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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2018}}
{{Coord|13.69|N|79.42|E|region:IN-AP_type:landmark|display=title}}
[[File:Natural stone arch in tirumala.JPG|thumb|400px|Tirumala Natural Geological Arch is a [[List of National Geological Monuments in India|National Geological Monuments of India]].]]

'''Natural Arch, Tirumala hills''', a notified [[National Geological Monument|National Geo-heritage Monument]],<ref name=gsi1>{{Cite web |url=http://www.portal.gsi.gov.in/portal/page?_pageid=127,529542&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL |title=National Geological Monument, from Geological Survey of India website |access-date=16 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170712055947/http://www.portal.gsi.gov.in/portal/page?_pageid=127,529542&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL |archive-date=12 July 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=gsi2>[http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=137573 Geo-Heritage Sites, Minister of Mines Press release, 09-March-2016]</ref><ref name=gsi3>[http://naturalheritage.intach.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Geoheritage-Monograph.pdf national geo-heritage of India], [[Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage|INTACH]]</ref> is a distinctive geological feature {{convert|1|km|mi|abbr=on|1}} north of the [[Tirumala]] hills temple, near the Chakra Teertham in the state of [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[India]]. The arch is also called '''''Silathoranam''''' (శిలాతోరణం) in the local language ([[Telugu language]]: ''sila'' means ‘rock’ and ''thoranam'' means a garland strung over a threshold, connecting two vertical columns or an ‘arch’ as in this case). The arch measures {{convert|8|m|ft|abbr=on|1}} in width and {{convert|3|m|ft|abbr=on|1}} in height, and is naturally formed in the [[quartzite]]s of [[Cuddapah]] Supergroup of Middle to Upper [[Proterozoic]] (1600 to 570 Ma) due to natural erosive forces.<ref name="GSI">{{cite web|url=http://www.gsi.gov.in/geotour/geofrm2.htm |title=Geological Monuments of India |publisher=Geological Survey of India |accessdate=2009-01-27 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915165258/http://www.gsi.gov.in/geotour/geofrm2.htm |archivedate=15 September 2008 }}</ref><ref name="Arch">{{cite web |url= http://www.portal.gsi.gov.in/portal/page?_pageid=127,529414&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&linkId=1077 |title= Natural Arch in Tirumala Hills |publisher= Geological Survey of India |accessdate= 2009-01-27 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110721161308/http://www.portal.gsi.gov.in/portal/page?_pageid=127,529414&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&linkId=1077 |archive-date= 21 July 2011 |url-status= dead |df= dmy-all }}</ref><ref name="hindu">{{cite news|url= http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/05/06/stories/2007050600150800.htm |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070508182657/http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/05/06/stories/2007050600150800.htm |url-status= dead |archive-date= 2007-05-08 |title= Carved by time|accessdate=2009-01-27|location=Chennai, India|work= [[The Hindu]] |date=2007-05-06}}</ref>

==Legend==

Mythology related to the arch, linked to the famous [[Tirumala]] hills [[temple]] of Lord [[Venkateswara]], has three versions.

According to one version, the arch resembles the hood of a [[Serpent (symbolism)|serpent]], a [[conch]] ([[Sanskrit]]: Shank) and a [[discus]] ([[Sanskrit]]: [[chakra]]) – all symbols of worship in [[Hindu religion]] – and considered to be the source of the Idol of Lord [[Venkateswara]] or Lord Balaji at the Tirumala hill temple.<ref name="hindu"/>

The second version is that the main deity in the Tirumala temple is of the same height as the height of the arch.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://svimstpt.ap.nic.in/Esicon_Other_places.htm|title=Last decade of Endocrinology in India|accessdate=2009-01-31}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref>

