengaluru Rural).

4. The Coastal Strip (Karavali)

The Karavali is the narrow coastal plain (~10–25 km wide) between the Western Ghats and Arabian Sea, covering Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, and Uttara Kannada. It is humid, receives heavy monsoon rain, and hosts mangroves and estuaries.

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Rivers of Karnataka

Karnataka's rivers are split between east-flowing (into the Bay of Bengal) and west-flowing (into the Arabian Sea).

Jog Falls

Jog Falls (also called Gerosoppa Falls) on the Sharavathi is Karnataka's highest waterfall at ~253 m / 830 ft, and one of the highest plunge (un-tiered) falls in India. Be precise here: it is not the highest waterfall in India — Nohkalikai in Meghalaya (~340 m) and Kunchikal in Karnataka itself (a tiered fall on the Varahi) are both higher, and questions often bait the "highest in India" answer. Unlike tiered falls, Jog's four cascades — Raja, Rani, Rocket, and Roarer — drop as distinct unbroken jets during the monsoon.

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Peaks, Passes and Waterfalls

Irrigation and Reservoirs — What a Revenue Official Should Know

Whether a parcel on the RTC is recorded as dry (khushki), wet (tari) or garden (bagayat) land depends on its irrigation source, so the state's projects are directly relevant to land records.

Irrigation sources also include minor irrigation tanks — Karnataka has tens of thousands of them, many built by medieval dynasties, and their tank-bed land (kere angala) is government land whose encroachment a VAO must report. Lift irrigation and borewells dominate where canals do not reach, which is why groundwater depletion is a live issue in the Maidan.

Interstate Water Disputes

Karnataka is a party to three long-running disputes, and each generates current-affairs questions:

• Kaveri (Cauvery) — with Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry. The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal's 2007 award was modified by the Supreme Court in 2018, which raised Karnataka's share and directed the constitution of the Cauvery Water Management Authority. The Mekedatu balancing reservoir proposal remains contested.
• Krishna — with Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, before the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunals; the Almatti height is the central issue.
• Mahadayi (Mandovi) / Kalasa-Banduri — with Goa and Maharashtra, over diverting water to the Malaprabha basin for drinking water in Belagavi, Dharwad and Gadag.

Related to these is the Belagavi border dispute with Maharashtra, pending before the Supreme Court since 2004, in which Maharashtra claims Marathi-speaking areas including Belagavi city.

Exam Angle

Physical Karnataka is examined as feature-to-district and river-to-project pairs. Learn the four zones as a west-to-east transect (Karavali, Malnad, Sahyadri crest, Maidan), fix the three peaks with heights, and memorise the reservoir table by river group — Kaveri group in the south, Krishna group in the north, Sharavathi and Kali on the west. Then be precise on the two classic traps: Jog is Karnataka's highest waterfall but not India's, and Shivanasamudra hosted Asia's first hydroelectric station.