Malappuram, the land atop the hills: 3550 sq km, 9.13% of Kerala and third in the State by area

Background

Bounded by the Nilgiris hills on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west, Malappuram literally means the land atop the hills.
Malappuram District was formed on 16th of June 1969, with Kozhikode and Wayanad districts to its north and Palakkad and Thrissur districts to its south.
The district has a geographical area of 3550 sq. kms, which is 9.13% of total area of the state and ranks 3rd in the state.
Malappuram consists of three natural divisions: lowland along the sea coast, midland in the centre and highland towards the east and north-east.
Four important rivers of Kerala flow through the district: the Chaliyar, the Kadalundippuzha, the Bharathapuzha and the Tirurpuzha.
The Chaliyar has a length of 169 KMs and originates from Illambaleri hills in Tamil Nadu, flowing into the sea at Beypore in Kozhikode district; the Kadalundippuzha has a course of 130 Kms and the Tirurpuzha is 48 Kms long.
Of these rivers only the Chaliyar is perennial and all the others get dried up in summer, which is why the district is prone to drought.
The district has a total forest area of 758.8684 Square km, of which 325.3261 Square km is reserve forests and 433.5423 Square Km is vested forests, protected by the Nilambur north and Nilambur South forest divisions.