Gangamoola is a hill in the

Chikkamagaluru district Chikmagalur, officially Chikkamagaluru () is an administrative district in the Malnad subregion of Karnataka, India. It was called Kadur (''Cuddoor'') district till 1947. Coffee was first cultivated in India in Chikmagalur. The hills of Chikmaga ...

of the state of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Also known as Varaha Parvata, it is one of the hills in the Western Ghats range and is known for being the source of three rivers, Tunga, Bhadra and Netravathi.

Geography

Gangamoola is a part of the Gangamoola-Aroli-Gangrikal range of Western Ghats. Having an altitude of 1458 meters above sea level, the hill is within the boundaries of the

Kudremukh National Park Kudremukh is a mountain in Chikmagalur district, in Karnataka, India. The name literally means 'horse-face' and refers to one picturesque view of a side of the mountain. The name also refers to the small town near the mountain, about 48 kilome ...

. The hill is thickly forested and receives an annual rainfall of 575 cm. The area in the vicinity of the hill is rich in

magnetite Magnetite is a mineral and one of the main iron ores, with the chemical formula . It is one of the iron oxide, oxides of iron, and is ferrimagnetism, ferrimagnetic; it is attracted to a magnet and can be magnetization, magnetized to become a ...

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tecton ...

deposits which yield iron ore.

Biodiversity

Gangamoola is a part of the

Kudremukh Kudremukha is the name of a mountain range and an individual mountain peak located in Chikmagalur district, in Karnataka, India. It is also the name of a small hill station and iron ore-mining town situated near the mountain, about 20 kilomet ...

biodiversity sub-cluster of the Western Ghats which has been nominated to receive the designation of a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

. A survey conducted by the ornithologist Davidar in 1980 recorded 107 species of birds in the Kudremukh-Aroli-Gangamoola tract. The presence of a large number of bird species is due to trees like '' Myristica dactyloides'' that are favoured by birds.

Origin of rivers

Gangamoola is the origin of three rivers, Tunga, Bhadra and Netravathi. ;Tunga From its origin, the Tunga flows in a north-easterly direction passing the towns of

Sringeri Sringeri (IAST: Śṛṅgerī; ) also called Shringeri is a hill town and Taluk headquarters located in Chikkamagaluru district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Sringeri is the site of Sri Sharadamba temple, a part of the Sringeri Sharada Pe ...

Thirthahalli Thirthahalli is a panchayat town located in the Shimoga district of the state of Karnataka, India. It lies on the bank of the river Tunga River, Tunga and is also the headquarters of the Thirthahalli Taluk of Shimoga district. Geography Thirt ...

and

Shimoga Shimoga, officially Shivamogga, is a city and the district headquarters of Shimoga district in the Karnataka state of India. The city lies on the banks of the Tunga River. Being the gateway for the hilly region of the Western Ghats, the city ...

. A dam has been constructed across it at Gajanur. After covering a total distance of 147 km, it joins the Bhadra at Koodli near Shivamogga and forms the Tungabhadra river. ;Bhadra From its origin, the Bhadra river first flows east and then north-east passing the town of Bhadravathi. After travelling a distance of 178 km, it joins the Tunga at Koodli. ;Netravathi From its origin, the Netravathi flows west, passing the towns of Dharmasthala and

Mangalore Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the st ...

before joining the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

Issues

Iron ore mining

Iron ore was being mined in this area by the Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd (KIOCL) despite the area being part of a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

. Environmentalists raised concerns about this, since they felt that the mining was disturbing the sensitive ecological balance in the region and also polluting the rivers, mainly the river Bhadra. The

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judiciary of India, judicial authority and the supreme court, highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final Appellate court, court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also ...

gave a ruling that the company should stop its mining operations and, in accordance with that decision, the mining was stopped on 31 December 2005.

Notes

{{Western Ghats Hills of Karnataka Geography of Chikmagalur district