India Physiography – Indian Desert, Coastal regions, Indian Islands

India can be divided into following physical divisions viz.

• The Northern Mountains
• The North Indian Plain
• The Peninsular Plateau
• Great Indian Desert
• The coastal Regions
• Islands

The Great Indian Desert

• Extends from the western margins of the Aravali Hills
• Luni is the only prominent river

The Coastal regions

• Excluding the islands, the mainland of India has 6,100 kms length of coastline
• Extends from Kutch in Gujarat in the west to the Gangetic delta in the east
• The coast of India is divided into western coast and eastern coastal plains.
• The coastal regions of India are known for agriculture, trade, industrial centres, tourist centres, fishing and salt making
• They also provide important hinterlands for the ports

Western Coastal Plains

• Lies between Western Ghats & Arabian sea from Gujrat in north to Kanyakumari in south
• Narrower & wetter than Eastern plains
• Divided into Malabar coast, Kannada Coast, Konkan coast, Kanyakumari Coast, Kachchh and Kathiawad peninsulas

• Kathiawar Coast → Kutch to Daman (Tapti, Narmada, Sabarmati & Mahi River deposit huge load of sediments in the Gulf of Cambay & form estuaries)
• Konkan Coast → Between Daman & Goa
• Kannada Coast → Goa to Cannanore
• Kanyakumari Coast → Cannanore to Cape Camorin
• Malabar Coast → Kannada + Kanyakumari Coast 

• Important Ports → Mumbai, Marmagoa, Cochin, Mangalore, Nhava-Sheva and Kandla
• Marked with Lagoons → Ashtamudi & Vembanad called Kayals → Kerala

Eastern Coastal Plains

• Lies between Eastern Ghats & Bay of Bengal from Gangetic delta in north to Kanyakumari in south.
• Known as Land of Deltas viz. of Mahanadi, Krishna, Kaveri & Godavari
• Broader but drier than Western plains
• Consists of following sub coasts

• Utkal coast → Deltaic plains of Ganga to Mahanadi delta (Famous Chilka lake is located in this plain)
• Andhra Coast →  Utkal plains to Pulicat lake (Contains deltas of Godavari & Krishna Rivers, & famous Kolleru lake)
• Northern Circars → Utkal Coast + Andhra Coast (Between Mahanadi & Krishna)
• Coromandal Coast → Between Krishna & Kanyakumari (Consist of Kaveri Delta)

• Freshwater Kolleru Lake → Between Godavari & Krishna
• Marked with Famous Lagoons → Chilka lake (Orissa) & Pulicat (Tamilnadu)

• Chilka Lake is the largest salt water lake in India
• It lies in the state of Odisha, to the south of the Mahanadi Delta

Indian Islands

• Total 247 islands in India → 204 islands in Bay of Bengal and 43 in the Arabian Sea
• Few coral islands in the Gulf of Mannar also
• Andaman and Nicobar Islands in Bay of Bengal consist of hard volcanic rocks
• The middle Andaman and Nicobar Islands are the largest islands of India
• Lakshadweep islands in the Arabian Sea are formed by corals
• The southern – most point of India is in Nicobar Island, known as Indira Point
• Formerly Indira point was called Pigmalion Point, it is submerged now, after 2004 Tsunami

Significance of Indian Ocean for India 

• Strategic significance → India overlooks some of the most important sea lanes viz. Suez Canal, Malacca Strait
• Economic significance → Long coastline, 2.02 million sq km EEZ (Exclusive economic zone)
• Tourism Significance → Marine biodiversity and rich ecosystem with coral reefs, mangroves
• Large Fishing potential, Wave energy & Tidal energy potential, Zone of Hydrocarbons
• Generation of south west Monsoon