page_title: Thiruvananthapuram
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Thiruvananthapuram / Geography and climate / Geography
caption_attribution_description: Trivandrum City North East Panorama
context_page_description: Thiruvananthapuram, commonly known by its former name Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the largest city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration population is around 1.68 million. Located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland, Thiruvananthapuram is a major Information Technology hub in Kerala and contributes 55% of the state's software exports as of 2016. Referred to by Mahatma Gandhi as the "Evergreen city of India", the city is characterised by its undulating terrain of low coastal hills.
  The Ays ruled the present regions of Thiruvananthapuram until the 10th century. With their fall in the 10th century, the city was taken over by the Chera dynasty. The city was later taken over by the Kingdom of Venad in the 12th century. In the 17th century the king Marthanda Varma expanded the territory and founded the princely state of Travancore and Thiruvananthapuram was made capital of Travancore. Following India's independence in 1947, Thiruvananthapuram became the capital of Travancore-Cochin state and remained capital when the new Indian state of Kerala was formed in 1956.
context_section_description: Thiruvananthapuram is built on seven hills by the sea shore and is located at 8.5°N 76.9°E on the west coast, near the southern tip of mainland India. The city is situated on the west coast of India and is bounded by the Laccadive Sea to its west and the Western Ghats to its east. The average elevation of the city is 16 ft (4.9 m) above sea level. The Geological Survey of India has identified Thiruvananthapuram as a moderately earthquake-prone urban centre and categorised the metropolis in the Seismic III Zone. Thiruvananthapuram lies on the shores of Karamana and Killi rivers. Vellayani, Thiruvallam and Aakulam backwaters lie in the city. The soil-type in the middle part of the city is dark brown loamy laterite soil high in phosphates. Laterisation is a result of the heavy rainfall and humid conditions. On western coastal regions of the city, sandy loam soil is found, and on hilly eastern parts of the district, rich dark brown loam of granite origin is found.
  The Thiruvananthapuram Corporation is spread over 214.86 km² (82.96 sq mi). The wider Thiruvananthapuram metropolitan area comprises Thiruvananthapuram corporation, three municipalities and 27 panchayats, as of 2011. Being the largest city in India's southern tip region, it is essential for both military logistics and civil aviation in the southern part of the country. Thiruvananthapuram is the headquarters of the Southern Air Command (SAC) of the Indian Air Force.
caption: View of Pattom, the north eastern part of the city. The Western Ghats mountain range is seen in the background
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