The Western Coastal Plain:
It stretches from the Rann of Kachchh in the north to Kanniyakumari in the south. With the notable exception in Gujarat, the western coastal plain is quite narrow and has an average width of about 65 km.
The Gujarat Plain, lying towards the east of Kachchh and Kathiawar, was formed by the Narmada, Tapi, Mahi and Sabarmati rivers. It includes the southern part of Gujarat and the coastal areas of the Gulf of Khambhat. It has a chain of saline marshes near the coast, which are flooded during high tides.
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The Konkan Plain lying towards the south of Gujarat extends up to Goa for a distance of about 500 km. Its width is about 50 to 80 km. It has features of marine erosion like cliffs, reefs and islands. South of
Mumbai, the Konkan coast has a series of bays and sand beaches. The northern part of Konkan is sandy, while the southern part is rocky and rugged.
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The Karnataka Plain extends from Goa to Mangalore, and has an average width of about 30 to 50 km. At some places, the streams coming from the Western Ghats descend sharply along steep slope and make waterfalls like the Jog Falls (about 270 metres).
The Malabar Plain lies between Mangalore and Kanniyakumari. It extends for about 550 km and its width varies between 25 and 100 km. The main characteristics of the Malabar coastal plain is the existence of lakes, lagoons, backwaters, (locally called kayals) and spits. Most of the backwaters are parallel to the coastline. The lagoons and backwaters are linked by canals to provide easy navigation with the help of small country boats.
The Eastern Coastal Plain:
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i. It stretches from the delta region of West Bengal to Kanniyakumari.
ii. It lies mostly between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal.
iii. The Eastern Coastal Plain is more extensive and wide than the Western Coastal Plain.
iv. A major part of this plain was formed by the alluvial deposits brought by the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri rivers.
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v. The average width is about 120 km and it reaches upto 200 km in the deltaic regions.
vi. The monotony of the plain relief is broken by the presence of numerous hills, especially in the southern part.
vii. The region has a straight shoreline with well- defined beaches of sand, such as the Marina beach in Chennai.
viii. The coastal plain between Mahanadi and Krishna • rivers is known as the Northern Circars.
ix. The part lying between Krishna and Kaveri rivers is called the Coromandel coast.
The Utkal Plain is found along the coast of Orissa and extends for about 400 km and includes the deltaic region of Mahanadi River. The coastline is smooth and fringed with sand dunes. Chilika Lake, the biggest lake in India, is located towards the south of the Mahanadi river delta.
The Andhra Plain lies between Berhampur and Pulicat Lake. It has been formed by the deltas of the Godavari and the Krishna rivers. The Andhra plain has straight coast and has few sites for good harbours. Vishakhapatnam and Machilipatnam are notable exceptions.
The Tamil Nadu plain stretches from the Pulicat Lake to Kanniyakumari for a distance of about 675 km. Its average width is about 100 km. The fertile soil and well-developed irrigation facilities have made the Kaveri river delta the granary of South India.