St. Mary’s Island trip in Udupi near Malpe beach

St. Mary’s Islands are a cluster of four small uninhabited islands off the Malpe coast in Udupi district, Karnataka: Coconut Island, North Island, Daryabahadurgarh Island, and South Island.  • They lie ~6 km off Malpe and ~10 km from Udupi town.  The Black Rock Formations (Columnar Basalt / Rhyolitic Columns) • The islands are famous for their impressive columnar jointing in basalt / rhyolitic lava — these are vertical rock columns, often hexagonal in cross-section.  • These structures were formed by volcanic activity, estimated to date to when India was breaking away from Madagascar (around 85-90 million years ago).  • On Coconut Island (also called one of the islands of the group), you see the best examples of these basalt columns.  • The diameter of individual columns is typically 20-25 cm.  • The arrangement / geometry of these columns (their straight vertical orientation, hexagonal/polygonal shapes etc.) makes them look artificial, as if sculpted, but they are purely natural parametric crystallization / cooling / contraction patterns in lava.