Travel ~88 million years back to a time when the landmasses of India and Madagascar were slowly unzipping. In this edition, I write about the deep-time secrets etched in the incredible columnar basalt formations at St. Mary's islands in south India. A tale of deep-time travel to St. Mary's islands, off the west coast of India.
Another fascinating article. Are the Himalayas still rising in fact?
I should also point out that you repeat a passage: "The Sooglossidae frogs in the Seychelles have a close relative, the Indian purple frog (Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis), found in the Nilgiri Hills in south India, which bears testimony to this rifting." Appears twice.
It's very informative read. I've visited Mangalore so many times for my work, but never knew about St.Mary's island. Would love to visit when I go to Mangalore next.
It's a 2+ hour journey from Mangalore, and the throngs of college kids and families might be a little daunting. I hope you can make time, it's quite an incredible formation — and perhaps, after this article, your imagination can take you further :)
This is fascinating. I've visited the Giant's Causeway in Ireland and the other side of it at Staffa / Fingal's Cave in Scotland, so it's interesting to see similar structures in India. Also to find out about the separation of India and Madagascar, I didn't know that, even though in outline I'm fairly aware of how continents were formed and separated from each other.
Thanks Juliet. I'd love to visit the Giant's Causeway/Fingal's Cave someday, and hear the lore. The India-Madagascar split is a small part of the larger jigsaw. The India and Eurasia plate collision, and the formation of the Himalayas get most attention. So I thought it would be good to dive into this split. Wish I could've elaborated more on the biogeography, but that's a whole chapter in itself.
Another fascinating article. Are the Himalayas still rising in fact?
I should also point out that you repeat a passage: "The Sooglossidae frogs in the Seychelles have a close relative, the Indian purple frog (Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis), found in the Nilgiri Hills in south India, which bears testimony to this rifting." Appears twice.
Ahhh, thanks a ton. Will find time to edit it today. And yes, the Himalayas are still rising.
Devayani,
It's very informative read. I've visited Mangalore so many times for my work, but never knew about St.Mary's island. Would love to visit when I go to Mangalore next.
Thanks
It's a 2+ hour journey from Mangalore, and the throngs of college kids and families might be a little daunting. I hope you can make time, it's quite an incredible formation — and perhaps, after this article, your imagination can take you further :)
This is fascinating. I've visited the Giant's Causeway in Ireland and the other side of it at Staffa / Fingal's Cave in Scotland, so it's interesting to see similar structures in India. Also to find out about the separation of India and Madagascar, I didn't know that, even though in outline I'm fairly aware of how continents were formed and separated from each other.
Thanks Juliet. I'd love to visit the Giant's Causeway/Fingal's Cave someday, and hear the lore. The India-Madagascar split is a small part of the larger jigsaw. The India and Eurasia plate collision, and the formation of the Himalayas get most attention. So I thought it would be good to dive into this split. Wish I could've elaborated more on the biogeography, but that's a whole chapter in itself.