Chennai district is one of the important historical districts of the 
Tamilnadu. Chennai is the capital city of the State, besides being an important district. 
The district city is one of the metropolis of India and serves as the gateway 
of the culture of South India. 
 There are different versions about the name 
of this once sleepy coastal village.  When the British landed here in 1639 A.D. it was said 
to be part of the empire of the Raja of Chandragiri. The British 
named it Chennapattinam, after they acquired it from Chennappa  Nayakar. Gradually, it 
became Chennai.  The first instance of the use of the name Chennai is said to be in the 
Vestiges of Old Chennai, the sale deed of August 1639 to Francis Day, an agent for the 
British. There it has been referred to as Chennaipatnam

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The area of Chennai district is 174 sq.kms as against 130058 sq.kms for the 
State. The entire area of the District has been classified as urban. 
 Chennai is situated on the north-east end of Tamil Nadu on the coast of 
Bay of Bengal. It lies between 12* 9' and 13* 9' of the northern latitude and 80* 12' and  
80*  19'  of the southern longitude on a `sandy  shelving  breaker  swept beach'. It stretches 
nearly 25.60 kms, along the Bay coast from Thiruvanmiyur in the south to Thiruvottiyur in 
the north and runs inland in a rugged semi-circular fashion. It is bounded on the east by the 
Bay of Bengal and on the remaining three sides by Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur Districts.  
1.2 Topography  
 Chennai is a low-lying area and the land surface is almost flat like a 
pancake. The even topography of the land throughout the district renders sub-divisions 
into natural regions rather difficult. It rises slightly as the distance from the sea-shore 
increases but the average elevation of the city is not more than 22' above mean seal-level, 
while most of the localities are just at sea-level and drainage in such areas remains a 
serious problem.  
 The city is intersected by two streams, viz, Coovam river and the Adyar. 
The Coovam river runs through the heart of the city and enters the sea. The Adyar runs 
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through the south part of the city and enters the sea. 
 The Buckingham canal which runs through the states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra 
Pradesh is a navigation canal. This canal runs almost parallel to the Coromandal coast 
within the limits of 5 kms. from the coast.   It joins up a series of natural backwaters and 
connects all the coastal districts from Guntur to Cuddalore.