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Coastal Plains

Coastal Plains

Desert, Coasts and Islands · 2 min read

India has two strips of coastal plain, between the Ghats and the sea.

Coastal plains, lagoons and capes of IndiaWestern and Eastern coastal plains, lagoons, capes and deltas70°E75°E80°E85°E90°E95°E10°N15°N20°N25°N30°N35°NGUJARAT COASTKONKANKANNADMALABARUTKALNORTHERN CIRCARSCOROMANDELChilika LakePulicat LakeVembanad LakeKolleru LakeSundarbans (mangroves)BhitarkanikaRann of KutchGulf of KutchGulf of KhambhatKanyakumari (Cape Comorin)Point CalimereRameswaram / PambanDhanushkodiKrishna-Godavari deltaCauvery deltaMahanadi deltaARABIAN SEABAY OF BENGALCoastal plainsWestern coastal plainEastern coastal plainLagoon / gulfCape / pointMangrovesabout 500 kmNSchematic map, not to scale. Boundaries as per India's official position; use Survey of India maps for exact boundaries. JKEdusphere
Western (blue) and Eastern (orange) coastal plains with lagoons, capes and deltas. The east coast is wider and has big deltas; the west coast is narrow with estuaries.

Western coastal plain

  • Between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea; narrow, 10-80 km (average about 50 km); emergent / submerged coast with many estuaries and backwaters.
  • Rivers are short and swift; no deltas, only estuaries (Narmada, Tapi, Mandovi, Zuari).
PartStretchNotes
Gujarat coastKachchh-Kathiawar-Gulf of KhambhatLongest coast; Rann, Gulf of Kutch/Khambhat; Kandla, Mundra ports
KonkanDaman to Goa (Maharashtra)Rocky, indented; Mumbai, Ratnagiri
Kannad / KaravaliGoa to Mangalore (Karnataka)Narrow, rocky; Mangalore
MalabarMangalore to Kanyakumari (Kerala)Lagoons (kayals / backwaters), Vembanad, Kochi

Eastern coastal plain

  • Between Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal; wide (100-130 km); emergent coast; big deltas.
PartStretchNotes
Utkal plainOdisha (Mahanadi delta)Chilika lagoon, Konark, Paradip
Northern CircarsAP (Godavari-Krishna)Krishna-Godavari delta; Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam
Coromandel coastPulicat to Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu)Gets rain in Oct-Dec (NE monsoon); Kaveri delta

Lagoons and lakes of the coast

LagoonStateNotes
ChilikaOdishaLargest brackish-water lagoon in India; Ramsar 1981 (one of the first two Indian sites)
PulicatAP-TNSecond largest; separated by Sriharikota barrier island
KolleruAPFreshwater lake between Godavari and Krishna delta
VembanadKeralaLongest lake in India; Alappuzha, Kuttanad below sea level; Ramsar
AshtamudiKeralaKollam; Ramsar

Capes and gulfs

  • Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin) (southernmost mainland tip, where three seas meet), Point Calimere, Rameswaram / Pamban, Dhanushkodi, Gulf of Mannar, Palk Bay, Gulf of Kutch, Gulf of Khambhat.

Coast comparison

WesternEastern
WidthNarrowWide
Coast typeSubmerged, rockyEmergent, smooth
Rivers end inEstuariesDeltas
PortsNatural harboursFewer; artificial (Chennai)
RainHeavy (SW monsoon)Tamil Nadu in Oct-Dec

Keep practising

Notes are only half the work. Test yourself with questions and discuss doubts with other aspirants.

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Prepared for exam revision from NCERT, standard geography textbooks, the Census of India 2011, the India State of Forest Report, IMD, Ministry of Agriculture and other official sources. Maps are schematic teaching maps, not Survey of India maps, and zone boundaries are approximate. Figures such as production, capacity, counts of parks and ports, and census status change, so check the latest official source before relying on them. Found a mistake? Tell us.