- The Physiographic characteristics of the two group of islands,
located at far off distances from Mainland India, are quite different.
Both are located in the warm tropical seas.
(A) Lakshadweep Islands
in the Arabian Sea:-
a)
This is a group of 36 islands, inlets (bay) and
reefs located in the Arabian Sea. They form the northernmost portion of a
submerged mountain range containing Lakshadweep-Maldives and Chagos group of
islands in the Arabian Sea.
b)
Study the map that shows the Lakshadweep group
of islands. You will notice that these are the top portions of submerged
isolated hills that form a north-south chain.
c)
These island are of coral origin, which are
supposed to have been developed around Volcanic peaks. They are in the form of
atolls, reefs or banks. The land in any island does not rise above 5m from sea
level and many of the reefs and some islands become visible only during low
tide. these islands have no hills or streams.
(B) The
Andaman-Nicobar Islands:-
a)
This group of islands includes as many as 572
islands of varying sizes, of which about 38 are inhabited. Though normally
referred to as Andaman-Nicobar Islands, It consists of two distinct groups
separated by a deep channel called Ten
Degree Channel.
b)
The differ considerably in terms of
physiography. In Andaman and Nicobar the coral exist more or less in the form
of fringing reefs around some of the islands.
