World Heritage Identification Number: 1342
World Heritage since: 2012
Category: Natural Heritage
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇮🇳 India
Continent: Asia
UNESCO World Region: Asia and the Pacific
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The Western Ghats: A Biodiversity Hotspot and Climate Regulator
The Western Ghats, also known as the Sahyadri, is a significant mountain range that spans approximately 1,600 kilometers along the western coast of India. This ancient range, older than the Himalayas, covers an area of around 160,000 square kilometers and traverses six Indian states: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. The Western Ghats forms an almost continuous chain of mountains along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, from the Tapti River to Swamithoppe in Kanyakumari district at the southern tip of the Indian peninsula.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
Older than the Himalaya mountains, the mountain chain of the Western Ghats represents geomorphic features of immense importance with unique biophysical and ecological processes. The site’s high montane forest ecosystems influence the Indian monsoon weather pattern. Moderating the tropical climate of the region, the site presents one of the best examples of the monsoon system on the planet. It also has an exceptionally high level of biological diversity and endemism and is recognized as one of the world’s eight ‘hottest hotspots’ of biological diversity. The forests of the site include some of the best representatives of non-equatorial tropical evergreen forests anywhere and are home to at least 325 globally threatened flora, fauna, bird, amphibian, reptile and fish species.
Encyclopedia Record: Western Ghats
The Western Ghats, also known as the Sahyadri, is a mountain range that stretches 1,600 km (990 mi) along the western coast of the Indian peninsula. Covering an area of 160,000 km2 (62,000 sq mi), it traverses the Indian states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. The range forms an almost continuous chain of mountains along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, from the Tapti River to Swamithoppe in Kanyakumari district at the southern tip of the Indian peninsula. The Western Ghats meet with the Eastern Ghats at Nilgiris before continuing south.Additional Site Details
Area: 795,315 hectares
(x) — Contains most important habitats for biodiversity
Coordinates: 8.5297222222 , 77.2497222222
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© Arunguy2002, CC BY-SA 3.0 Resized from original. (This derivative is under the same CC BY-SA license.)
