St. Mary's Islands
St. Mary's Islands
Thonsepar | |
|---|---|
Island | |
| Coordinates: 13°22′46″N 74°40′23″E / 13.3795°N 74.6730°E | |
| Country | India |
| State | Karnataka |
| District | Udupi |
| Elevation | 10 m (30 ft) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Kannada |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| Four Islands -Coconut Island, the North Island, the Daryabahadurgarh Island and the South Island | |
St. Mary's Islands, also known as Thonsepar, are a set of four small islands in the Arabian Sea, off the coast of Malpe in Udupi, Karnataka, India. They are known for their distinctive geological formation of columnar rhyolitic lava (pictured).
Scientific studies indicate that the basalt of the St. Mary's Islands was formed by sub-aerial subvolcanic activity, because at that time Madagascar was attached to India. The rifting of Madagascar took place around 88 million years ago.
Columnar rhyolite Lava here form one of the four geological monuments in Karnataka state, one of the 34 National Geological Monuments of India declared by the Geological Survey of India in 2016 for their protection, maintenance, promotion and enhancement of geotourism. The monument is considered an important site for "Geo Tourism".