Coastal Plains
Notes
The Peninsular Plateau is flanked by two coastal plains.
Basis | Western Coastal Plain | Eastern Coastal Plain |
|---|---|---|
Sea | Arabian Sea | Bay of Bengal |
Width | Narrow (about 10-25 km) | Wide (about 100-120 km) |
Nature | Submergent coast | Emergent coast |
Rivers | Short, fast; estuaries (Narmada, Tapi) | Large deltas (Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri) |
Ports | Natural harbours (Kochi, Mumbai) | Fewer natural harbours (Visakhapatnam is an exception) |
Rainfall | Heavy (SW monsoon) | Less (Tamil Nadu gets the NE monsoon rain) |
Western Coastal Plain
- Gujarat coast (Kathiawar and Kutch), Konkan (Mumbai to Goa), Kannad (Goa to Mangalore) and Malabar (Mangalore to Kanyakumari).
- The Malabar coast has lagoons and backwaters (kayals), such as Vembanad.
Eastern Coastal Plain
- Utkal plains (Odisha; the Mahanadi delta; Chilika lagoon), Andhra plains (the Northern Circars; the Godavari-Krishna delta; Kolleru freshwater lake and Pulicat brackish lagoon), and the Coromandel Coast (Tamil Nadu; the Kaveri delta).
Major ports: West: Kandla (Deendayal), Mumbai, JNPT (Nhava Sheva), Mormugao, New Mangalore, Kochi. East: Kolkata and Haldia, Paradip, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Ennore, Tuticorin (V.O. Chidambaranar).
Significance: fertile deltas (rice), fisheries, ports and trade, salt, tourism, and mangroves (the Sundarbans) that protect against cyclones.
Key Points
- Western plain: narrow, submergent, estuaries; Eastern plain: wide, emergent, deltas.
- Konkan, Kannad, Malabar on the west; Utkal, Northern Circars, Coromandel on the east.
- Backwaters on the Malabar coast; Chilika and Pulicat lagoons on the east.
- Tamil Nadu gets rain from the north-east monsoon.
- Major ports on both coasts.
MCQs
Q1. The coastal plain of Tamil Nadu is known as the:
(a) Konkan
(b) Malabar
(c) Coromandel
(d) Kannad Ans:
(c).
Q2. Which of the following is a feature of the western coastal plain?
(a) Large deltas
(b) Estuaries
(c) Wide plain
(d) Emergent coast Ans:
(b).
Q3. Chilika Lake lies on the:
(a) Malabar Coast
(b) Coast of Odisha
(c) Konkan Coast
(d) Coromandel Coast Ans:
(b). Utkal plains.