INTRODUCTION. 3 



about four miles from the coast ; but about two miles north of Tanur 

 a laterite-capped ridge, about 120 feet high, runs out to within a 

 mile of the sea. South of this ridge the coastal area again widens 

 out and runs inland to Tirur ; and further south still it becomes very 

 much broader, till north of the Ponn£ni River, east of Kootye, it 

 stretches about nine miles inland. 



The land immediately to the east of the region thus defined rises 

 suddenly to a height of 100 to 150 feet, and presents a somewhat 

 cliff-like aspect to the sea. This cliff is the western edge of the 

 laterite plateau of Malabar. But many valleys have been cut in 

 the higher land, so that the cliffy edge of the plateau is very much 

 broken ; and the low-lying country runs in tongues up these valleys, 

 far beyond the limits of the main coastal area. 



The country to the east of the cliff is undulating, with low hills 

 m , and shallow valleys. The rising ground be- 



Western part of the J ° ° 



plateau ("undulating re- tween the valleys is about 120 to 150 feet above 

 the sea near the coast ; but its height gradually 

 increases towards the east. The surface of the ground slopes gently 

 down from the tops of these hills to the stream valleys between them. 

 Figure 1, PI. I., shows the undulating character of this part of the 

 country. It is a section drawn from south to north through. Kuttipa*li 

 (11 \ miles from Malapuram on the road to Tirur Station). 



As we go further inland, the high ground between the valleys, 

 Central part of the becomes higher, and the valleys become deeper 

 plateau - with steep sides instead of gentle slopes, till at 



last we reach the highest part of the plateau, with valleys and gorges 

 three or four hundred feet deep cut in it. Sometimes in this region 

 a broad valley has first been cut in the plateau, and in the bottom 

 of the valley a deep and narrow gorge is carved. At other times the 

 sides of the valleys are terraced. 



The kind of country just described is well seen near the military 



station of Malapuram (25 miles in a direct line south-east of Calicut). 



" New Malapuram " stands in one of the broad valleys, while the river 



flows some 200 feet below, in a deep gorge cut in the bottom of the 



B 2 ( 203 ) 



