Rann of Kutch
Encyclopedia
Salt marsh
A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...
located in the Thar Desert
Thar Desert
The Thar Desert |Punjab]] province. The Cholistan Desert adjoins the Thar desert spreading into Pakistani Punjab province.-Location and description:...
in the Kutch District
Kutch District
Kutch district is a district of Gujarat state in western India. Covering an area of 45,652 km², it is the largest district of India....
of Gujarat, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and the Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
province
Subdivisions of Pakistan
The administrative units of Pakistan consist of four provinces, one federal capital territory, and a group of federally-administered tribal areas...
of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
The name "Rann" comes from the Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
word ran meaning "salt marsh
Salt marsh
A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...
". The Hindi word is derived from Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
/Vedic
Vedas
The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....
word (इरिण) attested in the Rigveda
Rigveda
The Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns...
and Mahābhārata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
.
Location and description
The Great Rann of Kutch, along with the Little Rann of KutchLittle Rann of Kutch
Little Rann of Kutch is a salt marsh located near the Great Rann of Kutch in Kutch district, Gujarat, India.-Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary:It is famous as the world's last refuge of the Indian Wild Ass for the conservation of which it has been declared as the Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary.Though a bleak...
and the Banni grasslands on its southern edge, is situated in the district of Kutch and comprises some 30000 square kilometres (11,583.1 sq mi) between the Gulf of Kutch
Gulf of Kutch
The Gulf of Kutch is an inlet of the Arabian Sea along the west coast of India, in the state of Gujarat, and renowned for extreme daily tides .The maximum depth of Gulf of Kutch is ....
and the mouth of the Indus River
Indus River
The Indus River is a major river which flows through Pakistan. It also has courses through China and India.Originating in the Tibetan plateau of western China in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar in Tibet Autonomous Region, the river runs a course through the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir and...
in southern Pakistan. The marsh can be accessed from the village of Kharaghoda
Kharaghoda
Kharaghoda is a census town in Surendranagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat.Under the Bombay Presidency of British Raj, Kharaghoda was a part of the then Ahmedabad district, and had the terminus of a branch railway line...
in Surendranagar District
Surendranagar district
Surendranagar is an administrative district in the state of Gujarat in India. It has a population of approximately 1.7 million people. Surendranagar is also known as Zalawad, as the city of Surendranagar was ruled by Zala Rajputs...
.
In India's summer monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
, the flat desert of salty clay and mudflat
Mudflat
Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats, are coastal wetlands that form when mud is deposited by tides or rivers. They are found in sheltered areas such as bays, bayous, lagoons, and estuaries. Mudflats may be viewed geologically as exposed layers of bay mud, resulting from deposition of...
s, averaging 15 meters above sea level, fills with standing waters, interspersed with sandy islets of thorny scrub, breeding grounds for some of the largest flocks of Greater
Greater Flamingo
The Greater Flamingo is the most widespread species of the flamingo family. It is found in parts of Africa, southern Asia , and southern Europe...
and Lesser Flamingo
Lesser Flamingo
The Lesser Flamingo is a species in the flamingo family of birds that resides in Africa and in southern Asia...
es, and is a wildlife sanctuary http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/im/im0901_full.html. At its greatest extent, the Gulf of Kutch on the west and the Gulf of Cambay on the east are both united during the monsoon.
During the flooding wildlife including the Indian Wild Ass
Indian Wild Ass
The Indian wild ass also called khur, is a subspecies of the Onager native to Southern Asia.-Description:The Indian wild ass, as with most other Asian wild ass subspecies, is quite different from the African species. The coat is usually sandy, but varies from reddish grey, fawn, to pale chestnut...
shelters on islands of higher ground called bets.
The area was a vast shallows of the Arabian Sea
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India...
until continuing geological uplift closed off the connection with the sea, creating a vast lake that was still navigable during the time of Alexander the Great. The Ghaggar River, which presently empties into the desert of northern Rajasthan, formerly emptied into the Rann of Kutch, but the lower reaches of the river dried up as its upstream tributaries were captured by the Indus
Indus River
The Indus River is a major river which flows through Pakistan. It also has courses through China and India.Originating in the Tibetan plateau of western China in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar in Tibet Autonomous Region, the river runs a course through the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir and...
and Ganges thousands of years ago. Traces of the delta and its distributary
Distributary
A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. They are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributary is a tributary...
channels on the northern boundary of the Rann of Kutch were documented by the Geological Survey of India
Geological Survey of India
Geological Survey of India , established in 1851 is a government organization in India which is an attached office to the Ministry of Mines of Union Government of India for conducting geological surveys and studies. It is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world and the second oldest...
in 2000.
The Luni River
Luni River
The Luni is a river of western Rajasthan state, India. It originates in the Pushkar valley of the Aravalli Range, near Ajmer and ends in the marshy lands of Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, after travelling a distance of 530 km...
