Palakkad Gap
Palakkad Gap or Palghat Gap is a low mountain pass in the Western Ghats between Coimbatore and Palakkad located in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala respectively. It is located between the Nilgiri Hills to the north and Anaimalai Hills to the south.
History
and Kongu Nadu were territorial divisions in the ancient Tamilakam, which were separated by the Western Ghats. An ancient highway called Rajakesari Peruvazhi connected the regions via the Palakkad Gap, and was part of an extended trade that extended from Muziris in the western coast to Arikamedu on the eastern coast of the Indian subcontinent. The local chieftains of the Kongu region made marriage alliances with the Cheras, which resulted in a migration of significant population between the regions via the Palakkad Gap. Between first and fourth centuries CE, the Chera country consisted of most of the present day Kerala and western Tamil Nadu, and the gap enabled them to rule the territory from their capital at Karuvur The Tamil Brahmins migrated to Palakkad from central Tamil Nadu via the gap between the 15th to 18th centuries CE.Geography and formation
The Palakkad Gap is a wide gap in the Western Ghats between the Nilgiri Hills to the north and Anaimalai Hills to the south. The pass connects the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.A 2008 study suggested that the gap is the continuation of a Precambrian shear zone that extended from East Africa through the Ranotsara gap of Madagascar to the Palakkad gap in India. As per a 2019 study, the gap may have been created by an meteor strike around 800 to 550 million years ago which led to the flattening of the hilly terrain in the area and the formation of the gap. As per another theory, it formed due to a landslide that occurred caused by the Bharathappuzha river that currently flows through the gap. The river is fed by various rivulets and tributaries flowing from steep escarpment slopes along the flanks of the Ghats.