Q1.
Look at the physical map of India in your school atlas or wall map and find the names of five rivers that flow into the Bay of Bengal. Find out India’s coastal states and discuss the difference between the western and eastern coastal plains.
Answer
Five rivers that flow into the Bay of Bengal: the Ganga, the Brahmaputra, the Mahanadi, the Godavari and the Krishna. (The Kaveri is a sixth.)
India's coastal States and Union Territories — nine States and four UTs:
| West coast | East coast | Union Territories |
|---|---|---|
| Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala | Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal | Daman & Diu / Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar Islands |
The difference between the two coastal plains:
| Western coastal plain | Eastern coastal plain | |
|---|---|---|
| Width | Narrow — the Western Ghats come right down to the sea (see Fig. 1.34) | Wide, with broad open plains |
| Rivers | Short and swift, rising in the Western Ghats | Long and slow — Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri |
| Where they meet the sea | Estuaries, coves and creeks; Narmada and Tapti estuaries are the largest | Large fertile deltas |
| Other features | Alluvial deposits from short rivers; many ports and cities, such as Mumbai | Lagoons — Chilika Lake and Pulicat Lake |
| Sea | Arabian Sea | Bay of Bengal |
Why the two coasts differ: the peninsula tilts eastward. Western rivers have only a short, steep run to the sea, so they carry little sediment and dump it quickly into deep water — an estuary. Eastern rivers cross the whole plateau slowly, gathering sediment, and drop it in the shallow Bay of Bengal — a delta.