The third version is that Lord [[Vishnu]], known as Balaji or [[Venkateswara]] (the central deity of [[Srivaishnava]] tradition) at the Tirumala temple town, is supposed to have put his first foot down at a place called Padalu or Sreevaripadalu (శ్రీ వారి పాదాలు)([[Telugu language]]: Divine foot prints) which is the highest point of Tirumala hills, the second step at the location of the arch. Thereafter, the next step is stated to have been placed where his idol is now worshipped in the temple at Tirumala.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.svzoo.org/html/landmark.htm|title= Places of Tourist interest|publisher= Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park, Govt of Andhra Pradesh|accessdate= 2009-01-31|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090307120953/http://www.svzoo.org/html/landmark.htm|archive-date= 7 March 2009|url-status= dead|df= dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://wikimapia.org/9250406/Silatoranam-a-small-bird-zoo-Kalyan|title=Silatoranam & a small bird zoo – Kalyan|accessdate=2009-01-31}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Silathoranam.jpg|thumb|left|400px|Another view of the Natural arch]]
In the 1980s, during excavations for a [[geological fault]] in the Tirumala hills, [[geologists]] found this rare geological formation of the rock arch which has two dissimilar sets of rocks with a connecting thin link. The assessed geological age of the rock arch is 2.5 million years. Formation of the arch is attributed to intensified weathering and erosion of stream action that has withstood the torque of nature.<ref name="temple">{{cite web|url= http://www.religiousportal.com/TirumalaTirupatiBalaji.html|title= Tirumala Tirupati Balaji Temple|accessdate=2009-01-27}}</ref> This is a rare geological fault which is technically called in the geological idiom as ‘[[Eparchaean Unconformity]]’.
At this location, the boundary is between sedimentary rocks of the Cudappah Supergroup, 1600 million years in age, and Archaean rocks comprising granites, gneisses and dolerite dykes that are more than 2100 million years old. This unconformity gives an indication of the enormous time gap in the creation of the earth's crust.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=au8sAAAAIAAJ|title = T. Sadavisam on behalf of Bharathan Publications|year = 1979}}</ref>

==Geology==

The natural geological arch has two distinct physiographical regions – southwest upland and northeast lowland. The Tirupati hills, at the foot of a picturesque range of hills, are known by several names such as 'Seshachala', 'Venkatachala' and 'Balaji'. The geological formations are categorized under four heads namely, the (1) Archeans (the gneisses), (2) the Eparchean unconformity (Quartzose sandstones Overlying the granite with a distinct unconformity), (3) Puranas (formation of Cuddapah group well developed in the valley) and (4) Quaternary deposits. The Tirumala hills essentially of [[precambrian]] period are composed of [[sedimentary rocks]] – [[quartzites]] and intercalated [[shales]], which are given the geological, stratigraphical nomenclature of Nagari quartzites.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://archive.org/stream/earlyhuntergathe019426mbp/earlyhuntergathe019426mbp_djvu.txt|title= Early hunter - Gatherers adaptations in the Tirupati valley by Jacob S. Java Raj, pages 5–12, 112|publisher= Sri Venkateswara University T1rupati|accessdate=2009-01-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=aKEcAAAAMAAJ|title= The Tirumala Temple|author=N. Ramesan|publisher=Tirumala Tirupati Davasthanams|year= 1981}}</ref>

The hill ranges of the Tirumala rise to a height of {{convert|900|m|ft|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} (at Tirumala) from the average height of {{convert|150|m|ft|abbr=on}} in the plains at Tirupati. The steep scarp of the hill ranges depicts unconformity in its topographic, structural and denudational features, which is the Eparchian Unconformity.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.ias.ac.in/jarch/currsci/45/00000149.pdf |title=Eparchian Unconformity at Tirumalai – A Study by K.V.Suraynarayana|publisher=Venkateshwara University, Tirupati|accessdate=2009-01-31}}</ref>

