Mawsynram
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mawsynram is a village in the Khasi Hills of Meghalaya state in north-eastern India, 56 kilometers from Shillong. Reportedly the wettest place on Earth, with an annual rainfall of 11.872 meters (about 39 feet). However, as there has been no meteorological department office in the area and for all practical and statistical purposes, Cherrapunji has been the wettest place in the world.
Oxford geographer Nick Middleton's book on people who live in extreme climates, Going to Extremes (ISBN 0-330-49384-1), chronicles his visit to the village, and describes how the inhabitants cope with such extreme precipitation.
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[edit] Location
Mawsynram is located at 25º 18' N, 91º 35' E in the state of Meghalaya. Its altitude is about 1400 m. It is about 16 km west of Cherrapunji.
[edit] Rainfall
Based on data of recent few decades, Mawsynram located about 16 km west of Cherrapunji in State of Meghalaya (India) appears to be the wettest place in the world or the place with the highest average annual rainfall. Mawsynram, receives nearly 12 m of rain in an average year, and a vast majority of it falls during monsoon months which is why it is not considered to be the wettest place in the world, but rather Mount Waialeale in Kaua'i, Hawai'i is due to the fact that it has a constant rainfall. A comparison of rainfalls for Cherrapunji and Mawsynram for some years is given in Table 1.
Table 1: Comparison of rainfalls for Cherrapunji and Mawsynram for some years.
| Year | Cherrapunji Rainfall (mm) | Mawsynram Rainfall (mm) |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 12,262 | 11,300 |
| 2001 | 9,071 | 10,765 |
| 2000 | 11,221 | 13,561 |
| 1999 | 12,503 | 13,444 |
| 1998 | 14,536 | 16,090 |
Source: The Tribune, Chandigarh, Aug. 2003.
Three reasons can be cited for high rainfall at Mawsynram:
1. The warm moist winds of the northward-moving air from the Bay of Bengal during the monsoon, which cover an extensive area but are forced to converge into the narrower zone over the Khasi Hills, thus concentrating their moisture.
2. The alignment of the Khasi Hills (east to west) places them directly in the path of the airflow from the Bay of Bengal, producing a significant uplift (plus cooling, further condensation and thus more rain).
3. Finally, uplift over the Khasi Hills is virtually continuous in the monsoon period because the lifted air is constantly being pulled up by vigorous winds in the upper atmosphere, hence the rainfall is more or less continuous.
[edit] Natural landmarks
Located in Mawsynram is a cave named Mawjymbuin. Inside this cave is a massive stalagmite shaped into a Shivalinga. Also found here is loaf-shaped rocky dome with a nearly flat top among the hillocks. It is called Symper Rock.
