Gulf
of Kachchh:
Gulf
of Kachchh, the largest coastal habitat in the West coast of India in the state
of Gujarat (20º15' to 23º35' N and 60º05' to 70º22' E) is encompassing over 1000
km long shoreline covering an area of 7350 km². It is a shallow water body with
depth extending from 60 m at the mouth to less than 20 m at the head of the Gulf.
While the average depth is 30 m, the minimum depth is upto 5 m, around Lushington
island. The Gulf is delimited in the north by the Kachchh region and in the south
by the Saurashtra region. The Marine National Park and Marine Sanctuary are situated
along the southern shore of Gulf from Okha (22º30'N, 69º00'E) and extends eastwards
to the vicinity of Khijadia (22º30'N, 70º40'E). This include 42 islands and a
complex of fringing reefs backed by mudflats and sandflats, coastal salt marsh
and mangrove forests, sand and rocky beaches which support a great diversity of
fauna and flora. The area also has many islands fringing with corals and mangroves
which provide a disturbance free habitats for many species of nesting birds. Besides
these islands, there are a number of wave-cuts, eroded shallow banks like the
Pirothan, Deda, Donna, Sankhodhar Beyt, Paga, Adatra and Boria, which accounts
for coral islands.
Fig: Ecologically Important Area in Gujarat:
Gulf of Kachchh
The
coral formations in this area are the only living reefs between the Arabian Gulf
and the Laccadives. The intertidal region is sandy and muddy or with sandstone's
of vast expanse and prolonged exposure. There is a clear indication of a relative
change in the levels of land and the sea in the past as is evidenced by the raised
coral reef at Okha, still intact rear the railway station, as well as clays and
foraminiferal limestone of Oligocene-pliocene antiquity, near Dwarka. About 100
km towards the north of the Gulf of Kachchh, is located the opening of the Indus
river, discharging an annual suspended load of 435 million tones. Some of the
suspended sediments are transported in a southeasterly direction into Gulf of
Kachchh, where the sediments are in transit, under the action of the high velocity
tidal currents.
The
spectacular Gulf of Kachchh is the home for more than 800 species of organisms;
32 hard (Scleractinia) and 12 soft (Alcyonaria) corals, 150-200 species of fishes,
more than 100 species of algae, great diversity of sponges and worms, brittlestars,
marine turtles and other reptiles, over 200 species of migratory and resident
bird species and also the rare and endangered marine mammal, the dugong. The area
of important wetland classes in Gulf of Kachchh has been described in Table 2
Table 2.
Wetland
classes and its area extent of Gulf of Kachchh
| Sl
No | Wetland
classes | Area
in km² |
| 1 |
Mangrove
| 1307.5 |
| 2 |
Coral reef |
406.5 |
| 3 |
Mud flat |
1258 |
| 4 |
Sandy area |
67.76 |
| 5 |
Forest |
1228 |
| 6 |
Plantation |
65.37 |
Species
Diversity click
here
