Describe the Coastal Plains and the Island groups.
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Answer:
The Coastal Plains and Islands
The Coastal Plains:
The Great Plateau of India is surrounded by plains on all sides, in North the North Indian plain, in the west the western coastal plain and in the east the eastern coastal plain.
1. THE WESTERN COASTAL PLAINS
It extends along the Arabian Sea from the Rann of Kutchh in the north to Kanyakumari in the south.
Except for the Gujarat plain, the western coastal plains are narrower than the eastern coastal plain.
From southern Gujarat up to Mumbai this plain is comparatively broader, but it narrows southwards of Mumbai.
The plains of Gujarat are made up of black soil and it is called Kathiawar coast.
The coastal strip extending for about 500 km between Daman in the north and Goa in the south is called Konkan coast.
The coast from Goa to Mangalore is called the Karnataka (Kannada) coast.
The coast from Mangalore up to Kanyakumari is called the Malabar Coast.
The Western coastal plain is essentially a faulted coast. Its formation is associated with faulting that led to the formation of Western Ghats. Hence Konkan and Karnataka portion of Western coast are submerged coast.
It is believed that the city of Dwaraka which was once a part of the Indian mainland situated along the west coast is submerged under water.
Because of this submergence, it is a narrow belt and provides natural conditions for the development of ports and harbours. Kandla, Mazagaon, JLN port Navha Sheva, Marmagao, Mangalore, Cochin, etc. are some of the important natural ports located along the west coast.
The coastline is rugged, cliffy and very close to the Arabian Sea in the north overlooking it. Numerous rivers and backwaters inundate the region
2. THE EASTERN COASTAL PLAINS
The Eastern Coastal Plain is a wide stretch of land lying between the Eastern Ghats and the oceanic boundary of India.
It stretches from Tamil Nadu in the south to West Bengal in the east. The Mahanadi, Godavari, Kaveri, and Krishna rivers drain these plains.
It is an example of an emergent coast. This plain is broader than the western coastal Plains. The plains have sandy beaches, lagoons, enclosed lakes, sand dunes and numerous deltas.
THE ISLANDS
There are a total of 1,208 islands (including uninhabited ones) in India.
There are two major island groups in India – one in the Bay of Bengal and the other in the Arabian Sea.
THE ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS
The Bay of Bengal island group consists of about 572 islands/islets. These are situated roughly between 6°N-14°N and 92°E -94°E.
The two principal groups of these islands/islets include Ritchie’s archipelago and Labriynth island.
The entire group of these islands is divided into two broad categories – the Andaman in the north and the Nicobar in the south.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are located between 6° and 14° north latitude and 92° and 94° east longitude. They are separated by a water body which is called the Ten-degree channel.
It is believed that these islands are an elevated portion of submarine mountains. It consists of hard volcanic rocks and considered as an extension of Arakan Yoma mountain chain of Myanmar.
LAKSHADWEEP ISLANDS
The islands lying in the Arabian Sea is known as Lakshadweep off the coast of Kerala.
The islands of the Arabian sea include Lakshadweep and Minicoy. These are scattered between 8°N-12°N and 71°E -74°E longitude.
The Lakshadweep Islands lie 200 to 300 km off the coast of Kerala in the Arabian Sea with an area of 32 Sq.km.
All these islands are of coral origin. They consist of twelve atolls, three reefs and five submerged banks, with a total of about 35 islands and islets.
The largest island among these, the Minicoy, has an area of 4.5 square km only. Kavaratti is the capital city of this island group.
The entire group of islands is broadly divided by the Eleventh-degree channel, north of which is the Amini Island and to the south of the Canannore Island.
The Islands of this archipelago have storm beaches consisting of unconsolidated pebbles, shingles, cobbles and boulders on the eastern seaboard.
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