Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Brahmani Natural Arch
Mains level: Not Much
Central Idea
- The Geological Survey of India (GSI) plans to declare the ‘Brahmani Natural Arch’ in Kanika range of Sundargarh forest division of Odisha as a Geo Heritage Site.
- This natural arch is believed to date back to the Jurassic period and would be the largest natural arch in India with the Geo Heritage tag.
Brahmani Natural Arch
- The oval-shaped arch has a base length of 30 meters and a height of 12 meters.
- The alcove of the arch has a maximum height of 7 meters and a width of 15 meters.
- India currently has two other natural arches, located at Tirumala hills in Tirupati and Andaman and Nicobar, but both are smaller than the one in Sundargarh.
Its formation
- The natural arch is composed of ferruginous sandstone from the Upper Kamthi formation.
- It dates back to the lower to middle Jurassic age, approximately 184 to 160 million years old.
- Research on the geological significance of the site began in 2017 after its discovery during coal exploration in the district.
Awareness and Preservation Efforts
- The GSI state unit and Sundargarh forest division conducted an awareness drive in the district to promote the protection of the natural arch.
- Steps are being taken to promote the proposed geo-heritage site as a cultural pride and potentially name it ‘Brahmani natural arch.’
- The site could be promoted and preserved as an eco-tourism destination.
Back2Basics:
| Geological Heritage Sites in India | |
| Andhra Pradesh | Mangampeta Volcanogenic bedded Barytes (Cuddapah Dist.), Eparchaean Unconformity (Chittor Dist.), Natural Geological Arch in Tirumala Hills (Chittor Dist.), Erra Matti Dibbalu located between Vishakhapatnam and Bhimunipatnam. |
| Maharashtra | Lonar Lake (Buldana Dist.) |
| Kerala | Laterite near Angadipuram PWD rest house premises (Malapuram Dist.), Varkala Cliff Section (Thiruvanatapuram Dist.) |
| Chattisgarh | Lower Permian Marine bed at Manendragarh (Surguja Dist.) |
| Tamil Nadu | Fossil wood near Tiruvakkarai (South Arcot Dist.), National fossil wood park in Sattanur (Tiruchirapalli Dist.), Charnockite in St. Thomas Mount (Madras), Badlands of Karai Formation with Cretaceous fossils along Karai – Kulakkalnattam Section (Perambalur District) |
| Karnataka | Columnar Lava in St. Mary Island (Udupi Dist.), Pillow lavas near Mardihalli (Chitradurga Dist.), Peninsular Gneiss in Lalbagh (Bangalore), Pyroclastics & Pillow lavas in Kolar Gold fields (Kolar Dist.) |
| Gujarat | Sedimentary Structures – Eddy Markings in Kadan Dam (Panch Mahals Dist.) |
| Himachal Pradesh | Siwalik Fossil Park (Saketi, Sirmur dt.) |
| Rajasthan | Sendra Granite (Pali Dist.), Barr Conglomerate (Pali Dist.), Stromatolite Fossil Park near Jharmarkotra Rock Phosphate deposit (Udaipur Dist.), Gossan in Rajpura-Dariba Mineralised belt (Udaipur Dist.), Akal Fossil Wood Park (Jaisalmer Dist.) |
| Odisha | Pillow Lava in iron ore belt at Nomira (Keonjhar dist.) |
| Jharkhand | Plant Fossil bearing Inter-trappean beds of Rajmahal Formation around Mandro (Sahibganj dist.) |
| Nagaland | Nagahill Ophiolite Site near Pungro |
| Sikkim | Stromatolite bearing Dolomite/Limestone of Buxa Formation at Mamley, near Namchi (South district), Stromatolite bearing Dolomite / Limestone of Buxa Formation, Sikkim |
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