Erra Matti Dibbalu

Erra Matti Dibbalu Latest News

Recently, Andhra Pradesh’s Erra Matti Dibbalu (Red Sand Dunes) have been included in the UNESCO Tentative List of World Heritage Sites. 

About Erra Matti Dibbalu

• Erra Matti Dibbalu, also known as the Red Sand Dunes is located along the coast near Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
• It was first documented by British geologist William King in 1886, these formations are regarded as rare coastal geomorphological features.

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Key Features of Erra Matti Dibbalu

• It is composed of sand, silt, and clay, with their distinct reddish hue resulting from natural oxidation over thousands of years.
• The uniqueness of this site is that the red sediments are a part of the continuation of the evolution of the earth and represent the late quaternary geologic age.
• They exhibit badland topography with different geomorphic landforms and features, including gullies, sand dunes, buried channels, beach ridges, paired terraces, the valley in the valley, wave-cut terrace, knick point and waterfalls.
• It is a lively scientific evolution site, which depicts the real-time effects of climate change.
• The site also has archaeological significance, as studies of artefacts indicate an Upper Palaeolithic horizon and on cross dating assigned to Late Pleistocene epoch, which is 20,000 BC.
• The site contains dendritic drainage patterns and sediment layers that record fluctuations in sea level and climatic changes over the late Quaternary period.
• Other similar sites: Only two other similar sites exist in the world, one in Sri Lanka and another in Tamil Nadu (Teri Sands).
• The Geological Survey of India (GSI) declared Erra Matti Dibbalu a National Geo-heritage Monument in 2016. 
• Issues: Experts note that the site faces threats from tourism and filming activities.

Source: NIE