Consider the following statements: Majority of the islands of India...
Option (b) is the correct answer.
Statement 1 is incorrect. India has 615 islands/islets. Majority of them, around 572 islands/islets are located in the Bay of Bengal and remaining 43 islands/islets are located in the Arabian Sea. Apart from these, there are some coral islands in the Gulf of Mannar and Khambhat regions and there are some offshore islands along the mouth of Ganga river.
The Indian Island groups are generally grouped into two:
- The Andaman and Nicobar Islands located in the Bay of Bengal
- The Lakshadweep and Minicoy Islands located in the Arabian Sea (adjacent to Kerala coast) Lakshadweep Islands situated in the Arabian Sea is a group of 36 islands having an area of 32 square kilometres and extending between 8 N and 12 N latitude.
The main islands under the Lakshadweep Islands group are: - Kavaratti
- Agatti
- Minicoy
- Amini
These islands were earlier known as Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands.
- The name Lakshadweep was adopted on 1 November 1973
- These islands are separated from one another by very narrow straits.
- The Lakshadweep Islands group is a Union Territory administered by the President through a Lt. Governor.
- It is the smallest Union Territory of India.
- Kavaratti is the administrative capital of the Lakshadweep Islands. It is also the principal town of the Union Territory.
- It is a uni-district Union Territory and is comprised of 12 atolls, three reefs, five submerged banks and ten inhabited islands.
- The name Lakshadweep in Malayalam and Sanskrit means 'a hundred thousand islands'.
- The Lakshadweep Islands are located at a distance of 280 km to 480 km off the Kerala coast.
- These islands are a part of the Reunion Hotspot volcanism.
- Statement 2 is correct. The entire Lakshadweep islands group is made up of coral deposits.
- Fishing is the main occupation on which livelihoods of many people depend.
- The Lakshadweep islands have storm beaches consisting of unconsolidated pebbles, shingles, cobbles and boulders.
- Minicoy Island, located to the south of nine-degree channel is the largest island among the Lakshadweep group.
- 8 Degree Channel (8 degrees north latitude) separates islands of Minicoy and Maldives.
- Statement 3 is incorrect. 9 Degree Channel (9 degrees north latitude) separates the island of Minicoy from the main Lakshadweep archipelago.
- In Lakshadweep region, there is an absence of forests.
- Pitti Island is an important breeding place for sea turtles and for a number of pelagic birds such as the brown noddy, lesser crested tern and greater crested tern. The Pitti island has been declared a bird sanctuary.
Consider the following statements: Majority of the islands of India...
The correct answer is option 'B' - Statement 2 only.
Explanation:
Majority of the islands of India are located in the Arabian Sea:
This statement is incorrect. The majority of the islands of India are actually located in the Bay of Bengal, not the Arabian Sea. The Bay of Bengal is located to the east of India and is home to several islands such as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which are a union territory of India.
The islands of Arabian Sea are mainly coral formations:
This statement is correct. The islands in the Arabian Sea are predominantly coral formations. Coral islands are formed from the deposition of coral polyps and their skeletons over thousands of years. The Lakshadweep Islands, located in the Arabian Sea, are a group of coral islands.
Lakshadweep islands are separated from the Maldives islands by the 9-degree channel:
This statement is incorrect. The Lakshadweep Islands are actually located off the southwestern coast of India, and they are not separated from the Maldives islands by the 9-degree channel. The 9-degree channel is a narrow stretch of water located between the Little Andaman Island and the Great Nicobar Island in the Bay of Bengal, not in the Arabian Sea.
In summary, statement 1 is incorrect because the majority of the islands of India are located in the Bay of Bengal, not the Arabian Sea. Statement 2 is correct as the islands in the Arabian Sea are mainly coral formations. Statement 3 is incorrect because the Lakshadweep Islands are not separated from the Maldives islands by the 9-degree channel. Therefore, the correct answer is option 'B' - Statement 2 only.
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