Angria Bank
Angria Bank is a bank, a shallow sunken atoll, on the continental shelf off the west coast of India. It is located 105 kilometres (65 mi) west of Vijaydurg, Maharashtra. It has platform type coral reef.
Angria Bank | |
|---|---|
Submerged bank
  Angria Bank (India) | |
| Country | India |
| State | Maharashtra |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Marathi |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
The name Angria Bank is derived from the name of one of the most successful Naval Admiral of Maratha Empire, Kanhoji Angre, whose name was spelled Conajee Angria by the british.[1]
Geography
The bank is at an average depth of approximately 35 metres (115 ft), and its dimensions are 40 kilometres (25 mi) from north to south and 15 kilometres (9 mi) from east to west. It is a coral reef. The depth may vary; at some points, the water is 23 metres (75 ft) deep, and at other points, the seafloor can be 400 metres (1,300 ft) below sea level. The bottom is composed of sand, shells, and coral. The bank is steep-to on all sides, with great depths surrounding it.[2]
Angria Bank is 200 kilometres (120 mi) north of Adas Bank, a similar submerged feature off the coast of Goa.
Marine life
In late December 2019, the Wildlife Conservation Society of India launched an expedition to Angria Bank, discovering a coral reef that hadn't bleached yet. The government of India plans to designate Angria Bank as a marine protected reserve.
Angria Bank is known to have at least one laced moray eel, a school of schooling bannerfish, and a red knob sea star. Several common dolphins and Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins inhabit the deeper waters of the coast. During the 8-day expedition to Angria Bank that started on the 18th of December, over 150 species of corals and algae were documented with no visible signs of bleaching.[3]
Tourism
As of 2008, Angria Bank is accessible by a two-hour boat ride from Malvan, Maharashtra. In 2008, Maharashtra state Finance Minister Jayant Patil announced a Rs 50 million initiative to explore Angria Bank to determine the feasibility of further marine tourism in the area.[4]
The first ever underwater scientific expedition was carried out by the National Institute of Oceanography in 1985 . It revealed significant biodiversity though the results are yet to be published.
See also
References
- Grose, John-Henry (1757). A Voyage to the East-Indies. p. 145.
- Sailing Directions: West Coast of India, Sector 2: Diu Head to Cape Rama, page 40
- "Expedition to Angria Bank" 12 March 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
- "Mah govt plans to explore tourism potential of 'Angria Bank'." WebIndia123.com 19 March 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2008.
Further reading
- William Henry Rosser, James Frederick Imray. The Seaman's Guide to the Navigation of the Indian Ocean and China Sea Including a Description of the Wind, Storms, Tides, Currents, &c., Sailing Directions; a Full Account of All the Islands; with Notes on Making Passages During the Different Seasons. J. Imray & Son, 1867. p. 412.
- Alfred Dundas Taylor, James Horsburgh. The India directory, for the guidance of commanders of steamers and sailing vessels, founded upon the work of J. Horsburgh. W. H. Allen & Co., 1874. p. 299.