St. Mary's Islands, Karnataka
|
St. Mary's Islands St. Mary's Islands of Columnar Basaltic Lava |
|
|---|---|
| Island | |
 |
|
 St. Mary's Islands
|
|
| Coordinates: 13°22′46″N 74°40′23″E / 13.3795°N 74.6730°ECoordinates: 13°22′46″N 74°40′23″E / 13.3795°N 74.6730°E | |
| Country | India |
| State | Karnataka |
| District | Udupi |
| Elevation | 10 m (30 ft) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Tulu, Kannada |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Four Islands -Coconut Island, the North Island, the Daryabahadurgarh Island and the South Island | |
St. Mary's Islands, also known as Coconut Island and Thonsepar, are a set of four small islands in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Malpe in Udupi, Karnataka, India. They are known for their distinctive geological formation of columnar basaltic lava (pictured).
Scientific studies indicate that the basalt of the St. Mary's Islands was formed by sub-aerial subvolcanic activity, because at that time Madagascar was attached to India. The rifting of Madagascar took place around 88 million years ago.
The islands form one of the four geological monuments in Karnataka state, one of the 26 Geological Monuments of India declared by the Geological Survey of India in 2001. The monument is considered an important site for "Geo Tourism".
According to folk legend, in the year 1498, Vasco da Gama landed at St. Mary's Islands on his journey from Portugal, fixed a cross on the island and named one of these islands, O Padrão de Santa Maria, as a dedication to Mother Mary, before proceeding to Kozhikode in Kerala. It is from this name that the islands got their current name.
Out of the four islands, the northernmost island has a basaltic rock formation in a hexagonal form, the only one of its type in India. The island covers an area which is about 500 m (1,640.4 ft) in length with a width of 100 m (328.1 ft). It has prominent coconut trees, its cover reflecting an azure south sea colour, and hence the island is also called Coconut Island. There is no habitation on the islands.
The north-south aligned islands form a non-continuous chain. The four largest islands are Coconut Island, North Island, Daryabahadurgarh Island and South Island.
The islands are generally aligned parallel to the coast line, which provide clues to the phenomenon of uplift of the west coast of India. The islands' terraces and elevated beach deposits along with the tide gauge data at the dead oyster beach in Suratkal (further south of the islands) have been deduced as proof of the reported fall in sea level of about 1 mm/per year.
...
Wikipedia