Tiruvalla

Tiruvalla is a town in Pathanamthitta district of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the mandal headquarters of Thiruvalla taluk. The town is spread over an area of 27.94 km2;. It lies on the banks of the rivers Manimala and Pamba, and is a land-locked region surrounded by irrigating streams and rivers.Tiruvalla is regarded as the "cultural capital of Central Travancore", and also called "Land of non resident Indians".EtymologyThe town gets its name from the Malayalam word "Thiru-Vallabha-Puram", meaning "The Land of Great Lord Vallabhan" (Lord Vishnu), referring to the deity of the Sri Vallabha Temple located in the town. The Sanskrit name for Tiruvalla in texts such as "श्रीवल्लभ क्षेत्र माहात्म्यम्" (ശ്രീവല്ലഭ ക്ഷേത്ര മാഹാത്മ്യം, śrīvallabha kṣētra māhātmyaṁ, a 10th-century work) is "श्रीवल्लभपुरम्" (ശ്രീവല്ലഭപുരം)(śrīvallabhapuraṁ).GeographyTiruvalla town area lies at an altitude of 21 m above sea level, on the basin of the rivers Pamba and Manimala. Tiruvalla is dotted with several natural canal streams (called "thodu" in Malayalam) like Chanthathodu, Manippuzha, Mullelithodu, and several others. The city area has riverine alluvial soil, and eastern parts have a laterite loam kind of soil classified under "Southern Midlands" agro-ecological zone, while the western suburbs like Niranam have a more sandy type of soil that resembles beaches. (Kuttanad agro-ecological zone) The reason for this is believed to be the older status of Niranam as a port, before reclamation of Kuttanad from the sea occurred. The Upper Kuttanad region in Tiruvalla has the "Karappadam" type of soil, which is clay loam in texture, has high organic matter, and is situated in areas about 1–2 m above sea level.