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28 October, 2020
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Important Facts of Kerala

Capital	Thiruvananthapuram or Trivandrum
Date of Formation	November 01, 1956
State Boundaries	Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Puducherry (Mahe)
Number of Districts	14
State Animal	Elephant
State Bird	Great Indian Hornbill
State Flower	Kanikonna or Indian laburnum or amaltus
State Tree	Coconut
Official Language	Malayalam
Major cities	Kochi, Kozhikode, Kollam and Thrissur
Festivals	Onam, Thrissur Pooram, Sabarimala, Theyyam, Payippad Jelotsavam
Dances	Chavittunatakam, Kathakali, Kolkli, Koothu, Kutiyattam, Theyyam, Thirvathirakali, Ottamthullal, Chakyar Koothu, Mohiniyattam
Hill Station	Munnar
UNESCO sites	Nilgiri, Agasthyamalai, Western Ghats
Physical division	Nilgiri – Anamalai – Cardamon (North to South)
Beaches	Alappuzha Beach Cherai Beach Kovalam Kozhikode Beach Muzhappilangad Beach Thirumullavaram Beach Payyambalam Beach Kannur Beach
Lakes	Sasthamkotta Lake Vembanad Lake Lakes of Alappuzha Pookode Lake Ashtamudi Lake Punnamada Lake Akkulam Lake Mananchira Veeran Puzha Vellayani Lake Paravur Kayal
Islands	Dharmadam Island, Kavvayi, Vypin, Gundu Island, Munroe Island, Valiyaparamba, Willingdon Island, Ezhumanthuruthu, Pulinkunnu
Waterfalls	Mulamkuzhi, Attukal, Cheeyappara, Thusharagiri, Kesari
National Park	Eravikulam National Park Silent Valley National Park
Bird Sanctuary	Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary Thattekad Bird Sanctuary
Biological Park	Agasthyavanam Biological Park
Wildlife Sanctuary	Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary Begur Wildlife Sanctuary Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary Peechi Vazhani Wildlife Sanctuary Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary Shenduruny Wildlife Sanctuary Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary
Biosphere Reserve	Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve
Dams	Malampuzha Dam Walayar Dam Banasura Sagar Dam Parambikulam Dam
Tribes	Paliyan, Ulladan, Hill Pulaya, Rular, Kattunayakan, Koraga, Mudugar, Kadar
Inland Waterways	West Coast Canal or National Waterway No 3
Important Institution	Centre for water Resources development and management Kunnamangalam – Kozhikode (Kerala) Bioinformatics Centre – Thiruvananthapuram Centre for Development Studies – Thiruvananthapuram National Centre for Earth Science Studies, Thiruvananthapuram Bharat Bhavan, Nalanda, Thiruvananthapuram Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Thiruvananthapuram. Centre for Heritage Studies, Ernakulam National Transportation Planning and Research Centre – Thiruvananthapuram Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology – Thiruvananthapuram
Agriculture	In the hills – rubber, tea, wattle, and coffee beside teak and rose wood.
Major Crops	Rice, Coconut, Rubber
Minerals	Iron Ore, Bauxite, Silica Sand, Magnesite
Wildlife animals & birds	Asian Elephant, Bengal Tiger, Indian Sloth Bear, Kingfisher, Woodpecker, Jungle Fowl.
Kerala Tourism tagline	God’s own Country

Facts:

The first state to be declared as “Complete Digital State”.
Kochi, earlier known as Cochin, is popularly known as ‘Queen of the Arabian Sea’ and is also called ‘Gateway to Kerala’.
Edakkal caves in Arnbukutty Moun am have petroglyphs or rock carvings and are believed to have been made by Neolithic men.
Believed to be the oldest of all martial art forms, Kalaripayattu gets its name from lalari’ or school and ‘payattu’ or practice.
Kocchi is World’s first airport completely powered by solar energy
Coconut produces 2/3 of total production in India (56% form Kozhikode)
Black pepper – 95% of country’s production
Cardamom – Kerala’s share in the national production is 75% on upland mainly form Idukki, Wayanad
Tea – from 760mt to 1520mt Idduki and Wayanad
Coffee – Kerala’s share in the national production is 22%;
Rubber – Kerala’s share in the national production is 91%. 83% area of the Country under Rubber is in Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam
Banana – Average crop duration 300 days
Kerala had been ruled by many powerful dynasties like the Cheras, Cholas and Pandayas.
Kerala is known to be the state with the highest literacy rate.
The streams of Kerala empty themselves into these lagoons.
Kozhikode is an important timber trading centre.
Alleppey is the biggest weaving and exporting centre of coir.
Trichur district is famous for diamond cutting and polishing industry.
Perambra (Trichur)-Rubber tyres are manufactured.
Vembanad Lake is designated as wet land under Ramsar convention.
Asthamudi Lake is a palm shaped lake with a unique wetland ecosystem and a Ramsar site.
Asthamudi Lake is the entrance to the famous backwaters of Kerala and the houseboat rides here are extremely famous.
Sasthamkotta Lake is the largest freshwater lake of Kerala and a Ramsar site.
The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve was the first biosphere reserve in India established in the year 1986.
The Cheraman Juma mosque is supposed to be built during 629 AD by Malik Ibn Deenar.
Kannur-1st Zero landless district in the country
Malappuram – First e-literate district in the country
Alappuzha (Alleppey) is also known as ‘Venice of the East’
The Sasthamcotta Lake, the only major fresh water lake in the state is in Kollam District
The annual Nehru Trophy Boat Race takes place on the backwaters of Punnamada in Alappuzha.

Source: NCERT

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