The Coromandel Coast is the southeastern coast region of the Indian Subcontinent, between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal of the Indian Ocean. The coastline runs between False Divi Point in the north to Kanyakumari in the south. Its definition can also include the northwestern coast of the island of Sri Lanka.
The land of the Chola dynasty was called Cholamandalam in Tamil, literally translated as The realm of the Cholas, from which the Portuguese derived the name Coromandel.
The coast is generally low, and punctuated by the deltas of several large rivers, including the Kaveri, Palar, Penner, and Krishna River, which rise in the highlands of the Western Ghats and flow across the Deccan Plateau to drain into the Bay of Bengal. The alluvial plains created by these rivers are fertile and favour agriculture.
The coastline forms a part of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The important ports include Chennai, Thoothukkudi, Nellore, Ennore and Nagapattinam, which take advantage of their close proximity with regions rich in natural and mineral resources and good transport infrastructure.
Agriculture is the mainstay of the coastal economy. Rice, pulses (legumes), sugarcane, cotton, and peanuts (groundnuts) are grown. Bananas and betel nuts are grown together with rice in the low-rainfall region of the interior. There are casuarina and coconut plantations along the coast. Large-scale industries produce fertilizers, chemicals, film projectors, amplifiers, trucks, and automobiles. There is a heavy vehicle and armoured car factory at Avadi and a nuclear power station at Kalapakkam. Roads and railways linking Chennai (Madras), Cuddalore, Chidambaram, Chengalpattu, and Puducherry run parallel to the coast.
