Narcondam, India's easternmost island, is a small

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plat ...

island located in the northern

Andaman Sea The Andaman Sea (historically also known as the Burma Sea) is a marginal sea of the northeastern Indian Ocean bounded by the coastlines of Myanmar and Thailand along the Gulf of Martaban and west side of the Malay Peninsula, and separated fro ...

. The island's peak rises to 710 m

above mean sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance ( height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. Th ...

, and it is formed of

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predo ...

. It is part of the

Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between t ...

, the main body of which lie approximately to the west.The island is part of the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

n union territory of

Andaman and Nicobar Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India consisting of 572 islands, of which 37 are inhabited, at the junction of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The territory is about north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated f ...

. The island is small, covering an area of approximately 6.8 square kilometres. It was classified as a

dormant volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

by the

Geological Survey of India The Geological Survey of India (GSI) is a scientific agency of India. It was founded in 1851, as a Government of India organization under the Ministry of Mines, one of the oldest of such organisations in the world and the second oldest survey ...

Etymology

The name Narcondam could have been derived from the Tamil word ''naraka-kundram (நரககுன்றம்)'', meaning "a pit of Hell," although this may be the result of confusion between it and Barren Island.

History

Until 1986

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

claimed sovereignty over the island. This claim was given up on reaching agreement with India on the delimitation of the

maritime boundary A maritime boundary is a conceptual division of the Earth's water surface areas using physiographic or geopolitical criteria. As such, it usually bounds areas of exclusive national rights over mineral and biological resources,VLIZ Maritime Boun ...

between the two nations in the Andaman Sea, the Coco channel and the Bay of Bengal. There is a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses m ...

on the slopes of Narcondam, established 1983.

Geography

The island lies northeast from

Port Blair Port Blair () is the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India in the Bay of Bengal. It is also the local administrative sub-division (''tehsil'') of the islands, the headquarters for the district of South An ...

. Further to the south west (approximately ) lies the

active volcano An active volcano is a volcano which is either erupting or is likely to erupt in the future. An active volcano which is not currently erupting is known as a dormant volcano. Overview Tlocene Epoch. Most volcanoes are situated on the Pacific ...

island of Barren Island. Narcondam Island is about miles from

, and is almost miles from

Vishakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museu ...

(part of the mainland of

). It belongs to the

East Volcano Islands East Volcano Islands is a small group of islands to the east of Great Andaman, all volcanic islands, located in the Andaman Sea. Administration Narcondam Island belongs to the North and Middle Andaman administrative district A district is ...

. The island is small, having an area of . The island is largely forested. The island is formed from a volcano, which had not known to have been active in recent times, until on 8 June 2005 there were reports of "mud and smoke" being ejected from the volcano. The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake is thought to have caused magma to move underground and may be related to the current activity. If the reports were accurate this would alter the scientific status of Narcondam to

active Active may refer to: Music * ''Active'' (album), a 1992 album by Casiopea * Active Records, a record label Ships * ''Active'' (ship), several commercial ships by that name * HMS ''Active'', the name of various ships of the British Royal ...

. Narcondam Island holds the easternmost point of the

Narcondam Mountain

Narcondam Island's volcanic mountain, at 710 meters is the second tallest point in the

, the first being Saddle Peak,

North Andaman Island North Andaman Island is the northern island of Great Andaman of the Andaman Islands. It belongs to the North and Middle Andaman administrative district, part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. the island is lying n ...

at 752 meters.

Administration

Narcondam Island belongs to the North and Middle Andaman administrative

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

, and is part of

Diglipur Diglipur (sometimes spelled Diglipore) is the largest town of North Andaman Island, in the Andaman Archipelago, India. It is located on the southern side of Aerial Bay, at above sea level, north of Port Blair. It is crossed by the Kalpong Riv ...

Taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

. The village is near the

Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

station.

Transportation

Narcondam Island is accessible through ships that run from Diglipur. A helicopter facility is also available.

Demographics

There is only one village. According to the

2011 census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

, the Island has one household. The effective literacy rate (i.e. the literacy rate of population excluding children aged six and below) is 100%. The 16 residents (all supervisory police personnel) are all living in a single household on the northeast corner. They harvest coconuts and bananas on a small plantation near the post.

Tourism

Scuba diving at Narcondam

The waters surrounding Narcondam Island are a diving destination. Narcondam's prime dive sites include rocky ridges and steep slopes like Chimneys, Ooh La La and Lighthouse Reef, where massive barrel sponges, huge gorgonian fans and lush soft corals thrive. Fish life can include Napoleon wrasse, '' bumphead parrotfish'' and mantas, as well as occasional whitetip and gray reef sharks. Another special place is HQ Pinnacle, where a submerged rock formation acts as a magnet for dogtooth tuna and hundreds of bigeye trevally. For a more tranquil setting, several bays around the island offer gently sloping terrain populated with fields of hard corals and colorful reef fish. The island is very remote and diving is accessible only via a live-aboard.

Fauna

About 25-32 bird species, both resident and migratory, have been recorded from the island. Of these, the most famous is the

Narcondam hornbill The Narcondam hornbill (''Rhyticeros narcondami'') is a species of hornbill in the family Bucerotidae. It is endemic to the Indian island of Narcondam in the Andamans. Males and females have a distinct plumage. The Narcondam hornbill has the sm ...

(''Rhyticeros narcondami''), a threatened hornbill that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the island. The closest living relative of the bird is the Blyth's hornbill (''Rhyticeros plicatus''). It has the smallest range of any Asian hornbill and only has a population of between 300 to 650 individuals, but still has a stable population. As Narcondam is a small volcanic island, not connected to any significant land mass, terrestrial

mammalian Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur o ...

fauna is of low diversity. However, the island flying fox (''Pteropus hypomelanus'') and Sikkim rat (''Rattus andamanensis'') are the most common native mammals on this island. An unidentified small bat was also seen on a survey. Introduced

goats The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of th ...

