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Goa is the smallest Indian state. It is situated on the central west coast of India. Goa has an area of approximately 3702 km² and 1,453,000 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2008). Goa is named after the former town of the same name, today known as Velha Goa.

The region was about 450 years ago, a Portuguese colony, and therefore has special cultural characteristics. Hardly an Indian state is culturally more influenced by a European colonial power than Goa. It also has a high Catholic population.

The capital of Goa is Panaji, named after the Portuguese Pangim, by the British in Panjim. It is located in the district of Tiswadi and currently (in 2008) there were around 59,000 inhabitants and living in the agglomeration of Panaji there were more than 130,000 people.

With an area of only 3702 square kilometers, a north-south distance of 105 kilometers and an east-west extension of not more than 65 kilometers, Goa is the smallest state in India.  Goa is located on the Konkan, on the mid-west coast of India.

It is bordered to the north by the state of Maharashtra, Karnataka to the south and east and west by the Arabian Sea. The coastline length is 101 kilometers.   The narrow coastal plains are close terraced, 30 to 100 meters high to table-lands, which are transferred to the east foothills of the Western Ghats.

The mountains of the Western Ghats, which occupies about 15 percent of the land area, is 800 meters high on average, but individual mountains rise to over 1000 meters. Goa’s highest peak is 1167 meters above sea level called the Sonsogor.  Goa’s coastline is heavily dissected by broad river estuaries.

Mormugao Bay is considered one of the best natural harbors in South Asia. All major rivers originate from the Western Ghats. Most importantly, the Mandovi and Zuari rivers in central Goa, Chapora and the North Terekhol and Sal and Talpona in the south.
Climate
The climate is tropical, and are, as in India, determined by the monsoon. The summer monsoon begins around mid-June and usually lasts until September. On average, the annual rainfall is anything from 2800 to 3500mm.

In some higher-lying mountainous regions the rainfall can also vary considerably stronger (up to 7500 mm).  During the monsoon, the temperatures fluctuate around 26 degrees Celsius.  The dry season is from October to early June followed by constant temperatures of about 25 to 27 degrees Celsius on average.

Only in the hot season in April and May does the average temperature increase to 29 to 30 degrees and during the day up to 35 degrees.  Due to the coastal location, there is also in Goa, a dry season which always has a relatively high humidity of about 60 percent.