Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park
Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park is a national park of India near Wandoor on the Andaman Islands. It belongs to the South Andaman administrative district, part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
History
The park was created on 24 May 1983 under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 to protect marine life such as the corals and nesting sea turtles prevalent in the area. It was placed under the protection of the Chief Wildlife Warden of the forest department of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and it is open creeks running through the park area were a special attractionGeography
There are 2 major island groups in the park: the Labyrinth Islands and the Twin IslandsThe islands are situated south from Port Blair.
The marine park covers 281.5 km² made up of 17 islands and the open sea creeks running through the area. There is a chance for ecotourism on the islands Jolly Buoy and Red Skin
The islands belong to the Rutland Archipelago and are located between Rutland Island and South Andaman Island.
Ecosystems
Most of the coral reefs in the park are fringing reefs. The type and composition of vegetation vary from island to island. Most notably there you can see a difference between the tourist islands which suffer more anthropocentric change and others which do not. There are also some islands more isolated or protected from the effects of weather in the Bay of Bengal. Tarmugli, the largest island, is covered with thick mangrove vegetation, sand covered beaches, uprooted trees and sheet rocks. Twin Islands are an important breeding ground for turtles within the park.List of Islands
Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park has some 20 islands and rocks.| Island | Sobriquet | type | Location | Area | Coastline | Length | Width | elevation | |
| 1 | Alexandra | island | 408.8 | 9.3 | 2.5 | 2.00 | 0.00 | ||
| 2 | Bell | island | 6.7 | 1 | 0.38 | 0.21 | 0.00 | ||
| 3 | Boat | island | 247.6 | 7.71 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 27.00 | ||
| 4 | Chester | island | 6.6 | 1.00 | 0.33 | 0.33 | 0.00 | ||
| 5 | Grub | island | 2.3 | 0.7 | 0.13 | 0.25 | 24.00 | ||
| 6 | Hobday | island | 367.80 | 10.50 | 3.23 | 1.91 | 0.00 | ||
| 7 | Jolly Buoy | island | 18.80 | 2.50 | 1.10 | 0.20 | 45.00 | ||
| 8 | Malay | island | 80.20 | 4.25 | 1.71 | 0.61 | 68.00 | ||
| 9 | Pluto | island | 13.3 | 1.81 | 0.75 | 0.22 | 49.00 | ||
| 10 | Red Skin | island | 428.20 | 12.39 | 4.9 | 1.4 | 46.00 | ||
| 11 | Riflemen | island | 2.40 | 0.70 | 0.27 | 0.15 | 0.00 | ||
| 12 | Snob | island | 17.65 | 2.18 | 0.96 | 0.26 | 75.00 | ||
| 13 | Tarmugli | island | 1216.70 | 20.00 | 5.5 | 3.8 | 78.00 | ||
| 14 | West Twin | island | 38.70 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 48.00 | ||
| 15 | East Twin | island | 20.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 44.00 | ||
| 16 | North Hobday | island | 17.80 | 1.93 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | ||
| 17 | Rutland | island | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | ||
| 18 | ? | island | 10.10 | 1.77 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park Islands | Archipelago | 2904.5 | 0.00 |