Sri Vijaya Puram, Aug. 1: Indian subcontinent exhibits imprints of varied geological processes through ages and is a storehouse of interesting geological features. Ministry of Mines has enlisted some of those locales as Geoheritage sites. It is imperative that the Tourist Map of India would be greatly enriched by the inclusion of these geological monuments and alike, so that the visitors from the country and abroad can have an insight in the real past.
With the objective to achieving this goal, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) jointly with Andaman and Nicobar Administration have worked to highlight the geological importance of four Geoheritage sites in A&N Islands to promote Geo-tourism in the Islands. The Art and Culture Department, A&N Administration is the Nodal Agency in this regard. A team of senior officers from GSI headed by Dr. Santanu Bhattacharjee, the Deputy Director General, West Bengal and Andaman Nicobar Islands, GSI visited these Islands recently and inspected these Geo Heritage sites. They also visited Science Centre at Sri Vijaya Puram and installed information boards about some of the Geo Heritage sites there. The four Geoheritage sites as identified by GSI in A&N Islands include:
Mud Volcanoes, Baratang Island, Middle Andaman
The mud volcanoes, situated in Baratang Island, Middle Andaman is active and erupt sporadically. The major volcano exposed has a diameter of around 100 m and a height of 30 m. Many volcanoes are reported from this area. Mud volcanoes erupt mud or clay accompanied by gas (methane) that typically build a conical body around its orifice. These are driven by subsurface over pressure and tectonic activity and often bear signatures of subsurface hydrocarbon horizons. As more mud oozes out and spills over the edge, it grows in size, gradually forming a miniature volcano with rich, creamy mud crater at the top. Other major attractions on the island include the limestone caves, Parrot Island, and Baludera Beach.
Natural Coral Bridge, Shaheed Dweep, South Andaman
Shaheed Dweep, is famous for its two living natural corals formed just like a bridge. It is stunning geological formation sculpted by the relentless forces of nature, stands as a majestic marvel in the rugged landscape, best seen during low tide. They represent the calcareous (limestone) sediments of Neil Formation and are characterized by coralline algae, corals and foraminfera.
Barren Island, Middle Andaman
Barren Island, Andaman Sea, is the only active volcano in the Indian subcontinent along a chain of volcanoes from Sumatra to Myanmar. It is built of lava flows and volcaniclastic deposits of basaltic compositions. It is part of a north-south trending volcanic arc extending between Sumatra and Myanmar. This small, uninhabited 3-km-wide island contains a roughly 2-km-wide caldera with walls 250-350 m high. The caldera, which is open to the sea on the west, was created during a major explosive eruption in the late Pleistocene that produced pyroclastic flow and surge deposits.
Narcondam Island, North Andaman
Narcondam Island represents a dormant inner arc volcano of the active Andaman–Java Subduction Complex in the Andaman Sea, formed of volcanic rocks. The island’s peak rises to 710 m above mean sea level and it covers an area of 6.8 km². It is an extinct volcano that was active till the Holocene period. The Narcondam volcano along with the active barren volcano lies in the chain of inner arc volcanoes extending from Mayanmar to Indonesia. It has got immense geological significance and ecological importance for being the exclusive habitat of the endangered Narcondam Hornbill.
The GSI team along with the local officials visited these sites and conducted extensive photography and videography of the locations for popularisation among the tourists. The signboards depicting the geo heritage site status was also put up for education and awareness of the sites. The Andaman and Nicobar Administration is under process of signing a MOU with GSI for research, documentation and management of these sites and other potential sites in the islands.