(''Capra aegagrus hircus'') and cats (''Felis catus'') were formerly present on the island, threatening native fauna, but almost all of them have since been removed. In 2020, a new species of ''

Crocidura The genus ''Crocidura'' is one of nine genera of the shrew subfamily Crocidurinae. Members of the genus are commonly called white-toothed shrews or musk shrews, although both also apply to all of the species in the subfamily. With over 180 spec ...

shrew Shrews (family Soricidae) are small mole-like mammals classified in the order Eulipotyphla. True shrews are not to be confused with treeshrews, otter shrews, elephant shrews, West Indies shrews, or marsupial shrews, which belong to differ ...

was discovered on the island, which was described in 2021 as the Narcondam shrew (''Crocidura narcondamica''). It and the Narcondam hornbill are presently the only two known

fauna of the island. There are several species of reptile on the island. The most common reptile on the island is the spotted forest skink (''Sphenomorphus maculatus''), which closely resembles populations of the species from

northeast India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

. Tytler's skink (''Eutropis tytleri''), a large skink endemic to the Andamans, is also common on the island, with the Narcondam variants being slightly smaller than those on the main Andamans. The Andaman Islands day gecko (''Phelsuma andamanensis''), Andaman bent-toed gecko (''Cyrtodactylus rubidus''), Andaman giant gecko (''Gekko verrauxi''), and Anderson's day gecko (''Cnemaspis andersonii''), which are all gecko species endemic to the Andaman- Coco island chain, have also been found on Narcondam. The Andaman water monitor (''Varanus salvator andamanensis'') is the only large predator on the island and preys on the Narcondam hornbill, especially its young. The paradise flying snake (''Chrysopelea ornata'') has been reported from the island in past surveys. The blue-lipped sea krait (''Laticauda laticaudata'') is seen in the waters around Narcondam Island.

Narcondam Island Wildlife Sanctuary

Narcondam Island Wildlife Sanctuary is notified as a protected reserve by the government of India. It is also listed on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

's tentative

Lists of World Heritage Sites This is a list of the lists of World Heritage Sites. A World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as having special cultural or physical significance. General lis ...

. The island was notified as a sanctuary to protect and monitor the Narcondam hornbill.

Flora

Narcondam Island is almost entirely covered with evergreen and moist deciduous forest. Grassy slopes dominate the southern and southeast aspects of the hill ( BirdLife International 2001). The island is covered with tropical evergreen forest, semi-evergreen forest, moist deciduous forest, littoral forest and mangrove forest (Pande et al. 1991). The island bears old, dead and decaying trees, interlaced with thorny creepers and luxuriantly flowering tall trees (Yahya and Zarri 2002a). The flora on the higher reaches of the hill is mostly evergreen and consists of ''

Dipterocarpus '' D. retusus'' in Köhler ''Dipterocarpus'' is a genus of flowering plants and the type genus of family Dipterocarpaceae. ''Dipterocarpus'' is the third-largest and most diverse genus among the Dipterocarpaceae. The species are well known for ...

'', ''

Sideroxylon ''Sideroxylon'' is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. They are collectively known as bully trees. The generic name is derived from the Greek words σιδηρος (''sideros''), meaning "iron", and ...

'' and ''

Ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extendi ...

'' trees. However, some deciduous species such as ''

Bombax insigne ''Bombax'' is a genus of mainly tropical trees in the mallow family. They are native to western Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and the subtropical regions of East Asia and northern Australia. It is distinguished from the genu ...

'' are also present. The vegetation towards the summit is mostly Moist Evergreen with several epiphytes. The lower hills following the shoreline have both deciduous and evergreen trees such as ''

Terminalia catappa ''Terminalia catappa'' is a large tropical tree in the leadwood tree family, Combretaceae, native to Asia, Australia, the Pacific, Madagascar and Seychelles. Common names in English include country almond, Indian almond, Malabar almond, sea almon ...

'', '' T. bialata'' and ''

Caryota mitis ''Caryota mitis'', known as the clustering fishtail palm or fishtail palm, is a species of palm native to Tropical Asia from India to Java to southern China, now sparingly naturalized in southern Florida and in parts of Africa and Latin America. ...

''. The shoreline has some

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...

such as coconut and banana.

Facilities

Radar station

The

Indian Coast Guard The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is a maritime law enforcement and search and rescue agency of India with jurisdiction over its territorial waters including its contiguous zone and exclusive economic zone. The Indian Coast Guard was formally es ...

proposed the construction of a coastal surveillance radar installation on Narcondam Island and had requested for the release of 0.64 ha of forest area for the purpose. This was turned down by the MOEF of UPA govt as it would endanger the population of endemic hornbills while other alternative sites existed for the siting of the radar. As of 10 June 2014, MOEF has given clearance for the Radar station. Union minister for environment and forests, Prakash Javadekar gave the approval. However, the plan was subsequently modified and as of 2020, no radar installation has been built on the island.

Image gallery

File:Narcondam island.jpg, Narcondam island south view File:Narcondam_1885.jpg, Topography of the island

References

External links

Geological Survey of India
*

India daily

Global Volcanism Program
{{DEFAULTSORT:Narcondam Island Islands of North and Middle Andaman district Tourist attractions in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Cities and towns in North and Middle Andaman district Volcanoes of India Volcanoes of the Indian Ocean Active volcanoes Important Bird Areas of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands