The Chitteri Hills, also known as Sitheri Hills, are one of the segments of the

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats is a mountain range that stretches along the East Coast of India, eastern coast of the Indian peninsula. Covering an area of , it traverses the states and union territories of India, states of Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Prade ...

mountain range of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

, India. The hills form a compact block consisting of several hill ranges, and contain tangled ridges and ravines running in the northeast and southwest directions, enclosing many narrow valleys (rivers), viz. Kallar, Varattar, Kambalai and Anaimaduvu. They are spread over an area of 654.52 km² within the geographical limit of 78°15’−78°45’E longitude and 11°44’−12°08’N latitude. Topographically, the area is undulating with an altitude varying from 240 to 1266 m. The rocks on Chitteri hills are chiefly gneisses/granitic in composition. Soil is generally shallow and reddish-loam, varying in fertility and often mixed with gravel and boulders. Black soils are seldom found in the forests. The minimum and maximum temperature of the area is 19 °C (in winter) and 40 °C (in summer) respectively. The annual

rainfall Rain is a form of precipitation where water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. ...

varies from 620 to 900 mm and it received both northeast and southwest

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

s. The hills harbours various vegetation types such as evergreen, semi-evergreen,

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripar ...

, dry mixed deciduous, dry deciduous scrub and the southern thorn

scrub forest Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It ...

s.Champion and Seth, 1968

Train crashes

On the night of 13 September 2011, at least 10 people have been reported killed and more than 70 injured when a passenger train from Chennai rammed into a stationary train near Chitteri railway station. On 11 April 2013, The Muzaffarpur-Yeswantpur Express train derailed around 6 am at Chitteri, Eleven coaches derailed in Tamil Nadu, killing one person and injuring 50 others. Six of these 50 people have suffered serious injuries.

References

Hills of Tamil Nadu {{TamilNadu-geo-stub