A thin strip of land holds back the sea from a huge shallow lagoon. On that strip, India launches its rockets.
This lesson covers Pulicat Lake, its birds, its Dutch fort and the threats it faces. It also covers the exam facts students mix up.
What kind of lake is Pulicat, and how big is it?
What is Pulicat Lake?
Pulicat Lake lies about 40 km north of Chennai. It is the second largest brackish-water lake in India, after Chilika Lake.
Brackish water is saltier than river water but less salty than the sea. A lagoon is a shallow lake cut off from the sea by a barrier.
The lake spans two states, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Sources: Anna University IOM, Pulicat Lake.
How big and how deep is it?
Anna University gives a length of over 60 km. The width varies from 0.2 to 17.5 km.
The water spread changes with the season. It is about 460 sq km at high water and 250 sq km at low water.
Silt from rivers has made the lake shallow. The average depth is just over 1.5 m.
Sources: Anna University IOM, size.
What shapes the lake’s water?
Four things shape the water of Pulicat. They are the local climate, the inflow from rivers, the Buckingham Canal and the sea water of the Bay of Bengal.
Because the rivers flow only in the monsoon, the lake changes with the season. It is largest after the rains and shrinks in the dry months.
Sources: Anna University IOM, hydrology.
What land types sit inside the lake area?
Anna University lists wetland classes for the area. The open lake covers about 246.9 sq km. Mud flats cover 162.4 sq km, and other water bodies cover 139 sq km.
Plantations cover 92.7 sq km, and sandy beach covers 17.7 sq km.
The mud flats are where shorebirds feed when the water is low.
Sources: Anna University IOM, wetland classes.
Check 1
Pulicat Lake is the second largest brackish-water lake in India.
Which rivers feed the lake?
Three seasonal rivers open into it. The Arani joins at the southern end. The Kalangi joins on the mid-western side. The Swarnamukhi joins at the northern end.
These rivers carry water only in the monsoon months, October to December.
The Buckingham Canal, a man-made channel, also passes through the lake.
Sources: Anna University IOM, rivers.
Why are birds and rockets found on the same strip of land?
What is Sriharikota?
Sriharikota is a spindle-shaped island. It separates the lake from the Bay of Bengal.
It lies in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. The Buckingham Canal runs to its west and the Bay of Bengal to its east.
Sources: Anna University IOM, barrier island · SDSC SHAR, about the centre.
What does ISRO do there?
ISRO runs its main launch centre on the island. It began working on 9 October 1971 with the flight of Rohini-125.
In 2002 the centre was renamed after Prof. Satish Dhawan, a former ISRO chairman.
The site is near the equator, which helps eastward launches. A large uninhabited area acts as a safety zone.
Sources: SDSC SHAR, about the centre.
Check 2
The Sriharikota island separates Pulicat Lake from the Bay of Bengal.
Which birds visit the lake?
Anna University calls the lake very important for waterfowl. Pelicans, herons, storks, flamingos, ducks and gulls all use it.
It is the third most important wetland for migratory shorebirds on India’s east coast.
Greater flamingos gather mostly in the Andhra Pradesh part, near the islands of Venadu and Irakkam.
Sources: Anna University IOM, birds.
Why is it an Important Bird Area?
BirdLife selected the site mainly for its spot-billed pelicans. It is the chief feeding ground for pelicans that breed at Nelapattu, under 20 km away.
More than 2,000 greater flamingos were seen there in October 2002.
Waterfowl counts swing with water levels. They fell from about 83,000 in 1988 to 10,902 in 1992.
Sources: BirdLife and KBA factsheet.
Where do the flamingos gather?
Two islands lie in the northern part of the lake. They are Venadu and Irakkam. Both rest on a bed of old shells.
The big flocks of greater flamingos gather around these islands, in the Andhra Pradesh part.
The flamingos come as passage migrants and winter visitors.
Sources: Anna University IOM, islands.
Which birds of prey live here?
The area is rich in raptors. The white-bellied sea eagle breeds here.
Ospreys, harriers and peregrine falcons appear in winter.
Painted storks and pelicans visit in large numbers from nearby breeding colonies.
Sources: Anna University IOM, raptors.
What was Fort Geldria, and why does it matter?
Who built Fort Geldria?
The Dutch began work on Fort Geldria around 1613, at Pulicat town. They later pushed the Portuguese out of this corner of South India.
For the best part of a century, the fort was the centre of Dutch governance in India.
Sources: BACSA, Fort Geldria.
What dark trade ran from the fort?
Fort Geldria was for several decades the centre of the Dutch slave trade on the Coromandel coast.
Research cited by BACSA says about 30,000 Indian slaves were shipped by the Dutch to Java.
Sources: BACSA, slave trade.
What remains of the fort today?
Little remains. The British demolished the fort about 200 years ago.
The Dutch cemetery survives under the care of the Archaeological Survey of India. Its gate arch bears the date 1656. Most graves date from the 17th century.
Sources: BACSA, the cemetery.
Check 3
Fort Geldria was built by the British East India Company.
What threatens the lake, and who depends on it?
Who depends on the lake?
About 30,000 fishermen live around the lake, says Anna University. Another 20,000 farm labourers use fishing as an off-season income.
Sources: Anna University IOM, livelihoods.
How do shrimp farms hurt it?
More than 1,000 acres of wetland on the eastern shore have been used for shrimp farming. Their effluents flow into the lake and harm the natural food of birds.
Floodlights and diesel pumps also destroy the calm that a bird sanctuary needs.
Sources: Anna University IOM, shrimp farms.
What other threats are listed?
BirdLife lists fishing pressure, illegal prawn farming and industry on the shores. It also lists siltation.
Fly ash from a power station is discharged into the lagoon. Port breakwaters cause coastal erosion.
Sources: BirdLife and KBA factsheet, threats.
Check 4
Shrimp farming is described as a threat to the Pulicat bird sanctuary.
Which exam facts do students mix up?
When was the sanctuary declared?
Sources give different figures, so learn the pattern. The Andhra Pradesh sanctuary was set up in September 1976.
The whole Tamil Nadu part, about 60 sq km, was declared in October 1980. Anna University gives the Andhra sanctuary as 580 sq km.
Sources: Anna University IOM, sanctuary.
Which states does the lake span?
A past UPSC question gave three statements about the Himalayas, the Western Ghats and Pulicat Lake. Only the Pulicat statement was correct.
Pulicat Lake lies in just two states, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Sources: Anna University IOM, location.
Check 5
Pulicat Lake spans three states.
What should you remember?
Keep five anchors. It is the second largest brackish lake, after Chilika. It spans two states.
Sriharikota is the barrier island, and ISRO launches from it. The Dutch built Fort Geldria around 1613. Shrimp farms and silt are the main threats.
Sources: Anna University IOM, summary · SDSC SHAR, about the centre.
MCQ on Pulicat Lake
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