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Physiography of Coastal plains UPSC| Physiographic Regions of India UPSC | Geography of India| UPSC | UP-PCS | State PCS

The Coastal plains of India are one of the six physiographic regions of India, other five Physiographic regions of India are:

  • Himalayan and northeastern mountain
  • The northern plains
  • Peninsular India
  • The great Indian Desert
  • The islands

Coastal plains of India:

  • The coastal plain is flat land and is adjacent to the coast.
  • Coastal plains are the result of erosion and deposition activities of geomorphological processes, upliftment (formed by land uplift/deposition or fall of sea level), and submersion (formed by fault or sea-level rise).
  • The narrow belt of the Indian Coastal Plains is along with the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.
  • The length of the coastal plains of India is approximately 7516.6 km.
To make it easy to understand; the coastal plains of India are divided into two types:
  • Western Coastal plains [along with the Arabian Sea]
  • Eastern Coastal Plains [along with the Bay of Bengal]
Coastal Plains


Western coastal plains of India:
    • The western coastal plains of India lie between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea.
    • It extends from Gujarat's Kachchha region to  Cape Comorin in Kanyakumari.
    • It is narrower than the eastern coastal plains.
    • Because of the narrow size of western coastal plains, rivers flowing through these coastal plains do not form deltas. Rivers flowing through this region form creeks and estuaries.
      The western coast may be divided into the following divisions:
        • Kachchh and Kathiawar coast in Gujarat.
          • Konkan Coast( Daman to Goa); Konkan coast is formed by the submergence process.
            • Malabar coast in Kerala; from Goa to Kerala. Malabar coast is formed by the emergence process. Backwaters or "Kayals" are found on the Malabar coast which is famous for fishing and inland navigation.
            • Ashtamudi lake is situated on the Malabar coast.
            Important Landforms in western coastal plains:
            • Gulf of Cambay or Gulf of Khambhat
            • Creek; narrow waterway.
            • Estuaries formed by Narmada and Tapi
            • Lakes, lagoon, and backwater(Kayal) on Kerala Coast.
            Coastal Plains



            Eastern coastal plains of India:
              • The Eastern coastal plains of India lie between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal.
              • It is broader than the western coastal plains.
              • It starts from the Gangetic delta and ends at the Southern point of Tamilnadu which is at Kanniyakumari.
              • The largest salt lake is Chilika lakes located on the eastern coast of Odisha.
              • There are well-developed Delta in the Eastern Coastal Plains.
              • Chilika, Pulicat, and Kolleru lakes are important lakes on eastern coastal plains.
                  Eastern Coast can be divided into the following divisions:
                  • Utkal coast from Hoogle to Mahanadi.
                  • Andhra Coast from Mahanadi to Pulicat lake.
                  • Northern Circar is comprised of Utkal Coast and Andhra Coast.
                  • Coromandel coast; From Mahanadi to Kanyakumari.

                  Important landforms in eastern plains:
                  • The world's largest delta, the Sundarbans delta is located on the eastern coast of India.
                  • The famous deltas are formed by Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri.
                  • A rich agricultural system prevails on the Coromandel Coast while subsistence agriculture is practiced on the Utkal Coast.
                  • Chilika, Pulicat, and Kolleru lakes are important lakes in the eastern coastal plains.

                    Significance of Coastal Plains:
                    • Coastal plains have good fertile soil and rainfall is also abundant here, so the coastal plains are famous for different types of crops like paddy. Apart from this, cash crops like coconut are also cultivated.
                    • Major and minor ports are found in the coastal plains through which we do business from abroad.
                    • The coastal plains are the center of fishing.
                    • Small landforms such as reefs, mangroves, lagoons, estuaries, etc., attract tourists and this provides the livelihood of the coastal people and the currency of the country.

                    Answer the following questions:


                    1. The western coastal strip, south of Goa is referred to as 
                    a) Coromandel 
                    b) Konkan 
                    c) Kannad 
                    d) Northern Circar

                    Answer. c) Kannad 


                    2. Which of the following coastal plains receive rainfall by North East Monsoon?
                    a) Malabar Coast
                    b) Coromandel Coast
                    c) Northern Circar
                    d) Konkan coast


                    Answer. b) Coromandal Coast


                    3. The largest Saltwater lake in India, Chilika lake is located on which coast of India?
                    a) Coromandel 
                    b) Konkan 
                    c) Kannad 
                    d) Northern Circar

                    Answer. d) Northern Circar


                    4. Mumbai port is located in which of the following coasts?
                    a) Coromandel 
                    b) Konkan 
                    c) Kannad 
                    d) Northern Circar

                    Answer. b) Konkan 


                    5. Ashtamudi lake is situated on which of the following coast?
                    a) Coromandel 
                    b) Konkan 
                    c) Kannad 
                    d) Malabar Coast


                    Answer. d) Malabar Coast


                    6. Well-developed backwaters or "Kayals" landforms are situated in which of the following coast?
                    a) Coromandel 
                    b) Konkan 
                    c) Kannad 
                    d) Malabar Coast

                    Answer. d) Malabar Coast


                    7. Which of the following is located on the western coast of India?
                    a) Utkal Coast
                    b) Coromandel coast
                    c) Carnatic Plain
                    d) Konkan coast


                    Answer. d) Konkan coast


                    8. Which of the following coast is an example of a submergence coastline?
                    a) Konkan coast
                    b) Malabar Coast
                    c) Coromandel coast
                    d) Utkal Coast


                    Answer. a) a) Konkan coast



                    9. Which of the following has the second-largest coastline in India?
                    a) Gujarat
                    b) Karnataka
                    c) Tamil Nadu
                    d) Andhra Pradesh


                    Answer. c) Tamil Nadu has the second largest coastline followed by Gujarat.


                    10. Which of the following has the smallest coastline in India?
                    a) Goa
                    b) Kerala
                    c) Odisha
                    d) West Bengal

                    Answer. d) West Bengal has the smallest coastline in India. 




                    11. What is the total length of India's coastline?
                    a) 2094 km
                    b) 5422 km
                    c) 7516 km
                    d) 9516.6 km

                    Answer. c) 7516 km


                    12. What is the total length of the coastline of mainland India?
                    a) 2094 km
                    b) 5422 km
                    c) 7516 km
                    d) 9516.6 km

                    Answer.b) 5422 km


                    13. How many coastal states are in India?
                    a) 5
                    b) 6
                    c)9
                    d) 11

                    Answer: c) 9



                    Answer the following questions:
                    • Why is the western coastal plain is devoid of any delta? (NCERT)
                    • What are the significances of the Coastal plains of India?

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