, which originates in Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, drains into the desert in the northeast corner of the Rann and other rivers feeding into the marsh include the Rupen from the east and the West Banas River
West Banas River
The West Banas is a river of western India. It originates the southern Aravalli Range, in Sirohi District of the state of Rajasthan. It flows south, draining the valley between Mount Abu on the west and the easterly ridge of the Aravallis on the east...
from the northeast.
This is one of the hottest areas of India.
Flora
The plant life of the marsh consists of grasses such as ApludaApluda
Apluda is a genus of grass in the Poaceae family.- External links :*...
and Cenchrus species along with dry thorny shrubs.
Wildlife
The Rann of Kutch is the only place in Pakistan and India where flamingoFlamingo
Flamingos or flamingoes are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus , the only genus in the family Phoenicopteridae...
es come to breed. There are 13 species of lark
Lark
Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. All species occur in the Old World, and in northern and eastern Australia; only one, the Shore Lark, has spread to North America, where it is called the Horned Lark...
in the Rann of Kutch. The Little Rann of Kutch
Little Rann of Kutch
Little Rann of Kutch is a salt marsh located near the Great Rann of Kutch in Kutch district, Gujarat, India.-Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary:It is famous as the world's last refuge of the Indian Wild Ass for the conservation of which it has been declared as the Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary.Though a bleak...
is famous for the Indian Wild Ass sanctuary
Wild Ass Wildlife Sanctuary
Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary also known as the Wild Ass Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the Little Rann of Kutch in the Gujarat state of India. Spread over 4954 km², it is the largest wildlife sanctuary in India....
, home of the world's last population of Indian Wild Ass (Equus hemionus khur or khar). Other mammals of the area include the Indian Wolf
Indian Wolf
Indian wolf and Iranian Wolf are two common names for Canis lupus pallipes, a subspecies of grey wolf which inhabits western India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and southern Israel. Some experts have suggested at least some C. lupus pallipes populations be re-classified a canid species...
(Canis indica), Desert Fox
Red Fox
The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...
(Vulpes vulpes pusilla), Golden Jackal
Golden Jackal
The golden jackal , also known as the common jackal, Asiatic jackal, thos or gold-wolf is a Canid of the genus Canis indigenous to north and northeastern Africa, southeastern and central Europe , Asia Minor, the Middle East and southeast Asia...
(Canis aureus), Chinkara
Chinkara
The Chinkara is a species of gazelle found in south Asia.-Habitat and Distribution:It lives in grasslands and desert areas in India, Bangladesh and parts of Iran and Pakistan...
(Gazella bennettii), Nilgai
Nilgai
The nilgai , sometimes called nilgau, is an antelope, and is one of the most commonly seen wild animals of central and northern India and eastern Pakistan; it is also present in parts of southern Nepal. The mature males appear ox-like and are also known as blue bulls...
(Boselaphus tragocamelus), and the threatened Blackbuck
Blackbuck
Blackbuck is a species of antelope native to the Indian subcontinent. Their range decreased sharply during the 20th century. Since 2003, the IUCN lists the species as near threatened....
(Antilope cervicapra).
The marshes are also a resting site for migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
birds, and are home to over 200 species of bird including the threatened Lesser Florican
Lesser Florican
The Lesser Florican , also known as the Likh, is a large bird in the bustard family and the only member of the genus Sypheotides. It is endemic to the Indian Subcontinent where it is found in tall grasslands and is best known for the leaping breeding displays made by the males during the Monsoon...
(Eupodotis indica) and Houbara Bustard
Houbara Bustard
The Houbara Bustard, Chlamydotis undulata, is a large bird in the bustard family.-Description:The Houbara Bustard is a small to mid-sized bustard. It measures in length and spans across the wings. It is brown above and white below, with a black stripe down the sides of its neck. In flight, the...
(Chlamydotis undulata).
Threats and preservation
Although most of the marsh is in protected areas the habitats are vulnerable to cattle grazing, firewood collection and salt extraction operations, all of which may involve driving road vehicles and thus disturbing wildlife. There are several wildlife sanctuaries and protected reserves on the Indian side in the Rann of Kutch region. From the city of BhujBhuj
Bhuj is a city and a municipality in Kachchh district in the state of Gujarat, India.-History:It was established by Rao Hamirji in 1510 and was made the state capital by Rao Khengarji I in 1549. Its foundation stone as state capital laid formally on Vikram Samvat 1604 Maagha 5th...
various ecologically
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
rich and wildlife conservation
Wildlife conservation
Wildlife conservation is the preservation, protection, or restoration of wildlife and their environment, especially in relation to endangered and vulnerable species. All living non-domesticated animals, even if bred, hatched or born in captivity, are considered wild animals. Wildlife represents all...
areas of the Kutch/Kachchh district can be visited such as Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary, Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary
Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary
Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in the Great Rann of Kutch, Kutch district, Gujarat, India, it was declared a sanctuary in February 1986....
, Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary
Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary
Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary also popularly known as Narayan Sarovar Wildlife Sanctuary or Narayan Sarovar Chinkara Sanctuary notified as such in April 1981 and subsequently denotified in 1995 with reduced area, is a unique eco-system in the Lakhpat taluka of Kutch district in the state of Gujarat,...
, Kutch Bustard Sanctuary
Kutch Bustard Sanctuary
Kutch Bustard Sanctuary or Kachchh Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary, also known as Lala–Parjan Sanctuary, is located near Jakhau village in Nalia taluka, Kutch district, Gujarat, India. This sanctuary is one of the two Great Indian Bustard sanctuaries in Gujarat; the other one is in Jamnagar...
, Banni Grasslands Reserve
Banni Grasslands Reserve
Banni Grasslands Reserve or Banni grasslands form a belt of arid grassland ecosystem on the outer southern edge of the desert of the marshy salt flats of Rann of Kutch in Kutch District, Gujarat State, India. They are known for rich wildlife and biodiversity and are spread across an area of...
and Chari-Dhand Wetland Conservation Reserve
Chari-Dhand Wetland Conservation Reserve
The Chari-Dhand wetland conservation reserve is located on the edge of arid Banni grasslands and the marshy salt flats of the Rann of Kutch in Kutch District, Gujarat State in India. It is currently legally protected under the status as a Protected or Reserve Forest in India...
, etc.
On the Pakistani side in the Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
province the Pakistani Government has created the Rann of Kutch Wildlife Sanctuary.
Indo-Pakistan international border
In India the northern boundary of the Greater Rann of Kutch forms the International BorderInternational Border
The India–Pakistan Border , known locally as the International Border , is the international boundary between India and Pakistan that demarcates the Indian states of Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat from the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Sindh. Pakistan borders India in the east. The border...
between India and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, it is heavily patrolled by Border Security Force
Border Security Force
The Border Security Force is a border patrol agency of the Government of India. Established on December 1, 1965, it is one of the Central Armed Police Forces. Its primary role is to guard India's international borders during peacetime and also prevent transnational crime...
(BSF) and Indian Army
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...
conducts exercises here to acclimatize its troops to this harsh terrain.
This inhospitable salty lowland, rich in natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
is part of India and Pakistan's ongoing border dispute concerning Kori Creek
Kori Creek
The Kori Creek is a creek in the Rann of Kachchh region of the Indian state of Gujarat and the Pakistani province of Sindh. It lies in the Kutch marshland.-Disputes:...
. In April 1965, a dispute there contributed to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. This conflict became known as the Second Kashmir War fought by India and Pakistan over the disputed region of Kashmir, the first having been fought in 1947...
, when fighting broke out between India and Pakistan. Later the same year, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
successfully persuaded both countries to end hostilities and set up a tribunal
Tribunal
A tribunal in the general sense is any person or institution with the authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title....
to resolve the dispute. A verdict was reached in 1968 which saw Pakistan getting 10% of its claim of 9100 square kilometres (3,513.5 sq mi). The majority of the area thus remained with India. Tensions spurted again in 1999 during the Atlantique Incident
Atlantique Incident
The Atlantique Incident was an event in which a Pakistan Navy's Naval Air Arm Breguet Atlantique patrol plane, carrying 16 people on board, was shot down by the Indian Air Force for alleged violation of airspace...
.
Chir Batti
At night, an unexplained strange dancing light phenomena known locally as Chir BattiChir Batti
Chir Batti, Chhir Batti or Cheer batti is a ghost light reported in the Banni grasslands, a seasonal marshy wetlands and adjoining desert of the marshy salt flats of the Rann of Kutch near the India Pakistan border in Kutch district, Gujarat State, India...
(ghost lights) occurs in the Rann, the adjoining Banni grasslands, and the seasonal wetlands.
In popular culture
J. P. DuttaJ. P. Dutta
Jyoti Prakash Dutta is an Indian Bollywood film producer and director. Mr. Dutta produces his films under the banner of JP Films. He is known for directing many patriotic war films and films in the action genre...
's Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
film Refugee
Refugee (film)
Refugee is a Bollywood film directed by J. P. Dutta, released on 30 June 2000. The film marked the debut of Abhishek Bachchan, son of legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan, and Kareena Kapoor, the sister of actress Karisma Kapoor and part of the famous Kapoor family. Jackie Shroff, Sunil Shetty and...
is shot on location in the Great Rann of Kutch and other locations in the Kutch district
Kutch District
Kutch district is a district of Gujarat state in western India. Covering an area of 45,652 km², it is the largest district of India....
of Gujarat, India. This film is attributed to have been inspired by the famous story by Keki N. Daruwalla
Keki N. Daruwalla
Keki N. Daruwalla is a major Indian poet and short story writer in English language. He has written over 12 books and published his first novel "For Pepper and Christ" in 2009...
based around the Great Rann of Kutch titled "Love Across the Salt Desert" which is also included as one of the short stories in the School Standard XII syllabus English text book of NCERT in India. The film crew
Film crew
Television crew positions are derived from those of film crew positions.A film crew is a group of people hired by a production company for the purpose of producing a film or motion picture. Crew are distinguished from cast, the Actors who appear in front of the camera or provide voices for...
traveled from Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
and was based in the city of Bhuj
Bhuj
Bhuj is a city and a municipality in Kachchh district in the state of Gujarat, India.-History:It was established by Rao Hamirji in 1510 and was made the state capital by Rao Khengarji I in 1549. Its foundation stone as state capital laid formally on Vikram Samvat 1604 Maagha 5th...
and most of the film shooting took place throughout the Kutch District of the Indian state of Gujarat including the Great Rann of Kutch (also on BSF-controlled "snow white" Rann interior), villages and Border Security Force
Border Security Force
The Border Security Force is a border patrol agency of the Government of India. Established on December 1, 1965, it is one of the Central Armed Police Forces. Its primary role is to guard India's international borders during peacetime and also prevent transnational crime...
(BSF) Posts in Banni grasslands and the Rann, Tera fort village, Lakhpat
Lakhpat
Lakhpat fort town is a small town in Kachchh district of Gujarat, India within the fort walls of the 18th-century Lakhpat fort. The literal meaning of Lakhpat is the city of millionaire, however today it is sparsely populated Ghost town, a city of ruins of buildings and a magnificent fort...
fort village, Khera fort village, a village in southern Kutch, some ancient temples of Kutch and with parts and a song filmed on set in Mumbai's Kamalistan Studio.
Several scenes in Salman Rushdie's Booker Prize winning novel Midnight's Children take place in the Rann of Kutch, including a scene where the protagonist faints from heat stroke in the Rann's famously brutal climate.
See also
- Little Rann of KutchLittle Rann of KutchLittle Rann of Kutch is a salt marsh located near the Great Rann of Kutch in Kutch district, Gujarat, India.-Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary:It is famous as the world's last refuge of the Indian Wild Ass for the conservation of which it has been declared as the Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary.Though a bleak...
- Kutch
- Kori CreekKori CreekThe Kori Creek is a creek in the Rann of Kachchh region of the Indian state of Gujarat and the Pakistani province of Sindh. It lies in the Kutch marshland.-Disputes:...
- Atlantique IncidentAtlantique IncidentThe Atlantique Incident was an event in which a Pakistan Navy's Naval Air Arm Breguet Atlantique patrol plane, carrying 16 people on board, was shot down by the Indian Air Force for alleged violation of airspace...
- Banni grasslands
- Chhir Batti (Ghost lights) from Banni grasslands, its seasonal wetlands and the adjoining Rann of Kutch
- Chari-Dhand Wetland Conservation ReserveChari-Dhand Wetland Conservation ReserveThe Chari-Dhand wetland conservation reserve is located on the edge of arid Banni grasslands and the marshy salt flats of the Rann of Kutch in Kutch District, Gujarat State in India. It is currently legally protected under the status as a Protected or Reserve Forest in India...
adjacent to Banni Grasslands - Salt marshSalt marshA salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...
- Salt flat
External links
- Rann of Kutch Festival Astrology
- World Wildlife Fund: Terrestrial EcoregionEcoregionAn ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
s: Rann of Kutch - Satellite views comparing summer and winter conditions in the Rann of Kutch
- Little Rann of Kutch National Park
- Kachchh Portal a web portal about Kachchh and the people who hail from there - the global community of Kachchhis / Kutchis.
- Worldwildlife.org website
- Desert (Rann of Kutch) wetlands; 06 February 2003; WWF Global website
- KACHCHH PENINSULA AND THE GREAT RANN; The Geological Survey of India, Ministry of Mines, Government of India
- Archived News Articles from India Environmental Portal on: Rann of Kutch
- Archived News Articles from India Environmental Portal for a Search made for: Banni grasslands
- http://www.superbikerdg.com/authen/user/runnalbum.aspxTrip Record: Photos of Friends on a motorbike trip through Kutch visiting the Great Rann of Kutch passing through Kala Dungar (Black hill), snow white Rann, then they visit the Dholavira Harappan excavation site. Then biking through Banni grasslands they see Indian Wild Ass there and Chari-Dhand Wetland Conservation Reserve. They then Bike to Lakhpat fort village and also Mandvi beach.]. Also see http://www.superbikerdg.com/authen/user/tgrk.aspx.