The plain along the Eastern coast of India is called the Eastern Coastal Plain. This plain stretches from the Delta of the Ganga to Kanya Kumari. This plain includes some parts of Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. This plain is much wider than the Western Coastal Plain. Its width varies from 100 to 150 km. This plain can also be divided into two parts. The Northern part that lies in the North of river Krishna is called the Northern Circars. The Southern part is called The Coromandal Coast.

(a) The Northern Circars :

This plain consists of the deltas of Mahanadi, Godavari and Krishna. These rivers have broken the Eastern Ghats at many places and made this plain more wide. The width of the plain in Mahanadi delta is about 150 km. This part gets most of its rainfall in summer. The rainfall increases as we go Northwards. Rice, sugarcane, tobacco, millets and cotton are the main crops of this area.

Bhubaneswar and Puri are important towns of this part. These towns are famous for their temples. Bhubaneswar is also the capital of Orissa. Vishakhapatnam is the most important sea port of this coast. It has a ship building yard and an oil refinery.

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(b) The Coromandal Coast :

The Eastern Coastal Plain from the delta of river Krishna to Kanya Kumari is called Coromandal Coast. This coast does not get rains from the summer, monsoons. It gets rain in the winter. The Cauvery delta has good irrigation system. Rice, millets and groundnuts are the main crops of this region. Fishing is an important occupation of the coastal people.

The Eastern Coastal Plain does not have many good harbors. The coastline is generally straight and regular. It does not have many curves and cuts. Chennai (Madras) is the most important port of the Coromandal Coast. It is a man made port. It is the third largest port of India. Chennai has also the longest sea beach in India. This beautiful beach is known as the Marino Beach. Pondicherry and Karaikal are other ports of this coast. Cuddalore and Tuticorin are famous for pearl fishing.

These coastal plains are very important. They produce a variety of food crops and cash crops like coconut, rubber, spices, cashewnuts, groundnuts and tobacco. Fishing is done all along the coast and a large quantity of fish is supplied to other parts of the country. The sea water keeps the weather moderate throughout the year. There are many holiday resorts and sea beaches. Tourists from all parts of the world visit here to enjoy the sun and the sand.