Geography

Kottayam district has a total area of 2208 sq. km. The district is naturally divided into high land, midland and lowland, the bulk being constituted by the midland regions. Meenachil and Kanjirappally Taluks have high land and midland areas while Kottayam, Changanassery and Vaikom Taluks have midland and lowland areas. Kanjirappally and Meenachil Taluks have Laterite soil, where as Vaikom Taluk, part of Changanassery and Kottayam Taluks have Aluvial soil. The district has no coastal area.

Classification of area under land utilisation

(Source: Agricultural Statistics 2016-2017)

Rivers

The important rivers of the district are the Meenachil River, the Muvattupuzha River and the Manimala River. The 78 km. long Meenachil River flows through the Taluks of Meenachil, Vaikom and Kottayam. It has a catchment area of 1272 km2 and utilizable water resource of 1110 mm3. The River is formed by several streams originating from the Western Ghats in Idukki district. At Erattupetta, Poonjar River also joins it, takes a sharp turn and flows towards the west. At Kondur, it is joined by the Chittar and at Lalam it receives the Payapparathodu and flows in a south-west direction till it reaches Kottayam. Here it branches into several streams before emptying into the Vembanad Lake. The important towns in the basin are Pala, Poonjar, Ettumanoor and Kottayam. Meenachil Medium Irrigation project is having a net ayacut of 9960 hectares, 155 sq.km. catchment area and a water spread area of 228 hectares.

The Muvattupuzha River originates from Idukki district, flows through Vaikom Taluk and empties into the Vembanad Lake. The most important town in the basin is Vaikom, the famous pilgrim centre.

The Manimala River flows through Kanjirappally and Changanassery Taluks. The Chittar joins it on its course further down the west as it flows to Alappuzha district. The important town in the basin is Mundakkayam.