List of Countries and Islands with Longest Coastline - NCERT Notes

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The coastline, also known as the coast or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean, or a line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. This list contains the 10 countries and 2 islands with the longest coastline in the world with some amazing facts about each country to make learning easy and enjoyable. At the end of this list, I have mentioned some of the very rare facts about India's coastline. These factual details are very important as questions in the past have been asked from them.

12 LONGEST COASTLINES IN THE WORLD

Also Read : NCERT Notes of Geography for UPSC CDS NDA AFCAT CAPF AC SSC CGL

1. Canada : Coastline (Kilometres): 202,080. Canada is also the country with the largest water area in the world, and the second largest country in the world.

2. Norway : Coastline (Kilometres): 58,133.

3. Indonesia : Coastline (Kilometres): 54,720.

4. Greenland (Island): Coastline (Kilometers): 44,087. Greenland is the largest island in the world, but has a minor population of only 56,000 people.

5. Russia : Coastline (Kilometres): 37,653. The largest country in the world and has the second largest water area in the world.

6. Philippines : Coastline (Kilometres): 36,289.

7. Japan : Coastline (Kilometres): 29,751. Japan, being only the 62 largest country in the world by its area, has the 7th longest coastline.

8. Australia : Coastline (Kilometres): 25,760. It is also the largest country without land borders.

9. United States of America : Coastline (Kilometres): 19,924. The USA is the fourth largest country in the world and has the third largest water area in the world.

10. Antarctica (Island): Coastline (Kilometres): 17,968.

11. New Zealand : Coastline (Kilometres): 15,134.

12. China : Coastline (Kilometres): 14,500.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE LESSER-KNOWN AND INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT INDIA’S COASTLINE

1. India has a total coastline of 7516.6 km, out of which mainland coastline consists of 6100 km and islands’ coastline consists of 1197 km.

2. Indian coastline touches nine states and four union territories. The nine states are Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal. Union Territories include Daman & Diu, Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep Islands.

3. Gujarat has the longest sea coastline in India of 1,600 km.

4. India’s mainland coastline is divided into two parts- Eastern coastline and Western coastline.

5. The Eastern coastline includes Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal and extends from Ganga Delta in the North to Kanyakumari in the South.

6. The Eastern coastline can be divided into three parts according to states, Orissa or Utkal coastal plain, Andhra coastal plain and Tamil Nadu coastal plain.

7. The Tamil Nadu coast and parts of Andhra coast together are known as Coromandel Coast or Payan Ghat.

8. The Western coastline, on the other hand, extends from Rann of Kachchh in the north to Kanyakumari in the South.

9. It is divided into three parts, Konkan coast, the Karnataka coast and Kerala coast.

10. Coconut trees grow all along the Western coast.

11. The sands of Kerala coast have large quantity of Monazite, which is used for nuclear power. Low lying areas of Gujarat are famous for producing salt.

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