The Indian Desert, the coastal plains and the islands
West of the Aravallis lies the dry Thar Desert. A narrow western and a wide eastern coastal plain fringe the plateau, and two island groups lie offshore.
The Indian (Thar) Desert
- It lies along the western side of the Aravalli hills, in Rajasthan and Gujarat. The lesson calls it the ninth largest desert in the world.
- Its climate is arid (very dry) and semi-arid (dry). It gets less than 150 mm of rain a year.
- Why so dry? The moist monsoon winds blow parallel to the Aravallis, so they are not forced to rise and shed rain here.
- Plant cover is thin: cactus and thorny bushes.
- Luni is the main river. Other streams flow only after rain and then vanish into the sand.
- Sand dunes are common. Water is found at an oasis, a fertile spot in the desert with water.
- Its people keep rich cultures and traditions alive.
Western and eastern coastal plains
| Point | Western coastal plain | Eastern coastal plain |
|---|---|---|
| Sea | Arabian Sea | Bay of Bengal |
| Width | Narrow, about 10 to 20 km | Wider, about 120 km on average |
| Extent | From the Rann of Kachchh to Kanniyakumari | Along the Bay of Bengal, from Odisha to Tamil Nadu |
| Parts | Konkan (Mumbai to Goa), Karnataka coast (Goa to Mangalore), Malabar (Mangalore to Kanniyakumari) | Northern Circars in the north, Coromandel coast in the south |
| Special features | Lagoons such as Vembanad on the Malabar coast | Deltas of the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri; Chilika lake, the largest saltwater lake of India, in Odisha |
Life on the coasts
- The coastal plains grow rice, coconut, pepper and other spices.
- They are centres of trade and commerce, with many ports.
- Fishing is a main activity, so many fishing villages line both coasts.
Two groups of islands
Both groups are rich in plants and animals. Underwater sports such as snorkelling and scuba diving make them popular with tourists. Island counts: your NIOS lesson gives 204 and 43, but the official counts are about 572 (Andaman and Nicobar) and 36 (Lakshadweep).
On the map
- Thar Desert: western Rajasthan, west of the Aravallis, up to the Pakistan border.
- Luni river: rises in the Aravallis near Ajmer and flows south-west into the Rann of Kachchh.
- Rann of Kachchh: a salt marsh in north-west Gujarat, near the Pakistan border.
- Konkan coast: the coast of Maharashtra and Goa, from Mumbai to Goa.
- Malabar coast: the coast of Kerala, from Mangalore to Kanniyakumari; the Vembanad lagoon lies here.
- Northern Circars: the northern part of the east coast, in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
- Coromandel coast: the southern part of the east coast, mainly Tamil Nadu.
- Chilika lake: on the Odisha coast, just south of the Mahanadi delta.
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands: a north-south chain in the Bay of Bengal. Capital Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair until 2024). Barren Island lies north-east of it.
- Lakshadweep: small coral islands in the Arabian Sea, west of the Kerala coast; capital Kavaratti.
Coconut, pepper and fish from the Malabar coast reach kitchens all over India. In the Thar, families store rainwater in covered pits called tankas because the desert gets so little rain.
3 marks: “Give any three features of the Thar (Indian) Desert, with the reason for its dryness.” (1) It lies west of the Aravallis in Rajasthan and Gujarat. (2) It is arid, with less than 150 mm of rain a year, because winds blow parallel to the Aravallis. (3) Plant cover is thin, with cactus and thorny bushes. (4) Luni is the main river; other streams vanish into the sand. (5) Sand dunes and oases. Any three.
2 marks: “State two differences between the western and the eastern coastal plains.” The western plain is narrow (10 to 20 km); the eastern plain is wider (about 120 km). The western plain has lagoons and short rivers; the eastern plain has large deltas of the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri.
1 marks: “Which is the largest saltwater lake of India?” Chilika lake, in Odisha.
West coast from north to south: Konkan, Karnataka, Malabar (K, K, M). East coast: Circars up north, Coromandel down south.