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{{Short description|Hill range in India}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox mountain range
| name = Palkonda Hills
| other_name = Palkonda
| photo = Andhra Pradesh - Landscapes from Andhra Pradesh, views from Indias South Central Railway (97).JPG
| photo_size = 280
| photo_caption = View of Palkonda Hill Range in [[Kadapa district]]
| country = [[India]]
| state = [[Andhra Pradesh]]
| state1 =
| state2 =
| state3 =
| state_type = Provinces/States|
| length_mi =
| length_orientation = northeast-southwest
| highest =
| elevation_ft =
| coordinates = {{coord|14|20|47|N|78|39|06|E|type:mountain_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| geology =
| geology1 =
| period = Cambrian
| map =
| map_size =
| map_caption =
}}
'''Palkonda Hills''' are a range of hills that form a part of the [[Eastern Ghats]] in the [[southern India]]n state of [[Andhra Pradesh]]. Meaning "milk hills", they run along a northwest to southeast direction, culminating at the pilgrimage centre of [[Tirupati Temple|Tirupati]].

== Etymology ==
The name ''Palkonda'' translates into "milk hills", a combination of the [[Telugu language|Telugu]] words ''pāl'' meaning milk and ''konda'' meaning hill. The name is attributed to the presence of [[pasture]] grounds in them.<ref name="dsal.uchicago">{{cite book|title=Imperial Gazetteer of India (Volume 19)|year=1908|publisher=Clarendon Press|location=Oxford|page=367|url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V19_373.gif}}</ref><ref name="archive">{{cite book|title=Provincial Geographies of India : THE MADRAS PRESIDENCY WITH MYSORE, COORG AND THE ASSOCIATED STATES|year=1913|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, UK|page=20|url=https://archive.org/stream/provincialgeogra03holluoft/provincialgeogra03holluoft_djvu.txt}}</ref>

== Geographical extent ==
The Palkonda range has a southeast to northwest orientation and traverse the districts of [[Anantapur district|Anantapur]] and [[Kadapa district|Kadapa]]. These hills average 2,000 ft in elevation. The highest point of the range is at Buttaid where it reaches a height of 3,060 ft. [[Seshachalam Hills]], in the Kadapa and Chitoor district, are closely located.

== Geology ==
The Palkonda hills are relict mountains that can be traced back to the [[Cambrian period]]. They have over the course of over 500 million years been eroded by the [[Penner River|Penner river]] and its tributaries. The hills are largely composed of [[quartzite]] formations interspersed with [[lava]] and [[slate]] deposits.<ref name="books.google">{{cite book|last=Murty|first=M. L. K.|title=Comprehensive History and Culture of Andhra Pradesh: Pre- and protohistoric Andhra Pradesh up to 500 BC|year=2003|publisher=Orient Blackswan|location=Hyderabad|page=11|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yK8D8c5-HXAC&q=palkonda+range&pg=PA10|isbn=9788125024750}}</ref><ref name="books.google_a">{{cite book|title=Students' Britannica India, Volume 4|year=2000|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica (India)|location=New Delhi|page=147|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ISFBJarYX7YC&q=palkonda+hills&pg=PA147|isbn=9780852297605}}</ref>

== Rivers ==
The [[Punchu River|Punchu]] and [[Cheyyeru River|Cheyyeru]] are important rivers of this region and, along with the [[Chitravathi River|Chitravati]] and [[Papagni River|Papagni]] rivers, form a series of river basins that marks the middle course of the Penner river of which they are tributaries. There are several streams between the Palkonda and its parallel range [[Velikonda Range|Velikonda]] that have been dammed to irrigate the valleys between the ranges.<ref name="books.google" /><ref name="books.google_a" /> Jowar and groundnut are the principal crops cultivated here.<ref>{{cite web|title=Palkonda Hills|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/439882/Palkonda-Hills|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|accessdate=28 June 2013}}</ref>

== Flora and fauna ==
There are [[teak]] forests in these hills and it is also a habitat of the highly endangered [[Jerdon's courser]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Jerdon's Courser: A Precious Rarity|url=http://indiasendangered.com/jerdon%E2%80%99s-courser-a-precious-rarity/|publisher=India's Dangered|accessdate=28 June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Accounts and Papers of the House of Commons|year=1862|publisher=Parliament. House of Commons|location=United Kingdom|page=230|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NyRcAAAAQAAJ&q=palkonda+range&pg=RA2-PA230}}</ref>

== Human habitations ==
The sacred hill of [[Tirumala]] and temple town of [[Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh|Tirupati]] lies at the southeastern end of the Palkonda range.<ref name="archive" /> The [[Mumbai]]-[[Chennai]] railway line is an important transport artery that runs parallel to the hills through [[Guntakal ]] and [[Renigunta]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Work begins on new rail line in AP|url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.in/2002/12/28/stories/2002122801200901.htm|accessdate=28 June 2013|newspaper=The Hindu Businessline|date=28 December 2002}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Eastern Ghats|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Hills of Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:Eastern Ghats]]
[[Category:Geography of Anantapur district]]
[[Category:Geography of Kadapa district]]

Palkonda Hills - Revision history

Tanwarpal Singh: started initial entry v1