At one of the places in India, if you stand on the seashore and watch the sea, you will find that the sea water recedes from the shore line a few kilometres and comes back to the shore, twice a day, and you can actually walk on the sea floor when the water recedes. This unique phenomenon is seen at
- (a) Bhavnagar
- (b) Bheemunipatnam
- (c) Chandipur ✓ UPSC's answer
- (d) Nagapattinam
Why the answer is (c)
• Chandipur beach in Balasore district, Odisha, is famous for its 'hide-and-seek' sea: at low tide the water recedes up to 5 km, twice a day, exposing the sea floor for walking, and returns at high tide — option (c).
• The phenomenon is due to the very gentle slope of the shore combined with the Bay of Bengal's tidal range.
• Bhavnagar (a) on the Gulf of Khambhat has high tides but not walkable flats of this kind; Bheemunipatnam (b) and Nagapattinam (d) are ordinary beaches.
• Hence option (c).
Why the other options are wrong
- (a) Bhavnagar
- Bhavnagar has high tidal range but not this walkable-seabed phenomenon.
- (b) Bheemunipatnam
- Bheemunipatnam is an ordinary beach.
- (d) Nagapattinam
- Nagapattinam does not show this phenomenon.
Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2017, held on 18 June 2017. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.