Lagoons in Kerala

7 Lagoons of Kerala

A lagoon is a shallow water body separated from a larger water body by a reef or barrier island. The word lagoon is derieved form Italian laguna which means lake of salt water. Though, both terms lake and lagoon are interchabely used, they are different in nature. A lake is usually deep and fed and drained by rivers or stream whereas lagoon water is mixed with sea water. Lagoons are common feature of coastal plains around the world and considered to be one of biological hotspots. One can observe a number of lagoon on both eastern and western coasts of India and out of which, seven exists in the state of Kerala. These are locally known as Kayal.

List of Lagoons in Kerala
Ettikulam Kayal
Ettikulam Kayal lies in the Kannur district and is fed by Karingote and Nileshwar rivers. It is part of Kavvayi backwaters.

Vembanand Kayal
Vembanand Kayal is fed by Periyar, Muvattupuzha, Achankovil, Pamba, Manimala, Meenachil and Chalakudy river. It is bounded by Munambam from north and Alappuzha from south. It is longest lake in India and largest in the state of Kerala. It is also largest Ramsar Wetland site in India. It is known by the name of Vembanandu Lake in Alappuzha, Punnamada Lake in Kuttanad and Kochi Lake in Kochi. It is famous for Nehru Trophy Boat Racing.

Kayamkulam Kayal
Kayamkulam Kayal is bounded by Kollam and Alappuzha districts and spread over the area of 4083.0 acres.

Astamudi Kayal
Astamudi Lagoon lies in Kollam district and fed by Ashtamudi and Kallada river. It is spread over the total area of 32 sq. km and second largest lagoon/lake in Kerala.

Paravur Kayal
Paravur Kayal lies in Kollam district and fed by Ithikkara River. It is only spread in the area of 6.62 sq. km. It is connected to Edava and Ashtamudi Kayal via Trivandrum-Shoranur canal system.

Kadinamkulam Lake
Kadinamkulam lake lies in Thiruvananthapuram district. It has length of 24 km and its breadth varies between 0.1 km to 1 km.

Veli Lake
Veli Lake lies in Thiruvananthapuram district, just 12 km from the Thiruvananthapuram city centre. It has been developed as one of the tourist hotspots by the Government of Kerala.