Coastal plains of India
Also called: Coasts of India · Topic: Structure and Physiography of India: Himalayas, Plains, Peninsula, Coasts and Islands · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 2 "Structure and Physiography"; Class 11, Ch 6 "Landforms and their Evolution"
Meaning
The coastal plains of India are two strips of low land between the Peninsular plateau and the sea. The western coastal plain is a submerged coast, where land sank under the sea. It is narrow, has no deltas, and its drowned river mouths give good natural harbours. The eastern coastal plain is an emergent coast, where land rose out of the sea. It is broad, with large deltas and lagoons, but it has fewer good harbours.
Example
On the west, the Konkan coast of Maharashtra is narrow and rocky, and Mumbai's port uses the drowned coast. On the east, the Godavari and Krishna build large deltas on the broad Northern Circars plain in Andhra Pradesh.
Don't confuse with
- Submerged coast vs emergent coast: a submerged coast has sunk, so river mouths become estuaries and harbours, as on the west coast. An emergent coast has risen, so it is broad and flat with deltas and lagoons, as on the east coast.
Related concepts
- Western coastal plain
- Konkan coast
- Malabar Coast
- Kerala backwaters
- Eastern coastal plain
- Coromandel Coast