Question

Name the important mountain passes in the Western Ghats.

Answer 1

Hint:
- It is a mountain range that occupies an area of 160,000 square kilometers parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula, extending 1,600 kilometers.
- It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the world's eight biological diversity hot-spots.
- This includes a very significant proportion of the flora and fauna of the region, many of which are only present in India and nowhere else in the world.

Complete answer:
The Ghats of the West are older than the Himalayas. By intercepting the rain-laden monsoon winds that sweep in during late summer from the south-west, they affect Indian monsoon weather patterns. The range stretches around the western side of the Deccan Plateau from north to south and separates the plateau along the Arabian Sea from a small coastal plain called Konkan.
 In the Western Ghats, the mountain passes are:
Charmudi Ghat: It connects Chikmagalur and Mangalore.
Shiradi Ghat: Hassan-Sakaleshpur-Mangaluru is connected with it.
Agumbe Ghat: Shimoga and Udupi are related.
Hulikal Ghat: It connects Kundapur and Shivamogga.
These are extended from the Satpura Range in the north, ranging from Gujarat to Tamil Nadu. It covers the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala to the south. The key differences in the range are the Goa Gap between the parts of Maharashtra and Karnataka and the Palghat Gap between the Nilgiri Hills and the Anaimalai Hills on the border of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Note:
Thal Ghat, Bhor Ghat and Pal ghat are the three most important passes linking the rest of India with the western coastal area (sandwiched between Western ghats and the Arabian sea) (Palakkad). These three passes have been used since ancient times for navigation and transportation.