Relevance:
Recently, geologists have suggested to protect the site of Coastal Red Sand Dunes, of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
About Erra Matti Dibbalu:
- Other Name: Red Sand Hills
- Composition –
- Top layer: Light yellow sand dunes
- Middle layer: Brick red sand unit
- Bottom layer: Reddish brown concretion bearing sand unit with yellow sand.
- Distribution –
- Do not occur in equatorial regions or temperate regions.
- Only 3 places in the tropical regions in South Asia:
- Teri Sands of Tamil Nadu
- Erra Matti Dibbalu
- Point Kurdimalai sea cliff in the Wilpattu National Park of Sri Lanka.
- Uniqueness –
- Part of the continuation of the evolution of the earth
- Exhibit badland topography with different geomorphic landforms and features
- Geochemically unaltered sediments (reason for top yellow layer)
- Unfossiliferous sediments deposited over the Khondalite basement
- They are fragile and vulnerable to natural degradation.
- It was declared a geo-heritage site by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) in 2014.
Significance:
- Help in studying climate change impact as it has seen both the glacial and warm periods.
- Site is about 18,500 to 20,000 years old and can be related to last glacial period.
- Home to prehistoric man with three distinctive periods of stone implements and pottery of the Neolithic man.
Gandikota canyon of South India was created by which one of the following rivers? (2022)
- Cauvery
- Manjira
- Pennar
- Tungabhadra
Reference: The Hindu
