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karaikal (kāraikkāl) is a major port town of east coast of India and a municipality in Karaikal district in the Union Territory of Puducherry, India. This is the birthplace of Karaikal Ammaiyar.

The French government acquired Karaikal in 1674 and held control, with occasional interruption from the British and Dutch, until 1954 (de jure in 1956), when it was incorporated into the Indian Union along with the rest of French India.

Karaikal is a small coastal enclave of territory which was formerly part of French India. Together with the other former French enclaves of Pondicherry, Yanam, and Mahé, Karaikal forms the Union Territory of Puducherry. Karaikal is bounded on the North and South by Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu state, on the west by Tiruvarur district (also belonging to Tamil Nadu), and on the East by the Bay of Bengal. The enclave is located 132 km south of the city of Pondicherry, and is known for its rich cultural heritage.

2004 tsunami

On the 26th of December 2004, Karaikal faced its worst tragedy in recent memory. Tsunami waves hit this coastal town and more than 500 people, mostly fishermen and their families, were washed away by the killer waves.

Rivers

The main branches of Kaveri below Grand Anicut are the Kodamurutti , Arasalar, Virasolanar and the Vikramanar. Although Arasalar and its branches spread through Karaikal, the waters of Kodamurutti and Virasolanar also meet the irrigation needs of the region

Topography

Forming part of the fertile Cauveri delta the region is completely covered by the distributaries of Cauveri. Covered completely by a thick mantle of alluvium of variable thickness, the lie of the region is flat having a gentle slope towards the Bay of Bengal in the east. It is limited on the north by the Nandalar and on the south-east by the Vettar. The group of rocks known as Cuddalore formations is met with in the area contiguous to Karaikal region in Nagappattinam District.

climate

Karaikal is situated on the east coast of India, near latitude 11 N in the deltaic region of the Cauveri, experiences tropical maritime type of climate with small daily range of temperature and moderate rainfall. Karaikal has an annual average rainfall of about 126 cm. 68 percent of which occurs during October to December. The amount of rainfall during the south-west monsoon period is small, being less than 20 per cent of the annual. November is the rainiest month, accounting for about a third of the annual total. The range of variation of annual rainfall is wide.

December and January are the coolest months with the maximum at about 28 C and the minimum at about 23 C°. Minimum temperature as low as 16 C° may sometimes be recorded. The diurnal ranges of temperature are generally small throughout the year, being highest (about 10 C°) in May and June, and the least (about 5 C°) during November to February.