The Karnataka state
Karnataka lies on the west coast of India. It faces Lakhshadweep Sea. Goa Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala are its neighbors.
Like Maharashtra, Karnataka also has a narrow strip of plains along the sea cast. From these plains rise the Western Ghats. The Ghats are made of fairly high mountains. The eastern-most parts of Karnataka also consist of plains. The western parts of the state receive heavy rainfall. The eastern parts do not get much rain. Karnataka has a warm climate. The summers are hot but the winters are mild.
The Krishna, kaveri, Bhima and Tungbhadra are the main rivers. All these rivers flow eastwards into the Bay of Bengal.
One small river Sharavati flows towards the west into the Lakhshadweep Sea. As it falls down the hills of Ghats, it forms the famous jog falls. These are the highest falls in India. The Tungbhadra Dam has been built across the river Tungbhadra. This dam provides water and electricity to vast areas.
Rice is the main crop of the state. The other important crops are ragi, bajra, cotton, tobacco and groundnut. There plantations of coffee, cashew nuts and cardamom on the slopes of the hills.
There is a beautiful wildlife sanctuary at Bandipur near Mysore in Karnataka. Here the wild animals roam about and live in their natural surroundings.
The main occupation of the people of the state is farming. Fishing is an important occupation of the people along the coast. Many people also work in mines and in industries. Karnataka has India’s oldest and largest gold mines at the Kolar gold fields. Other important minerals found in the state are iron ore, manganese, bauxite and lime-stone. Karnataka produces the major part of India’s silk. Its hand carved silk products are famous and well known both in India and abroad.
The people of Karnataka speak the Kannada language and their staple food is rice. Along the coast people eat plenty of fish with rice.
Bangalore is the capital city of Karnataka. It is a beautiful city with huge gardens. Its Vidhan Saudha, which houses the secretariat and the state legislature, is a beautiful building. Bangalore is a big industrial city manufacturing telephones, various engineering goods and machine tools.
Mysore is another beautiful city of Karnataka. Famous Brundavanam gardens are situated close to the Krishna raja Sagar dam across the Kaveri River. At Sravanbelgola, there is a very tall statue of a Jain saint Gomateshwara. It is 57 feet (17 meters) tall. The Gol Gumbaz mosque is at Bijapur city, Gulbarga district. The Dome of this mosque is the largest in India.
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