Annamalai National Park

 At a Glance

Anamalai wildlife sanctuary is one of the most attractive preserves of nature in Tamil Nadu, is also known as the India Gandhi National Park and is located in the Western Ghats. There are many places of natural and scenic beauty in the Annamalai wildlife sanctuary. Some of them are Grass hills, Karianshola, Anaikunthi Shola, groves, waterfalls, teak forests, reservoirs and dams. Nilgiri Langur, Liontailed macaque Gaur, Elephant, Chital, Sambar, Mouse Deer, Barking Deer, Variety of Birds, Tiger, panther, Wild Dog, Nilgiri Tahr.The park is rich in mixed deciduous forest with fair population of rosewood and teaks.

The forests are noted for their valuable timber trees including teak and rosewood, Hopea parviflora, Mesua ferrea, Calophyllum tomentosum, Vateria indica, Cullenia excels and Mangifera indica. Softwoods include Machilus Macrantha, Alstonia scholaris, Evodia meliaefolia, Ailanthus and Malabaricum. Wood for making pulp is procured from Eucalyptus hybrid and Eucalyptus grandis. Minor forest produce is collected from bamboos, reeds, soapnuts, canes, gums, lemon grass, wild cardamom, honey and amla. In addition to the economically useful plants listed, some rare orchids are found and the sanctuary is the only home of the South Indian species of conifer, podocarpus wallichianus.

Climate

The mercury ranges from 14°C – 32°C during March to October and to 6°C-24°C during November to February. Avoid rainy months.

Flora

Rich mixed deciduous forest, Tropical wet Evergreen, Tropical moist deciduous. The vegetation or Flora in Indira Gandhi National Park comprises some 8,000 species of plants. The jungles in Indira Gandhi Sanctuary are thick and wooded with the flora to back up the fabulous fauna. There are evergreen forests in Indira Gandhi National Park, which are moist and deciduous forests and the lagoons and estuaries, sheltering unique forms of plant and animal life. The dry deciduous, the semi-evergreen, and the wet temperate habitat of this park contain teak, rose wood and many miscellaneous tropical species.

Fauna

The Anamalai wildlife sanctuary has various kinds of fauna like Panther, Elephant, Gaur, Sloth Bear, Tiger, Deer, Wild Bear, Porcupine, Wild Dog, Flying Squirrel, Jackal, Civet Cat, Pangolin and birds like Rocket-tailed Drongo, Red Tree Pie, Whiskered Bulbul, Spotted Dove, Black Headed Oriole, Pigeon etc. There is a reservoir (the Amaravati reservoir) in the Anamalai, having a large number of crocodiles. In Anamalai (Indira Gandhi) National Park one can also see sambar, gaur, mouse deer, barking deer, but the exclusive attraction of the National Park are Nilgiri langur, lion tailed macaque and spectacular birds.

Namdapha National Park

 At a Glance

Namdapha Tiger reserve in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh is spread in an area of 1,850-sq-kms rugged terrain. Perhaps no other national park in the world has a wider attitudinal variation than the Namdapha national park that rises from 200m to 4,500m in the snow-capped mountain. This variation has given rise to the growth of diverse habitats of flora and fauna. For the truly dedicated wilderness and wildlife fan, a visit to the Namdapha National Park is a challenging one. It is also an ideal place for trekking and hiking The beautiful forests possess great bio diversity of Flora and Fauna. A detailed study of its species and genetic variation has not yet been thoroughly done. Namdapha is a Botanist's dream and it may take as long as 50 years to complete a comprehensive survey of its botanical resources. There are more than 150 timber species. The Pinus Merkusi and Abies Delavavi are not found any where else in India than here. One of the rarest and endangered orchids, the Blue Vanda is also found here. The most famous local medicinal plant Mishimi Teeta, which is used by the local tribals to cure all kinds of diseases, is available here.

Climate

Varies from 37°C to 8°C.

Flora The beautiful forests possess great biodiversity of Flora and Fauna. A details study of its species and genetic variation has not yet been thoroughly done. Namdapha is Botanist's dream and it may take as long as 50 years to complete a conprehensive survey of its botanical resources. There are more than 150 timber species. The Pinus merkusi and Abies delavavi are not found elsewhere in India. One of the rarest and endangered orchids, the Blue Vanda found here. The most famous local madicinal plant Mishimi Teeta (Copti teeta), which is used by the local tribal for all kinds of diseases is available here but its export has been banned.

Fauna

The diverse vegetation and habitats of Namdapha Wildlife Sanctuary grooms diverse species of animals and birds. It is the only park in the World to have four Feline species of big cat namely the Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard (Panthera Uncia) and Clouded Leopard. A number of primate species are seen in the park, including the Assamese Macaque, pig-tailed Macaque, stump-tailed Macaque and a number of distinctive Hoolock Gibbons, highly endangered and only 'Ape' species found in India, dwell in this impenetrable virgin forest. Of the many other important animals are Elephants, Black Bear, Indian Bison, several species of Deers, reptiles and a variety of arboreal animals. Among the bird species, most notable are the White winged Wood Ducks, a rare and endangered species, the great Indian Hornbills, Jungle Fowls and Pheasants flop their noisy way through the jungle. The inaccessibility of a greater part of the park has helped to keep the forests in their pristine and virgin state in its natural form.

