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Narcondam Island

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Narcondam, India's easternmost island, is a small volcanic island located in the northern Andaman Sea. The island's peak rises to 710 m above mean sea level, and it is formed of andesite. It is part of the Andaman Islands, the main body of which lie approximately 74 km (46 mi) to the west. The island is part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The island is small, covering an area of approximately 7.6 square kilometres.[6] It was classified as a active volcano by the Geological Survey of India.

Narcondam Island
Outline map of the Andaman Islands, with the location of Narcondam Island highlighted (red circle).
Narcondam Island is located in Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Narcondam Island
Narcondam Island
Location in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and in the Bay of Bengal
Narcondam Island is located in Bay of Bengal
Narcondam Island
Narcondam Island
Narcondam Island (Bay of Bengal)
Geography
LocationBay of Bengal
Coordinates13°27′N 94°16′E / 13.45°N 94.27°E / 13.45; 94.27
ArchipelagoAndaman Islands
Adjacent toIndian Ocean
Total islands1
Major islands
  • Narcondam
Area7.6 km2 (2.9 sq mi)[1]
Length4 km (2.5 mi)
Width3.0 km (1.86 mi)
Coastline12.22 km (7.593 mi)
Highest elevation710 m (2330 ft)[2]
Administration
DistrictNorth and Middle Andaman
Island groupAndaman Islands
Island sub-groupEast Volcano Islands
TehsilDiglipur Tehsil
Largest settlementNarcondam Police Station (pop. 16)
Demographics
Population16 (2016)
Pop. density2.1/km2 (5.4/sq mi)
Ethnic groupsHindu, Andamanese
Additional information
Time zone
PIN744202[3]
Telephone code031927 [4]
ISO codeIN-AN-00[5]
Official websitewww.and.nic.in
Literacy84.4%
Avg. summer temperature30.2 °C (86.4 °F)
Avg. winter temperature23.0 °C (73.4 °F)
Sex ratio1.2♂/♀
Census Code35.639.0004
Official LanguagesHindi, English
Narcondam mountain
Map
Highest point
Elevation710 m (2,330 ft)
Geography
LocationAndaman Islands, India
Geology
Mountain typeStratovolcano
Last eruptionUnknown

Etymology

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The name Narcondam could have been derived from the Tamil word naraka-kundram (நரககுன்றம்),[7] meaning "a pit of Hell," although this may be the result of confusion between it and Barren Island.[8]

History

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Until 1986 Burma claimed sovereignty over the island. This claim was given up on reaching agreement with India on the delimitation of the maritime boundary between the two nations in the Andaman Sea, the Coco channel and the Bay of Bengal.[9] [10] A lighthouse was established on the slopes of Narcondam in 1983. [11]

Geography and Geology

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The island lies 256 km (159 mi) northeast from Port Blair. Further to the south west (approximately 150 km (93 mi)) lies the active volcano island of Barren Island. Narcondam Island is about 260 km (160 mi) miles from Burma, and is almost 1,300 km (810 mi) miles from Vishakhapatnam (part of the mainland of India). It belongs to the East Volcano Islands. The island is small, having an area of 7.63 km2 (2.95 sq mi).

The island is largely forested. The island is formed from a volcano, which had not known to have been active in recent times, until on 8 June 2005 there were reports of "mud and smoke" being ejected from the volcano. The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake is thought to have caused magma to move underground and may be related to the current activity. If the reports were accurate this would alter the scientific status of Narcondam to active. Narcondam Island holds the easternmost point of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Narcondam Mountain

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Narcondam Island's volcanic mountain, at 710 meters is the second tallest point in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the first being Saddle Peak, North Andaman Island at 752 meters.

Administration

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Narcondam Island belongs to the North and Middle Andaman administrative district,[12] and is part of Diglipur Taluk.[13] The village is near the Police station.

Transportation

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Narcondam Island is accessible through ships that run from Diglipur. A helicopter facility is also available.

