Uttara Kannada is a district in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is sometimes called North Canara, or North Kanara. It is bounded on the northwest by the state of Goa, on the north by Belgaum district, on the northeast by Dharwad District, on the east by Haveri District, on the southeast by Shimoga District, on the south by Udupi District, and on the west by the Arabian Sea. The district has an area of 10,291 kmē, and a population of 1,353,644 (of which 28.66% were urban as of 2001,[1] a 10.90% increase since the 1991 census. The town of Karwar is the administrative headquarters of the district.
Attiveri bird sanctuary is home to 79 species of birds including migratory birds from 22 countries. Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary is famous for the elusive black panther among other animals like Gaur, Tiger and Leopards. The Kavala caves with their 5 ft. high natural Shiva linga , Synthery rocks is a 500 ft high rock flanked by natural caves and waterfalls, Vincholi rapids, Sykes point which offers a view of Kali river, and a suspension bridge are places worth visiting in this sanctuary.
Uttara Kannada was the home of the earliest Kannada kingdom, the Kadamba kingdom from the 350 - 525CE. They ruled from Banavasi. After the subjugation of the Kadambas by the Chalukyas, Uttara Kannada district came under successive rule of great Kannada empires like Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Hoysalas and Vijayanagar empire. The district came under the rule of Maratha empire from around 1700 CE. to 1800 CE. and was ceded to the British at the conclusion of the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1818. The British established North Kanara district as initially as a part of Madras Presidency in 1859 CE. and later made it a part of Bombay Presidency in 1862 CE. After India's independence in 1947, Bombay Presidency was reconstituted as Bombay state. In 1956 the southern, Kannada-speaking portion of Bombay state was added to Mysore state, which was renamed Karnataka in 1972.
The main geographic feature of the district is the Western Ghats or Sahyadri range, which runs from north to south through the district. Between the Sahyadris and the sea is a narrow coastal strip, known as the Payanghat, which varies from 8 to 24 km in width. Behind the coastal plain are flat-topped hills from 60 to 100 meters in height, and behind the hills are the ridges and peaks of the Sahyadris. East of the Sahyadris is the Balaghat upland, part of the vast Deccan plateau.
