Physical characteristics of Navi Mumbai:

Navi Mumbai spreads over parts of two districts of Maharashtra; Thane, and Raigad. The region is hilly in some parts, and certain areas of the region are protected wetlands. Unlike its bigger neighbour, the city is sparsely populated.

Navi Mumbai is a part of South Konkan coast line. This coastal line joins Sahyadri mountain ranges to the south and 50 to 100m high hills to the east. Thus the Navi Mumbai area lies between mountain ranges and a coast line.

Its coordinates are between Latitude 19.5� and 19.15�, Longitude 72.55� and 73.5�

Geography and Geology :

Along the east, there are small hills running in a North-South direction. This land forms part of the Konkan Region. The narrow belt of land starts at Dighe in the North and ends at Kalundre in the South. It is 25.6 km� in area, 20 km long and about 2 km wide.

To part of Western Konkan coast is a narrow coastal strip along the western part of Sahyadris. It is bound on the East side by hillocks of 50 to 200 m height and on the west side by Thane creek.

The 9 nodes are Belapur, Nerul, Vashi, Turbhe, Koperkhairane, Ghansoli, Airoli, Digha, Dahisar on 1 January 1998 with all ready physical and social infrastructure.

The rock formations in the region are derived mainly from Deccan Basalt and also from granites, gneiss and laterite. The gently sloping coastal low lands are observed in patches and are covered with moderately shallow to deep soils, mostly lateritic in nature, sometimes oxidised to yellow marrum.

The soils of this region are high in saline in the vicinity of creeks with lower saline at other places. They are calcareous, neutral to alkaline in reaction (pH 7.5 to 8.5), often contain clay, with a high amount of bases and high water holding capacity (200-250 mm/m). The soils located on moderately sloping residual hills are lateritic in nature and show intensively leached surfaces. They are loamy and slight to moderately acidic (pH 5-6.5) with moderate base status (< 75%).

Land use :
The land was used to produce rice during the rainy season. Some mango and coconut orchards and limited vegetable cultivation was also practised by locals. Those with good irrigation facilities would choose to cultivate legumes like Tur and beans. With urbanisation, however, all agricultural activities in Navi Mumbai have almost ceased to exist, except in the easternmost part.

Fish, crabs and prawns were common products from the creek, though the quantities of each were not significant. Surplus from domestic consumption was sold in Thane and Belapur markets. With the advent of industries in the region, and with consequent deterioration of water quality, these markets were lost.