DWIEP

Geography

Island code

INKA072

Name of the island

St. Mary Island Middle Rock 4

Island note

Rocky outcrop

Type of island

Oceanic Island

State / UT

Karnataka State

Location

Arabian Sea (The rock is located 3.5 km from the Malpe Port in Udupi district)

Geographical coordinates

13°21'36.00"N
74°40'58.08"E

Area

0.000575 sq.km

Area range

Less than 2 sq.km

Climate

This rocky outcrop 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

1 m

Soil type

The Udupi-Kannada coastal district consists of three major types of soils i) sandy soil covering the beaches and the adjoining stretches ii) yellow loamy soil and iii) red lateritic soil. Sandy soils are confined to a narrow strip of the coast having width ranging from less than 100 m to as much as a kilometre (CGWB, 2017)

Fresh water sources

-

Hydrology

No information

Demography

Habitation

Uninhabited

Population

Nil

Language

-

Religion

Not applicable

Ethnic groups

Not applicable

Traditional knowledge

No

Shoreline Characteristics

Coastline / Shoreline

-

Tidal amplitude

-

Bathymetry

No information available

Infrastructure and Communication

Infrastructure

Nil

Communication

No

Transportation

Transport

This rock is located 3.2 km from Malpe Port, Udupi district and can be reached by boat

Nearest Port / Jetty / Harbour

Malpe Port

Distance to nearest Port / Jetty / Harbour

3.50 km from the Malpe Port

Shortest distance from mainland

2.85 km from the Malpe town

Nearest Airport

61.0 km from the Mangalore International Airport

Activities

Agriculture

-

Commercial activity

-

Industries

Nil

Tourism

Tourist places

No

Tourism activity

Yes

Biodiversity and Conservation

Flora

Nil

Fauna

Species from Coelenterates, Molluscs, Echinodermata and Avifauna (Madhyastha et al., 2003)

Medicinal plants

No information available

Type of forest

No information available

Endangered species

No information available

Flagship species

No information available

Keystone species

No information available

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

Unprotected with ESA

Sanctuary

Rich in inter tidal organisms such as crabs, sea anemones, oysters, gastropods and Balanus (Madhyastha et al., 2003)

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 III (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

St. Mary Island Middle Rock 4