Chennai District

Chennai

Chennai

Chennai formerly known as Madras is the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu and is India's fourth largest metropolitan city. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. Chennai 368-year-old city is the 34th largest metropolitan area in the world. The name Madras is derived from Madraspatnam and from another small town, Chennapatnam(Chennapuri). Population: 6.96 million (2006).

Chennai is a large commercial and industrial centre, and also known for its cultural heritage and temple architecture. Chennai is considered the automobile capital of India. This has led to Chennai being referred to as the Detroit of South Asia. It has also become a major centre for outsourced jobs. The 12-kilometre long Marina Beach forms the city's east coast and is one of the longest beaches in the world. Chennai is also one of the rare cities to accommodate a national park, the Guindy National Park, within its city limits.

Chennai is located at 13.04° N 80.17° E on the southeast coast of India and in the northeast corner of Tamil Nadu. It is located on a flat coastal plain known as the Eastern Coastal Plains. The city has an average elevation of 6 metres, its highest point being 60 m. Two rivers meander through Chennai are the Cooum River (or Koovam) in the central region and the Adyar River.

Chennai was the first British people's major settlement in India. In the city, one cannot fail to notice the dominant British influences in the form of old Cathedrals, buildings in the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture and wide tree lined avenues. But Chennai retains a charm characteristic of the typical South Indian heritage. As a city it continues to maintain the best of South Indian traditions. This may not be surprising because the region was an important center of Pallava culture. Long before when the British came here, the traces or inscriptions were found in numerous old temples.

The city grew into modern city merging all neighbouring areas. In the 19th century, the city became the seat of Madras Presidency, the southern division of British Imperial India. After independence in 1947, it became the capital of Madras State that was renamed Tamil Nadu. Very recently Madras was renamed Chennai.

TamilNadu District - Chennai

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