Moreover, the park possesses great bio diversity of flora and fauna. The lush green under growths of canes, bamboos, wild bananas and other variety of vegetation are intertwined like cobwebs. The grandeur of the wet tropical rain forest is breeding ground for a variety of animals and birds which is a remarkable sight, worth seeing.

Famous National Parks in India

State	National Parks	Started	Area (in Km)	Attractions
Andaman Nicobar Islands	Wandur National Park	1983	281.50	Estuarine Crocodiles, Coconut Crab
Arunachal Pradesh	Namdapha National Park	1983	1985.23	Leopard, Gaur, Himalayan Black Bear
Assam
	Kaziranga National Park	1974	471.71	Rhinos, Elephants, Tigers
	Manas National Park	1990	500	Assam Roofed Turtle, Golden Langur
Chhattisgarh	Indravati National Park	1981	1258.37	Tiger, Leopard, Blue Bull,
Gujarat	Gir National Park	1975	258.71	Asiatic Lion
	Marine National Park	1980	162.89
Himachal Pradesh	Great Himalayan National Park	1984	754.40
	Pin Valley National Park	1987	675	Himalayan Snowcock, Chukar
Jammu And Kashmir	Dachigam National Park	1981	141	Himalayan Black Bears, Leopard
	Hemis National Park	1981	4100	Snow Leopard
	Kishtwar National Park	1981	400	Himalayan Jungle Crow
Jharkhand	Hazaribagh National Park			Tigers, Wild Boar, Nilgai
	Palamau National Park			Tigers, Dhole, Elephants
Karnataka	Bandipur National Park	1974	874.20	Asian Elephants, Tiger
	Bannerghatta National Park	1974	104.27	Tiger, Lion
	Nagarhole National Park	1988	643.39	Elephant, Jackal, Tiger
Kerala	Eravikulam National Park	1978	97	Nilgiri Tahr, Atlas Moth, Elephant
	Periyar National Park	1982	350	Nilgiri Langur, Flying Squirrel
	Silent Valley National Park	1984	89.52	Nilgiri Tahr, Niligiri Langur,Tiger
Madhya Pradesh	Bandhavgarh National Park	1982	448.85	Tigers, Leopards, Bears
	Kanha National Park	1955	940	Tigers, Leopards, Elephant
	Madhav National Park	1959	375.22	Indian Gazelle, Nilgai, Sambar
	Panna National Park	1973	542.67	Tiger, Wolf, Chital, Sloth Bear
	Pench National Park	1975	292.85	Tiger, Leopard, Sloth Bear
Maharashtra	Navegaon National Park	1975	133.88	Tiger, Panther, Bisons
	Tadoba National Park	1955	116.55	Tiger, Leopards, Sloth Bears
Odisha	Chandaka Elephant Reserve			Elephant, Hital, Bear, Pea-Fowl
	Nandankanan National Park			White Tiger, Asiatic Lion, Crocodiles
	Simlipal National Park	1980	845.70	Tiger, Leopard, Elephants
Rajasthan	Desert National Park	1980	3162	Great Indian Bustard, Harriers
	Keoladeo National Park	1981	28.73	Siberian Cranes, Ruddy Shelducks
	Ranthambore National Park	1980	392	Tigers, Leopards, Boars
	Sariska National Park	1982	273.80	Four-Horned Deer, Carecal, Leopard
Sikkim	Khangchendzonga National Park	1977	1829	Wild Ass, Snow Leopard, Musk Deer, Himalayan Tahr
Uttar Pradesh	Dudhwa National Park	1977	490.29	Tiger, Rhinoceros
Uttarakhand	Corbett National Park	1936	520.82	Tigers, Leopards, Elephants
	Govind National Park	1990	472.08	Black Bear, Leopard, Snow Cock
	Nanda Devi National Park	1988	5,860.69	Tiger, Leopard
	Rajaji National Park	1983	820.42	Tigers, Leopards, Elephants,
	Valley of Flowers National Park	1980	87.50	Snow Leopard, Musk Deer, Red Fox
West Bengal	Sundarbans National Park	1984	1330.10	Royal Bengal Tiger; Fishing Cats
Meghalaya	Balpakram National Park
	Nokrek National Park

15 biggest dams in India

1.Tehri Dam

The Tehri Dam is a multi-purpose rock and earth-fill embankment dam on the Bhagirathi River near Tehri in Uttarakhand, India. It is the primary dam of the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Ltd. and the Tehri hydroelectric complex. The dam is a 260 metres  high rock and earth-fill embankment dam.

 

2. Mulla-Periyar Dam

Kerala Government has long been demanding construction of a new dam in Mullaperiyar on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. Many believe that the existing 116-year-old dam could pose safety hazard.

