Mangroves and Coral Reefs of India
Every mangrove and coral reef site UPSC asks about, from the Sundarbans to Lakshadweep.
Asked in exams
Actual questions from UPSC and state PCS papers that this map answers. The key detail column carries the correct fact behind each question.
| Exam | Question | Key detail |
|---|---|---|
| UPSC | Sundarbans has NO coral reefs, the odd one out | corals need clear shallow tropical seas; the Sundarbans is a muddy delta |
| UPPCS | Bhitarkanika: in the Vansadhara-Subarnarekha delta ✗, in West Bengal ✗ | it is in Odisha, in the Brahmani-Baitarani delta |
| UPSC 2017 | Distractor for gharials | answer: Chambal |
| UPSC 2002 | Pichavaram: Tamil Nadu | — |
| UPSC 1999 | First marine sanctuary with coral reefs: Gulf of Kachchh | — |
| UPSC 2016 | Kharai camel swims and grazes on mangroves | Kutch, Gujarat |
| UPSC | Has coral reefs: A&N, Gulf of Kachchh, Gulf of Mannar - not Sundarbans | — |
| UPPCS | Second-largest mangrove area: Gujarat coast | after West Bengal |
| UPSC 2002 | Achra-Ratnagiri: Maharashtra | — |
| UPPCS | Which has a protected mangrove region?: Goa | — |
| UPSC 2002 | Coondapur: Karnataka | — |
| UPSC 2002 | Vembanad: Kerala | — |
| UPSC | Has coral reefs ✓ | — |
| UPSC 2015 | Mangrove + evergreen + deciduous together: Andaman & Nicobar | — |
| UPPCS | Sundarbans: the world’s largest mangrove forest | India and Bangladesh |
| UPPCS | Bhitarkanika: India’s second-largest mangrove ecosystem, in Odisha | — |
| UPSC | Pichavaram trap: often wrongly called the world’s second-largest mangrove; it is only Tamil Nadu’s second-largest, after Muthupet | — |
| UPSC | India’s coral reef areas: Gulf of Mannar, Gulf of Kachchh, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar | — |
About this map
Every mangrove and reef area the exam uses, from the Sundarbans to Lakshadweep. Each marker names the type, the state or island territory, and the ecological tag.
Mangrove questions centre on the Sundarbans (largest), Bhitarkanika and the Gulf of Kutch, asked as state matching and as "largest" records. Coral reefs are Lakshadweep (atolls) versus Gulf of Mannar and Kutch (fringing).
Threats and protection (CRZ norms, bleaching events) add the environment angle. Newly notified conservation reserves are current-affairs bait.