Tamil Nadu is the southern end of the subcontinent with the Bay of Bengal to the East, Indian Ocean to the south, states of Kerala and Karnataka to the west, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh to the north.

The land mass can be divided into two: eastern coastal plains and the hilly regions along the north comprising the Coromandel plains, the alluvial plains of the Kaveri delta, and the dry southern plains. On to the west, the Western Ghats stretches 80 to 160 kilometers averaging 1220 meters above sea level and rising to 2440 meters at the highest point.