DWIEP

Geography

Island code

INKA065

Name of the island

Coconut Island or St. Mary

Island note

St. Mary's Islands is one among the 34 notified National Geological Heritage Monument Sites of India due to the formation of basaltic columnar rock

Type of island

Oceanic

State / UT

Karnataka State

Location

Arabian Sea (The island is located 7 km from the Malpe Port in Udupi district)

Geographical coordinates

13°22'48.00"N
74°40'23.52"E

Area

0.068585 sq.km

Area range

Less than 2 sq.km

Climate

This island is located in the Arabian Sea, off the coast of Malpe town in Udupi district. The climate is tropical, with significant rainfall in most months, the short dry season having little effect on the overall climate. The climate is classified as Am according to the Koppen-Geiger climate classification system. The average annual temperature is 27.2 °C and the average precipitation is 4360 mm (Source: climate-data.org)

Terrain

Rocky

Elevation / Altitude

10 m

Soil type

sandy

Fresh water sources

Nil

Hydrology

No information available

Demography

Habitation

Uninhabited (Not permanent settlement)

Population

Nil

Language

Hindi, Kannada, Konkani, Tulu and Tamil

Religion

Not applicable

Ethnic groups

Not applicable

Traditional knowledge

No

Shoreline Characteristics

Coastline / Shoreline

0.85 km

Tidal amplitude

Mangalore port data (1.78m)

Bathymetry

-

Infrastructure and Communication

Infrastructure

Island forest office, rest room, toilet, resting huts, huts (guest house), ferry point and walking lane

Communication

No

Transportation

Transport

This island, located 5 km from the Malpe Port, Udupi district and ferry service is available daily

Nearest Port / Jetty / Harbour

Malpe Port

Distance to nearest Port / Jetty / Harbour

5.0 km from the Malpe Port

Shortest distance from mainland

3.5 km from the locality, Thottam

Nearest Airport

61.0 km from the Mangalore International Airport from Malpe beach

Activities

Agriculture

Coconut plantation

Commercial activity

Tourism activities such as water sporting, and coconut trees cultivation by private land owners for income

Industries

Nil

Tourism

Tourist places

Yes

A scenic view of St Mary Island

Honeycomb structures of Basalt Rock

Water sports activity

Tourism activity

Yes

Biodiversity and Conservation

Flora

Patches of Avicennia 1. Cocos nucifera 2. Ipomoea pescaprae 3. I. tuba 4. Clerodendrum inerme 5. Premma serratifolia 6. Pongomia pinnata 7. Calophyllum inophyllum 8. Ficus asperrima 9. Streblus asper 10. Zizyphus jujube 11. Lanatana camara 12. Tridax sp 13. Strobilanthus sp 14. Crotolaria sp 15. Sida acuta 16. Aristolochia indica 17. Avicenna sp 18. Ziziphus jujuba 19. Syzygium geylanicum 20. Morinda citrifolia 21. Scaevola frutescence 22. Clerodendron inerme (Madhyastha et al., 2003)

Fauna

Rich in inter tidal organisms. Crabs, sea anemones, oysters, gastropods and Balanus and many avifauna are quite common. (Madhyastha et al., 2003)

Medicinal plants

No information available

Type of forest

No information available

Endangered species

-

Flagship species

No information available

Keystone species

No information available

Conservation status
(Protected / Unprotected with ESA /
Unprotected without ESA)

Unprotected with ESAs

Sanctuary

-

Ecological Sensitive Areas (ESAs)

No

Hazards

Natural hazards

Cyclone and Flood

Seismic sensitivity

As per the Seismic Zone Map of India, this region is assigned under the Moderate Damage Risk Zone (MSK) VII (Source: NDMA, 2016)

High Flood Line (HFL) / Tsunami

This island comes under the moderate risk zone (V_b=39m/s) as per the Wind and Cyclone Vulnerability Map of India (Source: NDMA, 2016) As per the Flood hazard Map of India, the probable maximum surge height of this region is 3 to 4 m (Source: NDMA, 2016)

Environmental Issues

Environment-current issues

Plastic pollution, discharge and littering of wastes (Madhyastha et al., 2003)

Data Web on Island Environment and Protection (DWIEP)

Coastal and Oceanic Island Database of India

Coconut Island or St. Mary

View

View

View