Islands of India

35 islands and channels — A&N vs Lakshadweep, Barren vs Narcondam, the degree channels, Majuli, Salsette, Sriharikota.

On this map (35)

Narcondam Island · Andaman & Nicobar Islands — Dormant volcano · east of North Andaman. A dormant / extinct volcano — the trap option against Barren
Saddle Peak · Andaman & Nicobar Islands — North Andaman · 732 m. Highest peak of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands (~732 m)
Barren Island · Andaman & Nicobar Islands — Active volcano · Andaman Sea. India’s only ACTIVE volcano ✓ (UPSC 2018)
Baratang Island · Andaman & Nicobar Islands — Mud volcanoes · Middle Andaman. India’s only known mud volcanoes, plus limestone caves and mangrove creeks
North Sentinel Island · Andaman & Nicobar Islands — Sentinelese · off South Andaman. Home of the Sentinelese, who refuse outside contact
Swaraj Dweep (Havelock) · Andaman & Nicobar Islands — Ritchie’s Archipelago. Havelock became Swaraj Dweep and Neil became Shaheed Dweep (2018)
Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair) · Andaman & Nicobar Islands — Capital · South Andaman. Capital of A&N, on South Andaman; renamed Sri Vijaya Puram in 2024
Duncan Passage · Andaman & Nicobar Islands — South Andaman ↔ Little Andaman. Between South Andaman and Little Andaman ✓ (UPSC 1982)
Little Andaman · Andaman & Nicobar Islands — Onge. Home of the Onge (Negrito) — most asked A&N tribe
Ten Degree Channel · Andaman & Nicobar Islands — Andaman ↔ Nicobar. Runs along 10°N between Little Andaman and Car Nicobar ✓ (UPSC 2014)
Car Nicobar · Andaman & Nicobar Islands — Nicobarese · fringing reef. Home of the Nicobarese (Mongoloid, not Negrito)
Great Nicobar Island · Andaman & Nicobar Islands — Shompen · biosphere reserve. Home of the Shompen ✓ (UPSC 2009); Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve
Indira Point · Andaman & Nicobar Islands — Southern tip of Great Nicobar. Southernmost point of the whole of India (6°45′N)
Amindivi Islands (Amini) · Lakshadweep — Northern group. Amindivi = northern sub-group; Laccadive (Cannanore) = the middle group; Minicoy alone in the south
Bitra Island · Lakshadweep — Smallest inhabited. The smallest inhabited island of Lakshadweep
Agatti Island · Lakshadweep — Airport. Lakshadweep’s only airport
Kavaratti · Lakshadweep — Capital. Capital of Lakshadweep, the SMALLEST UT by area
Andrott Island · Lakshadweep — Largest island. The largest island of Lakshadweep, and the closest to Kerala
Nine Degree Channel · Lakshadweep — Kalpeni ↔ Minicoy. Between Kalpeni/Kavaratti and Minicoy — a busy shipping lane
Minicoy Island · Lakshadweep — Southernmost · Mahl culture. South of the Nine Degree Channel; people speak Mahl, close to the Maldives’ Dhivehi
Eight Degree Channel · Lakshadweep — Minicoy ↔ Maldives. Between Minicoy and the Maldives — India’s sea border line
Majuli · Assam — Brahmaputra river island. In the BRAHMAPUTRA; largest river island (shrinking from erosion)
Umananda (Peacock Island) · Assam — Brahmaputra · Guwahati. Among the smallest inhabited river islands, in the Brahmaputra at Guwahati
Loktak Lake phumdis · Manipur — Floating islands · Manipur. Floating mats of weeds and silt called PHUMDIS ✓ (UPSC 1998)
Sagar Island (Gangasagar) · West Bengal — Hooghly mouth · Sundarbans. Where the Hooghly meets the Bay of Bengal; Gangasagar Mela
Abdul Kalam Island (Wheeler) · Odisha — Missile test range · Bhadrak. India’s missile test range (Agni, Prithvi); renamed from Wheeler Island in 2015
Sriharikota · Andhra Pradesh — Barrier island · Pulicat. A barrier island between Pulicat Lake and the Bay of Bengal
Srirangam · Tamil Nadu — Cauvery river island. River island between the Cauvery and its branch Kollidam; Ranganathaswamy temple
Pamban Island (Rameswaram) · Tamil Nadu — Gulf of Mannar · Palk Bay. Between Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar; Adam’s (Ram) Setu runs to Sri Lanka
Willingdon Island · Kerala — Artificial · Kochi. Made from dredged sand when Cochin port was deepened (1930s)
Munroe Island (Munroe Thuruthu) · Kerala — Ashtamudi · Kollam. At the Ashtamudi–Kallada meeting point; sinking as tidal flooding rises
Salsette Island (Mumbai) · Maharashtra — Mumbai. Mumbai stands on it — the most populous island of India (UPPCS trap: not Andaman)
Elephanta (Gharapuri) · Maharashtra — Mumbai harbour. Shaiva rock-cut caves (Trimurti); UNESCO World Heritage Site
Bet Dwarka · Gujarat — Gulf of Kutch. Joined to Okha by Sudarshan Setu (2024), India’s longest cable-stayed bridge
Pirotan Island · Gujarat — Marine National Park · Gulf of Kutch. Coral island inside the Marine National Park, Gulf of Kutch — India’s first marine sanctuary ✓ (UPSC 1999)

Asked in exams

UPPCSNarcondam = trap option for the active volcano
UPPCSHighest peak in A&N → Saddle Peak
UPSC 2018Barren Island is an active volcano in India ✓ (only statement 1)
UPPCSOnly active volcano in India → Barren Island
UPPCSSentinelese → Andaman and Nicobar
UPPCSPort Blair → South Andaman
UPSC 1982Duncan Passage → South Andaman and Little Andaman
UPSC 2004Onge tribe → Andaman and Nicobar Islands
UPSC 2014Ten Degree Channel → Andaman and Nicobar
UPPCSSeparates Andaman from Nicobar → 10° Channel
UPSC 1997A&N tribes belong to the Negroid race (Nicobarese are the exception)
UPSC 2017Closest to Great Nicobar → Sumatra
UPSC 2009Shompen tribe → Nicobar Islands
UPSC 1986Southernmost part of India → Tamil Nadu (mainland)
UPPCSSouthernmost point of India → Indira Point
UPPCSSmallest UT by area → Lakshadweep
UPPCSLakshadweep: highest coconut yield per hectare ✓
UPPCSNine Degree Channel → between Kavaratti and Minicoy
UPSC 1998Floating islands in Manipur → phumdis
UPPCSMost populated island of India → Salsette
UPSC 1999First marine sanctuary → Gulf of Kachchh

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