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(i) The Gujarat Coastal Plain


The Gujarat plain covers almost the entire state of Gujarat, except the districts of Banaskantha and Sabarkantha. It is formed by the alluvial deposits of Sabarmati, Malli, Luni, and numerous tiny parallel consequent streams. Part of this plain is the product of depositional activity of the winds and recession of the sea. It contains the Gondwana rocks (Umia Scries), resting over the marine Jurassic rocks and capped by Lower Cretaceous (Apatian) beds. The Deccan lava lies over the Umia series.


The eastern section of Gujarat Plain is a projected jet of Sindhu-Ganga alluvial tract in Peninsular India. This projection is the outcome of an extensive Pleistocene sedimentation. Present rivers have further advanced this deposition to the Gulf of Khambat. Among the highlands, mention may be made of the Arasur mountains in eastern Gujarat, the Rajpipla Hills (Satpura)-famous for agate quaries, the Parnera Hills in Bulsar district, Sahyadris in the southern side and igneous complex of the Girnar Hills (Gorakhnath Peak, 1117 m) and Mandav Hills in Kathiwad.


The Rann of Kachchh is an extensive tract of naked tidal mudflats transected by abandoned and live creeks. The Gulf of Kachchh separates the Rann of Kachchh from the Kathiawar Peninsula. The salt in the soil makes this low-lying marshy area almost barren and unproductive. The w hitish vertebrae of salts appear as white bony structures of the dried creeks. Live creeks form dendritic pattern of drainage and there has been accentuation in this pattern due to earthquakes. South of the Rann lies Kuchchh, formerly an island, which is almost surrounded by the Rann except in the south-west.