The sedimentary thickness of the Cudappa basin is of the order of {{convert|12|km|mi|abbr=on|1}} with [[volcanic]] sequences in the form of [[Sill (geology)|sills]] and [[Dike (geology)|dykes]]. A prominent Eparchaean Unconformity of the formation resting on the [[Archean|Archaean]] [[peninsular]] gneissic complex is noted. Rocks of Cuddapah Supergroup including [[Kurnool]] Group are the prominent feature of the basin.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dae.gov.in/amd/regions/sr.htm |title=General information, Southern Region, Broad Geological features |publisher=Department of Atomic energy Atomic Minerals directorate for exploration and research GOI |accessdate=2009-01-31 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204130800/http://www.dae.gov.in/amd/regions/sr.htm |archivedate=4 December 2008 }}</ref>

Specifically, the arch's origin is attributed to two schools of thought namely, a) it could be the effect of a wave action from [[ocean]]ic transgression or intensified [[climatic]] settings and [[corrosion]] and b) it may have been naturally carved out of quartzite.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.mustseeindia.com/Tirupati-Silathoranam/attraction/11354|title= Tirupati Attractions|accessdate= 2009-01-31|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081218053717/http://www.mustseeindia.com/Tirupati-Silathoranam/attraction/11354|archive-date= 18 December 2008|url-status= dead|df= dmy-all}}</ref>

== Visitor information ==
[[File:Tirumala Map.jpg|right|thumb|400px|Map of [[Thirumala]] – the arch is close to [[Varahaswamy]] temple in B1 block in the map and is one kilometre from north of the main shrine of Lord Venkateshwara]]

The best time to visit the arch is between 6 A.M. and 8 A.M., fog permitting. There is a well maintained garden in front of the arch should visitors wish to rest or wait until fog clears. [[Sunset]] is also a good time to visit, as the arch looks even more striking and mystifying in the light of the setting [[sun]]. Seen in the light of a [[full moon]] the arch is said to be "ethereally beautiful."<ref name="hindu"/>

==Access==
{{Further|Tirumala-Tirupati }}
The location of the arch is well connected by road, rail and air routes. The nearest railhead to Tirumala hills is [[Tirupati (city)|Tirupati]]. From Tirupati railway station the approach to the Tirumal temple is only by road, a distance of {{convert|19|km|mi|abbr=on|1}}.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.indiainfoweb.com/andhra-pradesh/excavations/silathoranam.html|title= Silathoranam|accessdate= 2009-01-31|url-status= dead|archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090106031143/http://www.indiainfoweb.com/andhra-pradesh/excavations/silathoranam.html|archivedate= 2009-01-06}}</ref>
The nearest airport is located at [[Renigunta]], about {{convert|15|km|mi|abbr=on|1}} away from Tirupati, which connects to [[Chennai]], [[Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh|Hyderabad]] and [[Bangalore]] airports. Regular bus services (both private and Govt. transport services operate) are operated by all the states bordering Andhra Pradesh.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mustseeindia.com/Tirupati/how-to-reach|title=must see India|accessdate=2009-01-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202132247/http://www.mustseeindia.com/Tirupati/how-to-reach|archive-date=2 February 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The approach road from the temple is wide and is an avenue of trees. Private vehicles are allowed to the location. A 20-minute walk from the Varahaswamy temple in Tirumala (see map pictured) would be a pleasant experience.<ref name="hindu"/>

==See also==
* [[List of National Geological Monuments in India]]
* [[List of rock formations in India]]
* [[Natural arch]]
* [[Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.pbase.com/lux_20/thirupathithirumala Views of Geological Rock Arch, Tirupathi, Andhra Pradesh]
*[http://www.naturalarches.org The Natural Arch and Bridge Society]

{{Tirupati topics}}
{{Andhra Pradesh}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Natural Arch, Tirumala Hills}}
[[Category:Geology of Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:Natural arches]]
[[Category:Rock formations of India]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Tirupati]]
[[Category:Geography of Chittoor district]]

Natural Arch, Tirumala hills - Revision history

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