Karnataka is extending over 1,92,000 sq. km. on the western half of the Deccan plateau bounded by Andhra Pradesh in the east, Maharashtra in the north and Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the south, Karntaka has a population of over 45 millions. The coast about 330 km long with its silver sand beaches and blue lagoons hedged by miles and miles of tall, waving, palmgroves against the back drop of majestic mountain regions is strikingly beautiful. The Malnad stretches about 650 km from north to south with an undulating range of mountains.

The region is well developed with coffee plantations, tea, timber, minerals and hydro-electricity. The east is a sloping from the fertile soil which yields all the crops of tropical or temperate zones. A majority of the state lies on the Deccan Plateau. The Western Ghats, with an average height of 2500 to 3000 feet separate the narrow coastal plains from the Plateau. The state capital is Bangalore. Here is detailed information on the geography of Karnataka.

Physiograpically, Karnataka State forms part of two well defined macro regions of Indian Union, the Deccan Plateau and the Coastal plains and Islands. The State has four physiographic regions

Karnataka Northern Region
Northern Karnataka Plateau comprises of the districts of Belgaum, Bidar, Bijapur and Gulbarga and is largely composed of the Deccan Trap. It represents a monotonous, treeless extensive plateau landscape with a general elevation of 300 to 600 metres from the mean sea level. However the river plains of the Krishna, the Bhima, the Ghataprabha and the Malaprabha with the intervening watersheds, the step like landscapes, lateritic scarpments, residual hills and ridges break the monotony of this extensive plateau. The general slope is towards the east. This region is largely covered with rich black cotton soils.

Karnataka Central Region
Central Karnataka Plateau covers the districts of Bellary, Chikmagalur, Chitradurga, Dharwad, Raichur and Shimoga. The region represents the transitional surface between the Northern Karnataka Plateau of Deccan Trap and southern Karnataka Plateau with relatively higher surface. By and large, this region represents the area of Tungabhadra basin. The general elevation varies between 450 and 700 metres. The general slope of this region is towards the east.

Karnataka Southern Region
The Southern Karnataka Plateau covers the districts of Bangalore, Bangalore Rural, Hassan, Kodagu, Kolar, Mandya, Mysore and Tumkur. This region largely covers the area of the Cauvery river basin lying in Karnataka. It is bounded by 600 metres contour and is characterised by a higher degree of slope. In the west and south, it is enclosed by the ranges of Western Ghats and the northern part is an interrupted but clearly identifiable high plateau. In the east the valleys of the Cauvery and its tributaries open out to form undulating plains. The general elevation of the region varies from 600 to 900 metres. However, residual heights of 1,500 to 1,750 metres are found in the Biligirirangan hills of Mysore district and the Brahmagiri range of Kodagu district.

Karnataka Coastal Region
The Karnataka Coastal Region, which extends between the Western Ghats, edge of the Karnataka Plateau in the east and the Arabian Sea in the West, covers Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada districts. This region is traversed by several ridges and spurs of Western Ghats. It has difficult terrain full of rivers, creeks, water falls, peaks and ranges of hills. The coastal region consists of two broad physical units, the plains and the Western Ghats. The Coastal plains, represent a narrow stretch of estuarine and marine plains. The abrupt rise at the eastern flanks forms the Western Ghats. The northern parts of the ghats are of lower elevation (450-600 metres) as compared to Southern parts (900 to 1,500 metres). The Coastal belt with an average width of 50 to 80 km covers a distance of about 267 km. from north to south.

Karnataka has representatives of all types of variations in topography - high mountains, plateaus, residual hills and coastal plains. The State is enclosed by chains of mountains to its west, east and south. It consists mainly of plateau which has higher elevation of 600 to 900 metres above mean sea level. The entire landscape is undulating, broken up by mountains and deep ravines. Plain land of elevation less than 300 metres above mean sea level is to be found only in the narrow coastal belt, facing the Arabian Sea.

There are quite a few high peaks both in Western and Eastern Ghat systems with altitudes more than 1,500 metres. A series of cross-sections drawn from west to east across the Western Ghat generally exhibit, a narrow coastal plain followed to the east by small and short plateaus at different altitudes, then suddenly rising upto great heights. Then follows the gentle east and east-north-west sloping plateau. Among the tallest peaks of Karnataka are the Mullayyana Giri (1,925 m), Bababudangiri (Chandradrona Parvata 1,894 m) and the Kudremukh (1,895 m) all in Chikmagalur Dt. and the Pushpagiri (1,908 m) in Kodagu Dt. There are a dozen peaks which rise above the height of 1,500 metres.