The southernmost range of India is
- (a)Nilgiri
- (b)Annamalai
- (c)Cardamom
- (d)Nallamalai
Correct — C, the Cardamom Hills. The Cardamom Hills (Ela Mala) form the southernmost part of the Western Ghats, at the far south of the peninsula across Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Lying south of the Anaimalai Hills and the Palghat Gap, they are the southernmost hill range of India among the options.
- (a)Nilgiri — The Nilgiri Hills lie further north, at the junction where the Western and Eastern Ghats meet — not the southernmost.
- (b)Annamalai — The Anaimalai (Annamalai) Hills — home to Anaimudi, the highest peak of South India — lie just north of the Cardamom Hills, so they are not the southernmost.
- (d)Nallamalai — The Nallamalai Hills are part of the Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh — well to the north-east, not the southernmost range.
Moving south along the Western Ghats: Sahyadris -> Nilgiris -> (Palghat Gap) -> Anaimalai Hills -> Cardamom Hills at the southern tip. The Cardamom Hills are therefore the southernmost range of the Western Ghats and of India. The Nallamalai belong to the Eastern Ghats, not this southern chain.
All four names sound 'southern', so rank them by position. The Palghat Gap is the key landmark: south of it lie the Anaimalais and, further south, the Cardamom Hills — the southernmost.
- Cardamom Hills = southernmost part of the Western Ghats (Kerala-Tamil Nadu).
- The Anaimalai Hills (with Anaimudi, ~2,695 m, highest peak of South India) lie just to their north.
- The Nilgiris mark the meeting point of the Western and Eastern Ghats.
- The Nallamalai Hills belong to the Eastern Ghats (Andhra Pradesh).
- Confusing the Anaimalai or Nilgiri with the southernmost range
- Placing the Nallamalai in the Western Ghats
MPPSC and UPSC ask which range is southernmost or highest, or where the two Ghats meet (Nilgiris) — fix the north-to-south order.
Consider the following pairs: Hills : Region 1. Cardamom Hills : Coromandel Coast 2. Kaimur Hills : Konkan Coast 3. Mahadeo Hills : Central India 4. Mikir Hills : North-East India Which of the above pairs are correctly matched?
- (a) 1 and 2
- (b) 2 and 3
- (c) 3 and 4
- (d) 2 and 4
Answer(c) 3 and 4
Same concept — the location of the Cardamom Hills (southern Western Ghats, not the Coromandel Coast).
Which of the following hills are found where the Eastern Ghats and the Western Ghats meet?
- (a) Anaimalai Hills
- (b) Cardamom Hills
- (c) Nilgiri Hills
- (d) Shevaroy Hills
Answer(c) Nilgiri Hills
Same family of southern hill ranges — placing the Nilgiri, Anaimalai and Cardamom Hills within the Ghats.
The Nilgiri Hills are located between which of these two ranges ?
- (a) Himalayan and Aravalli
- (b) Vindhyachal and Satpura
- (c) Sahyadris (Western Ghats) and Eastern Ghats
- (d) Satpura and Aravalli
Answer(c) Sahyadris (Western Ghats) and Eastern Ghats
Same southern-ranges concept — the Nilgiris as the meeting point of the Western and Eastern Ghats.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Anaimudi, the highest peak of South India, is located in which range?
- (a)Nilgiri
- (b)Anaimalai (Western Ghats)
- (c)Nallamalai
- (d)Cardamom
Answer(b) the Anaimalai Hills of the Western Ghats.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Western and Eastern Ghats meet at which hills?
- (a)Cardamom
- (b)Nilgiri
- (c)Nallamalai
- (d)Shevaroy
Answer(b) the Nilgiri Hills.