Demographics

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There is only one village. According to the 2011 census of India, the Island has one household. The effective literacy rate (i.e. the literacy rate of population excluding children aged six and below) is 100%.[14]

Demographics (2011 census)[14]
Total Male Female
Population 16 16 0
Children aged below 6 years 0 0 0
Scheduled caste 0 0 0
Scheduled tribe 16 16 0
Literates 16 16 0
Workers (all) 16 16 0
Main workers (total) 16 16 0

The 16 residents (all supervisory police personnel) are all living in a single household on the northeast corner. They harvest coconuts and bananas on a small plantation near the post.

Tourism

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Scuba diving at Narcondam

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The waters surrounding Narcondam Island are a diving destination. Narcondam's prime dive sites include rocky ridges and steep slopes like Chimneys, Ooh La La and Lighthouse Reef, where massive barrel sponges, huge gorgonian fans and lush soft corals thrive. Fish life can include Napoleon wrasse, bumphead parrotfish and mantas, as well as occasional whitetip and gray reef sharks. Another special place is HQ Pinnacle, where a submerged rock formation acts as a magnet for dogtooth tuna and hundreds of bigeye trevally. For a more tranquil setting, several bays around the island offer gently sloping terrain populated with fields of hard corals and colorful reef fish.

The island is very remote and diving is accessible only via a live-aboard.

Fauna

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A Narcondam hornbill

About 25-32 bird species, both resident and migratory, have been recorded from the island. Of these, the most famous is the Narcondam hornbill (Rhyticeros narcondami), a threatened hornbill that is endemic to the island. The closest living relative of the bird is the Blyth's hornbill (Rhyticeros plicatus). It has the smallest range of any Asian hornbill and only has a population of between 300 and 650 individuals, but still has a stable population.[15]

As Narcondam is a small volcanic island, not connected to any significant land mass, terrestrial mammalian fauna is of low diversity. However, the island flying fox (Pteropus hypomelanus) and Sikkim rat (Rattus andamanensis) are the most common native mammals on this island. An unidentified small bat was also seen on a survey.[16] Introduced goats (Capra aegagrus hircus) and cats (Felis catus) were formerly present on the island, threatening native fauna, but almost all of them have since been removed.[15] In 2020, a new species of Crocidura shrew was discovered on the island, which was described in 2021 as the Narcondam shrew (Crocidura narcondamica). It and the Narcondam hornbill are presently the only two known endemic fauna of the island.[17]

There are several species of reptile on the island. The most common reptile on the island is the spotted forest skink (Sphenomorphus maculatus), which closely resembles populations of the species from northeast India. Tytler's skink (Eutropis tytleri), a large skink endemic to the Andamans, is also common on the island, with the Narcondam variants being slightly smaller than those on the main Andamans. The Andaman Islands day gecko (Phelsuma andamanensis), Andaman bent-toed gecko (Cyrtodactylus rubidus), Andaman giant gecko (Gekko verrauxi), and Anderson's day gecko (Cnemaspis andersonii), which are all gecko species endemic to the Andaman-Coco island chain, have also been found on Narcondam. The Andaman water monitor (Varanus salvator andamanensis) is the only large predator on the island and preys on the Narcondam hornbill, especially its young. The paradise flying snake (Chrysopelea ornata) has been reported from the island in past surveys. The blue-lipped sea krait (Laticauda laticaudata) is seen in the waters around Narcondam Island.[16]

Narcondam Island Wildlife Sanctuary

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Narcondam Island Wildlife Sanctuary is notified as a protected reserve by the government of India. It is also listed on the UNESCO's tentative Lists of World Heritage Sites.[18] The island was notified as a sanctuary to protect and monitor the Narcondam hornbill.

Flora

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Narcondam Island is almost entirely covered with evergreen and moist deciduous forest. Grassy slopes dominate the southern and southeast aspects of the hill (BirdLife International 2001). The island is covered with tropical evergreen forest, semi-evergreen forest, moist deciduous forest, littoral forest and mangrove forest (Pande et al. 1991). The island bears old, dead and decaying trees, interlaced with thorny creepers and luxuriantly flowering tall trees (Yahya and Zarri 2002a). The flora on the higher reaches of the hill is mostly evergreen and consists of Dipterocarpus, Sideroxylon and Ficus trees. However, some deciduous species such as Bombax insigne are also present. The vegetation towards the summit is mostly Moist Evergreen with several epiphytes. The lower hills following the shoreline have both deciduous and evergreen trees such as Terminalia catappa, T. bialata and Caryota mitis. The shoreline has some introduced species such as coconut and banana.

