FLORA OF NORTH COIMBATORE. 393 



Madura and the State of Travancore, on the west by the Nilgiris, 

 Malabar District, and the State of Cochin. The northern portion of 

 the District forms an elevated table-land, separated from the Mysore 

 plateau by the Biligiri-Rangan and other hill ranges. It has a 

 northerly slope, and presents throughout an undulating surface, with 

 an average elevation of 2,500 feet above the rest of the District. The 

 Biligiri-Rangan hills consist of a double range, with ridges rising to 

 5,000 feet and. more in height, one even reaching 5,973 feet. The 

 two ranges are separated by a valley 4,000 feet above the sea. It is 

 filled with heavy forest and high grass. From here, two passes, the 

 Hassania and Burghur ghats, lead into the low country. The plain is 

 slightly undulating and sloping eastwards from the town of Coim- 

 batore (1,431 feet above the sea) to Karur (380 feet). 1 On the 

 western boundary of the District lie the Nilgiris. The most con- 

 spicuous point is Lambtan's Peak, a narrow ridge 5,000 feet high. 

 Next to these is the Anamalai range, in the southern part of the 

 district. The principal rivers watering this District are the Cauvery, 

 the Bhavani, the Noyil, and the Amravati. The Cauvery has its source 

 near Mercara in Coorg, and after passing the Eastern Ghats, runs for 

 180 miles along the eastern frontier of the District. Nearly the 

 whole year it supplies the neighbouring country with plenty of water 

 for the purpose of cultivation by irrigation. It deposits, besides, a 

 rich fertile clay, formed from the felspar which predominates in the 

 granites of the south, and intermixed with decomposed calcareous 

 conglomerate. The other rivers are tributaries of the Cauvery, as are 

 also the numerous jungle streams and hill watercourses, which have 

 their sources generally amongst the western mountains. A great 

 number of lakes or tanks, with numerous canals given off from the 

 different rivers, help to increase the growth of vegetation. 



The soils of the District are chiefly a rich red soil mixed with 

 sand and a kind of agglutinated conglomerate, and a red soil mixed 

 with gravel, the gravel consisting almost entirely of small pieces of 

 quartz and small-grained granite ; sometimes it is mixed with a con- 

 siderable portion of sand. These soils do not usually retain their 

 moisture for a long time, and vary much in depth ; the underlying- 

 rock is nearly always granitic, and is in some places very near the 

 surface, whereas in other places the soil reaches to a depth of from 20 



1 Imperial Gazetteer, I. ed. 



