page_title: Periyar National Park
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Periyar National Park / Geography
caption_attribution_description: English: The misty mountain ranges of the Periyar region
context_page_description: Periyar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area located in the districts of Idukki and Pathanamthitta in Kerala, India. It is notable as an elephant reserve and a tiger reserve. The protected area encompasses 925 km² of which 305 km² of the core zone was declared as the Periyar National Park in 1982. The park is a repository of rare, endemic and endangered flora and fauna and forms the major watershed of two important rivers of Kerala, the Periyar and the Pamba.
  The park is located high in the Cardamom Hills and Pandalam Hills of the south Western Ghats along the border with Tamil Nadu. It is 4 km from Kumily, approximately 100 km east of Kottayam, 110 km west of Madurai and 120 km southeast of Kochi.
context_section_description: Periyar National Park lies in the middle of a mountainous area of the Cardamom Hills. In the north : The boundary commences from the point nearest to the Medaganam in the
  interstate boundary upto Vellimalai.  and the east Thence the boundary follows the inter-state boundary from Vellimalai to
  Kallimalai Peak (G.O. (P) No.65/2003/F&WLD dated Thiruvananthapuram, 20th December 03) (1615 M)  it is bounded by mountain ridges of over 1,700 m (5,600 ft) altitude and toward the west it expands into a 1,200 m (3,900 ft) high plateau. From this level the altitude drops steeply to the deepest point of the reserve, the 100 metre valley of the  Pamba River. The highest peak in the park is the 2,019 m (6,624 ft) high Kottamala, the southernmost peak in India higher than 2,000 metres (6,562 ft). The Periyar and Pamba Rivers originate in the forests of the reserve.
  The other prominent peaks within the park are Pachayarmala, Vellimala, Sunderamala, Chokkampetti mala and Karimala. The topography consists of steep and rolling hills which are thickly wooded.
  The sanctuary surrounds Periyar Lake, a reservoir measuring 26 km² (10 sq mi) which was formed when the Mullaperiyar Dam was erected in 1895. The reservoir and the Periyar River meander around the contours of the wooded hills, providing a permanent source of water for the local wildlife.
caption: The misty mountain ranges of the Periyar region
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