The Island, also called as Island Grounds, is a

river island River Island (stylised as RiverIsland and abbreviated as RI) is a London-based, multi-channel fashion brand, founded in 1948 by Bernard Lewis (entrepreneur), Bernard Lewis. The retailer has a presence in over 125 of worldwide markets, in stores ...

situated on the

Cooum River The Cooum River, or simply Koovam, is one of the shortest classified rivers draining into the Bay of Bengal. This river is about in length, flowing in the city of Chennai (urban part) and the rest in rural part. The river is highly polluted ...

in the northern part of the Indian city of

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

. The island was created artificially in the early 19th century by merging the Coovum River with the then "Elambore River". An

equestrian statue An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning 'knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is a ...

of Sir Thomas Munro, popularly known as "His Stirrupless Majesty", is located on the island. The

Madras Gymkhana Club The Madras Gymkhana Club (MGC) is an elite social club in Chennai, India, which was founded in 1884 to promote sports and social and cultural activities. It owns and operates one of Chennai's two 18-hole golf courses, one of Asia's oldest cou ...

and Pallavan Illam, the headquarters of the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC), Chennai are also located here. The Island Grounds constitute a vast empty space on the island where fairs and exhibitions are held.

Anna Salai Anna Salai (), named for C. N. Annadurai, formerly known as St. Thomas Mount Road or simply Mount Road, is an arterial road in Chennai, India. It starts at the Cooum Creek, south of Fort St George, leading in a south-westerly direction towa ...

, one of the arterial roads of Chennai, originates on this island, running mostly in the southwest direction towards the south. The Kilometer Zero of Chennai is located at the midpoint of Muthuswamy Bridge on the Muthuswamy Road on the northern side of The Island. Since 1975, the annual India Tourist and Industrial Fair, popularly known to the locals as the ''trade fair'', is conducted on this island by the

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...

during the months of January to March. The

Chennai Formula Racing Circuit Chennai Formula Racing Circuit, also known as the Chennai City Circuit, is a 3.839 km (2.385mi) street circuit in Island Grounds, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It hosted the second round of the F4 Indian Championship and the Indian Racing Leag ...

hosted the

F4 Indian Championship F4 Indian Championship is a single-seater motorsport series based in India. The series is run to the FIA's Formula 4 regulations and organized by Racing Promotions Pvt Ltd. The inaugural season was held in 2023. The winner of the series earn ...

and the

Indian Racing League The Indian Racing League (formerly known as the X1 Racing League) is an auto racing championship based in India. It is unrelated to the proposed i1 Super Series that was based on a similar idea. History It is co-founded by Indian professional ...

in 2024.

Notes

External links

GeoHack - The Island, Chennai
Geography of Chennai Islands of Chennai River islands of India Neighbourhoods in Chennai Islands of India Populated places in India {{Chennai-geo-stub