While the matter rests with the apex court, we look at some of India’s biggest and most famous dams, hailed by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as ‘The Temples of a Resurgent India’.

 

3.Bhakra Dam

Bhakra Dam is a concrete gravity dam across the Sutlej River, and is near the border between Punjab and Himachal Pradesh in northern India. The dam, located at a gorge near the (now submerged) upstream Bhakra village in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh, is Asia's second highest at 225.55 m  high next to the 261m Tehri Dam. 

 Its reservoir, known as the "Gobind Sagar", stores up to 9.34 billion cubic meters of water, enough to drain the whole of Chandigarh, parts of Haryana, Punjab and Delhi.The 90 km long reservoir created by the Bhakra Dam is spread over an area of 168.35 km2. In terms of storage of water, it withholds the second largest reservoir in India, the first being Indira Sagar dam in Madhya Pradesh with capacity of 12.22 billion cu m.Nangal dam is another dam downstream of Bhakra dam. 

 

4.Hirakud Dam

Hirakud Dam is built across the Mahanadi River, about 15 km from Sambalpur in the state of Orissa in India. Built in 1957, the dam is one of the world's longest earthen dam. Hirakud Dam is the longest man-made dam in the world, about  (26 km) in length. It is one of the first major multipurpose river valley project started after India's independence. 

 

5.Nagarjuna Sagar

Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is the world's largest masonry dam built across Krishna River in Nagarjuna Sagar, Nalgonda District of Andhra Pradesh. The dam contains the Nagarjuna Sagar reservoir with a capacity of up to 11,472 million cubic metres. The dam is 150 m tall and 1.6 km long with 26 gates.

 Nagarjuna Sagar was the earliest in the series of large infrastructure projects initiated for the Green Revolution in India; it also is one of the earliest multi-purpose irrigation and hydro-electric projects in India.

 

6. The Sardar Sarovar Dam

The Sardar Sarovar Dam is a gravity dam on the Narmada River near Navagam, Gujarat. It is the largest dam and part of the Narmada Valley Project, a large hydraulic engineering project involving the construction of a series of large irrigation and hydroelectric multi-purpose dams on the Narmada River. The project took form in 1979 as part of a development scheme to increase irrigation and produce hydroelectricity. It has a proposed final height of 163 m from foundation. 

The dam is one of India's most controversial dam projects and its environmental impact and net costs and benefits are widely debated.. The Narmada Dam has been the centre of controversy and protest since the late 1980s.

 

7.The Indirasagar Dam

The Indirasagar Dam is a multipurpose key project of Madhya Pradesh on the Narmada River at Narmada nagar in the Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh in India. The Project envisages construction of a 92 m high and 653 m long concrete gravity dam. It provides Irrigation in 1,230 square kilometres of land with annual production of 2700 million units in the districts of Khandwa and Khargone in Madhya Pradesh and power generation of 1000 MW installed capacity (8x125). The reservoir of 12,200,000,000 m3 was created.

 

8.Tungabadra dam, 

 Tungabadra River Hospet, Karnataka.

 

9.The Koyna Hydroelectric Project

The Koyna Hydroelectric Project is the largest completed hydroelectric power plant of India It is a complex project consisting of total four dams with the largest Dam built on Koyna River known as Koyna Dam hence the name Koyna Hydroelectric project. The total Installed capacity of the project is 1,920 MW. The project consists of 4 stages of power generation. Due to the project's electricity generating potential the Koyna River is considered as the life line of Maharashtra.

 

11.The Idukki Dam

The Idukki Dam, located in Kerala, India, is a 168.91 m  tall arch dam. The dam stands between the two mountains - Kuravanmala (839) m and Kurathimala (925)m. It was constructed and is owned by the Kerala State Electricity Board. It supports a 780 MW hydroelectric power station.

It is built on the Periyar River, in the ravine between the Kuravan and Kurathi Hills in Kerala, India. At 167.68 metres, it is one of the highest arch dams in Asia and third tallest dam in India.

 

12.Krishna Raja Sagar

Krishna Raja Sagar, also popularly known as KRS, is the name of both a lake and the dam that causes it.Sir. Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya served as the chief engineer during the construction of this dam. The dam is named for the then ruler of the Mysore Kingdom, Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV.

 

13.The Mettur Dam

The Mettur Dam is a large dam in India built in 1934. It was constructed in a gorge, where the Kaveri River enters the plains. The dam is one of the oldest in India. The total length of the dam is 1,700 m .

 

14.The Srisailam Dam

The Srisailam Dam is a dam constructed across the Krishna River at Srisailam in the Kurnool district in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India and is the second largest capacity hydroelectric project in the country. The dam was constructed in a deep gorge in the Nallamala Hills, 300 m (980 ft) above sea level. It is 512 m  long, 145 m high and has 12 radial crest gates. It has a reservoir of 800 km2 .

 

15.The Banasura Sagar Dam

The Banasura Sagar Dam is located 21 km from Kalpetta, in Wayanad District of Kerala in the Western Ghats. It is the largest earthen dam in India and the second largest in Asia.