RAS question
The Palakkad (Palghat) Gap is a significant break in the:
Correct answer: (A) Western Ghats.
The Palakkad or Palghat Gap is a significant natural break in the Western Ghats on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border.
Explanation
The Palakkad Gap is identified as a major break in the Western Ghats because it cuts through the hill barrier between the Nilgiri Hills and the Anaimalai Hills on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. It lies in the Western Ghats and is about 40 km wide, while Kerala Tourism describes Palakkad as situated at the foot of the Western Ghats and as providing an inlet into Kerala through a natural gap. That geography explains its importance: it is not just a named pass, but a functional opening through which southwest monsoon winds can move inland and bring rainfall to western Tamil Nadu, and it also works as a major transport route.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) The Vindhya Range lies in central India, whereas the Palakkad Gap belongs to the Kerala-Tamil Nadu section of the Western Ghats.
- (C) The Himalayan Range is in northern India, while the Palakkad Gap is a South Indian gap associated with Palakkad and the Western Ghats.
- (D) Although the Eastern Ghats are also broken in many places, the Palakkad Gap specifically cuts the Western Ghats, not the Eastern Ghats.
Concept
This tests the physiography of peninsular India, especially the named gaps and passes of the Western Ghats. It recurs in RAS because such features link relief, monsoon movement and transport routes in one map-based fact.