The aspect of the district resembles that of other parts of the Coromandel coast.
Thereafter large deposits were profitably exploited in the south and west of South Island and in the Thames and Coromandel districts of the Auckland province.
The name Coromandel is said to be derived from Cholamandal, the mandal or region of the ancient dynasty of the Chola.
The city is historically interesting as the capital of the Chola race, one of the oldest Hindu dynasties of which any traces remain, and from which the whole coast of Coromandel, or more properly Cholamandal, derives its name.
It is supposed, therefore, that the Pallavas came from the north, and gradually worked their way down to Malabar and the Coromandel coast.