https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Geology_of_the_British_Indian_Ocean_TerritoryGeology of the British Indian Ocean Territory - Revision history2026-08-20T12:26:17ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_the_British_Indian_Ocean_Territory&diff=477096&oldid=prevHeikeC58098401: Done2026-02-24T02:33:41Z<p>Done</p>
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The '''geology of the [[British Indian Ocean Territory]]''' comprises the [[Chagos Archipelago]] — the above water portion of the [[Great Chagos Bank|Chagos Bank]]. Formed from hotspot volcanism, the Chagos Bank was separated from the [[Nazareth Bank]], which is administered by [[Mauritius]], 36 million years ago by activity on the Central Indian Ridge. Aside from plate boundaries, the region is one of the most seismically active and earthquakes have caused subsidence of some islands.<br />
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Described by Charles Darwin as "a ledge of brecciated coral rocks projecting seawards from the outer shore," the Chagos Archipelago has unusual [[conglomerate (geology)|conglomerate]] platforms. The islands lack [[Eemian]] age carbonates, which are present in the Seychelles Islands for reasons that are not clear—hypothesized to include local storm erosion.<ref name="researchgate">{{cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230751432|date=2005-01-14|title= Reef and island formation and Late Holocene sea-level changes in the Chagos islands|author=A. Eisenhauer, G. A. Heiss, C. R. C. Sheppard, W.-C. Dullo|access-date=2018-11-01}}</ref><br />
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The offshore waters around the archipelago contain deep-sea ferromanganese nodules, with globular, dendritic and laminated microstructures formed from iron-manganese oxide.<ref name="sciencedirect">{{cite journal|title=Petrogenesis of ferromanganese nodules from east of the Chagos Archipelago, Central Indian Basin, Indian Ocean|journal=Marine Geology|volume=157|issue=3–4|pages=145–158|doi=10.1016/S0025-3227(98)00156-X|year=1999|last1=Banerjee|first1=Ranadip|last2=Roy|first2=Supriya|last3=Dasgupta|first3=Somnath|last4=Mukhopadhyay|first4=Subir|last5=Miura|first5=Hiroyuki|bibcode=1999MGeol.157..145B }}</ref><br />
Due to the US military presence on the island, the US Geological Survey has conducted water resource analysis since 1984.<br />
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The islands of the Chagos Archipelago are mainly low and flat, mainly not reaching two meters above sea level.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/british-indian-ocean-territory/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117034125/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/british-indian-ocean-territory/|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 17, 2021|title=South Asia :: British Indian Ocean Territory — The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency|website=www.cia.gov|access-date=2019-03-30}}</ref><br />
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==References==<br />
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{{Asia topic|Geology of}}<br />
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[[Category:Geology of South Asia]]<br />
[[Category:Geology of dependent territories of the United Kingdom]]<br />
[[Category:Geology of the Indian Ocean]]</div>HeikeC58098401