north and south. The rivers flowing through this coastal plain do not form any delta. The Malabar coast has got certain distinguishing features in the form of ‘Kayals’ (backwaters), which are used for fishing, inland navigation and also due to its special attraction for tourists. Every year the famous Nehru Trophy Vallamkali (boat race) is held in Punnamada Kayal in Kerala.
As compared to the western coastal plain, the eastern coastal plain is broader and is an example of an emergent coast. There are well- developed deltas here, formed by the rivers flowing eastward in to the Bay of Bengal. These include the deltas of the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri. Because of its emergent nature, it has less number of ports and harbours.
The continental shelf extends up to km into the sea, which makes it difficult for the development of good ports and harbours. Name some ports on the eastern coast. The Islands There are two major island groups in India – one in the Bay of Bengal and the other in the Arabian Sea. The Bay of Bengal island groups consist of about islands/islets.
These are situated roughly between °N- °N and °E - °E. The two principal groups of islets include the Ritchie’s archipelago and the Labrynth island. The entire group of island is Figure . : Coastal Plains during the Mesozoic era, this region was under the sea.
This can be corroborated by the evidence available at wood fossils park at Aakal and marine deposits around Brahmsar, near Jaisalmer (The approximate age of the wood- fossils is estimated to be million years). Though the underlying rock structure of the desert is an extension of the Peninsular plateau, yet, due to extreme arid conditions, its surface features have been carved by physical weathering and wind actions. Some of the well pronounced desert land features present here are mushroom rocks, shifting dunes and oasis (mostly in its southern part). On the basis of the orientation, the desert can be divided into two parts: the northern part is sloping towards Sindh and the southern