Teri or Teri dune complex is a coastal landscape peculiar to some parts of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

mainly in southeastern India. The landscape consists of sediments dating to the

Quaternary Period The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...

and made of marine deposits with

aeolianite Eolianite or aeolianite is any rock formed by the lithification of sediment deposited by aeolian processes; that is, the wind. In common use, however, the term refers specifically to the most common form of eolianite: coastal limestone consisting ...

and characteristic red sand and silt dunes. These red soils are thought to have originated in the Pleistocene.

Robert Bruce Foote Robert Bruce Foote (22 September 1834 – 29 December 1912) was a British geologist and archaeologist who conducted geological surveys of prehistoric locations in India for the Geological Survey of India. For his contributions to Indian archaeolog ...

hypothesized that these dunes were created by the action of winds (aeolian) lifting the fine silt fraction from further east. These dunes are oriented along the axis running parallel to the coast and between the latitudes of 8°00′ to 9°30′ N and longitudes 77°18′ to 79°00′ E. The soils also have calcium deposits replacing the old roots of vegetation. The soil is rich in

ilmenite Ilmenite is a titanium-iron oxide mineral with the idealized formula . It is a weakly magnetic black or steel-gray solid. Ilmenite is the most important ore of titanium and the main source of titanium dioxide, which is used in paints, printing ...

and the red colour is derived from haematite originating from

garnet Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, but differ in chemical composition. The different s ...

References

Habitat in Teri red dune complex JEG3009

Landforms of Tamil Nadu Geology of India {{geology-stub