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to east into Bay of Bengal. The prominent plains are known as the Northern Circars in
rivers include the Godavari, Mahanadi, the northern part and as the Coromandel
Krishna and Kaveri. The Godavari basin is Coast in the southern part. Lake Chilika, the
next only to Ganga basin. largest salt water lake in India, lies in the
The north-western part covering Maharashtra eastern coast.
and parts of Madhya Pradesh as well as 5. The Islands
parts of Gujarat is covered by lava-sheets. The two groups of Islands are Laksha-
This region is known as the Deccan Trap. It dweeep in Arabian Sea off Kerala Coast and
may be mentioned that very long ago Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of
volcanoes erupted in this region. Bengal. The Lakshadweeep Islands are
4. The Coastal Plains hardened skeletons of tiny sea animals
India has a long coastline which runs across called coral polyps. They are generally
the Arabian Sea in the west and the Bay of horse-shoe shaped called atolls. The
Bengal in the east. The Indian coastal plains Andaman and Nicobar islands are mountain
are divided into the western coastal plains tops of submerged mountain ranges. The
and the eastern coastal plains. Andaman and Nicobar are bigger in size.
Many of the islands on both sides are
uninhabited. Both are of great importance
to India’s defense as well as economy.
Corals
Have you ever considered why the ground in
many of the islands of Lakshadweeep group
looks white? These islands are made of corals.
The corals are the skeletons of tiny marine
animals called polyps. When the polyps die their
skeletons are left behind, which over time join
together and accumulate near the sea coasts.
Coastal Plains
These skeletons are usually very hard. When
The western coast is a narrow strip of land
many skeletons are accumulated year after year,
which is located between the Western Ghats
they develop into a huge landmass and project
and the Arabian Sea. It consists of three
sections. The northern part of the coast is
known as the Konkan (Mumbai-Goa). The
central part is called the Kannad plain and
the southern stretch is known as the
Malabar coast.
The eastern coastal plains are located
between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of
Bengal. These plains are wider than the
western coastal plains. Many rivers such as
the Krishna and Godavari have formed
deltas in this region. The eastern coastal Coral Reef
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