DWIEP

Geography

Island code

INKA094

Name of the island

Arge Island

Island note

The Indian Navy has built a 3.1 km breakwater road in-between Arge and Round Islands for stability of the harbour waters. The INS Kadamba Indian Naval base is located 0.65 km away from this Island

Type of island

Oceanic Island

State / UT

Karnataka State

Location

Arabian Sea (The island is located 2 km from the Naval Base of Karwar in Uttara Kannada district)

Geographical coordinates

14°45'28.80"N
74°7'43.32"E

Area

0.1898 sq.km

Area range

Less than 2 sq.km

Climate

This island is located in the Arabian Sea, off the Naval Base at Karwar city, Uttara Kannada 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 3273 mm, the driest month being January with no rains and highest in July, which receives an average of 1070 mm (Source: climate-data.org)

Terrain

Rocky and silty

Elevation / Altitude

1 m

Soil type

No information available

Fresh water sources

Nil

Hydrology

No information available

Demography

Habitation

Uninhabited

Population

Nil

Language

-

Religion

Not applicable

Ethnic groups

Not applicable

Traditional knowledge

No

Shoreline Characteristics

Coastline / Shoreline

-

Tidal amplitude

1.78 M

Bathymetry

3.1 M

Infrastructure and Communication

Infrastructure

Nil

Communication

No

Transportation

Transport

This Island can be reached by boats from Karwar Port which is 10.0 km away

Nearest Port / Jetty / Harbour

Karwar Port

Distance to nearest Port / Jetty / Harbour

10 km from the Karwar Port and 15.80 km from the Belekeri Port. In addition, the island can be approached from the naval base at Karwar which is located at a short distance of 2.0 km

Shortest distance from mainland

4.40 km from Karwar

Nearest Airport

72.26 km from the Dabolim International Airport, Goa

Activities

Agriculture

-

Commercial activity

-

Industries

Nil

Tourism

Tourist places

No

Tourism activity

No

Biodiversity and Conservation

Flora

No information available

Fauna

No information available

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

Yes (MoEF&CC notification, 2015) Part II- sec 3(iii)

Ecological Sensitive Areas (ESAs)

No

Hazards

Natural hazards

Cyclone and Flood

Seismic sensitivity

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

High Flood Line (HFL) / Tsunami

The island is categorised 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) Coastal erosion and submergence of land have been reported in Ankola regions (Kumar et al, 2006)

Data Web on Island Environment and Protection (DWIEP)

Coastal and Oceanic Island Database of India

Arge Island