Two rivers Kallada and Ithikkara flows through this District. The Sasthamcotta lake, the only major fresh water lake in the state is in Kollam District.

The Soil of the District may be classified as sandy loams, larerite and forest soil. The costal belt has sandy loams and the forest soil is found in the eastern forest belt. The rest of the district is laterite soil.

The District has a tropical humid climate with an oppressive summer and plentiful seasonal rainfall. The hot season., lasting from March to May is followed by the South West Monsoon from June to September. The rest of the year is generally dry.

Kollam, 71 km away from Trivandrum is fairly important for the State's trade and commerce and is the centre of the country's cashew trading and processing industry.

It is also an important hub for the State's marine products industry, with the port of Neendakara being the centre for trawlers and ice plants.

Kollam District has a large area under forest. Pathanapuram, Anchal, Kottarakkara and Chadayamangalam are blocks having large areas of forest. The forest divisions are at Thenmala and Punalur.
For all its natural gifts of wide rivers, dominant hills and forest, lakes and plains, there is the throb of a vibrant industrial activity that combines with equanimity the wonders of the modern age with the traces of a bygone era.