Facilities

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Radar station

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The Indian Coast Guard proposed the construction of a coastal surveillance radar installation on Narcondam Island and had requested for the release of 0.64 ha of forest area for the purpose. This was turned down by the MOEF of UPA govt as it would endanger the population of endemic hornbills while other alternative sites existed for the siting of the radar.[19] As of 10 June 2014, MOEF has given clearance for the Radar station. Union minister for environment and forests, Prakash Javadekar gave the approval.[20] However, the plan was subsequently modified and as of 2020, no radar installation has been built on the island.[15]

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  •  
    Narcondam island south view
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    Topography of the island

See also

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Exclusive economic zones
Extreme points
Other topics

References

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  1. ^ "Islandwise Area and Population - 2011 Census" (PDF). Government of Andaman. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  2. ^ Sailing Directions (Enroute), Pub. 173: India and the Bay of Bengal (PDF). Sailing Directions. United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 2017. p. 274.
  3. ^ "A&N Islands - Pincodes". 22 September 2016. Archived from the original on 23 March 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ code
  5. ^ Registration Plate Numbers added to ISO Code
  6. ^ Yahya, H. S. A.; Zarri, A. A. (2002). "Status, ecology and behaviour of Narcondam Hornbill (Aceros narcondami) in Narcondam Island, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 99 (3): 434–445.
  7. ^ Washington, H. S. (1 June 1924). "The lavas of Barren Island and Narcondam". American Journal of Science. s5-7 (42): 441–456. Bibcode:1924AmJS....7..441W. doi:10.2475/ajs.s5-7.42.441.
  8. ^ "Narcondum". The National Museum of Natural History. Archived from the original on 5 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  9. ^ Charney, Jonathan I. & Alexander, Lewis M.; International maritime boundaries, Volumes 2-3; American Society of International Law, Report 6-3, pg. 1329-1336; Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1998
  10. ^ Book
  11. ^ "Government of India, Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships". www.dgll.nic.in. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  12. ^ "Village Code Directory: Andaman & Nicobar Islands" (PDF). Census of India. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  13. ^ "Tehsils" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  14. ^ a b "District Census Handbook - Andaman & Nicobar Islands" (PDF). 2011 Census of India. Directorate of Census Operations, Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 August 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  15. ^ a b c International), BirdLife International (BirdLife (20 August 2020). "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Rhyticeros narcondami". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  16. ^ a b Raman, T. R. Shankar; Mudappa, Divya; Khan, Tasneem; Mistry, Umeed; Saxena, Ajai; Varma, Kalyan; Ekka, Naveen; Lenin, Janaki; Whitaker, Romulus (2013). "An expedition to Narcondam: observations of marine and terrestrial fauna including the island-endemic hornbill". Current Science. 105 (3): 346–360. ISSN 0011-3891. JSTOR 24097967.
  17. ^ Kamalakannan, Manokaran; Sivaperuman, Chandrakasan; Kundu, Shantanu; Gokulakrishnan, Govindarasu; Venkatraman, Chinnadurai; Chandra, Kailash (3 May 2021). "Discovery of a new mammal species (Soricidae: Eulipotyphla) from Narcondam volcanic island, India". Scientific Reports. 11 (1): 9416. Bibcode:2021NatSR..11.9416K. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-88859-4. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 8093265. PMID 33941819.
  18. ^ "Narcondam Island".
  19. ^ Shrivastava, Kumar Sambhav (6 September 2012). "MoEF says no to radar installation in Narcondam hornbill habitat". Down To Earth. Centre for Science & Environment, India. Archived from the original on 2 July 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  20. ^ "Green nod for radar station at Narcondam in Andamans". The Economic Times.
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