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KONKAN, or CONCAN
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See also:KONKAN, or CONCAN , a maritime See also:tract of Western See also:India, situated within the limits of the See also:Presidency of Bombay, and extending from the Portuguese See also:settlement of See also:Goa on the S. to the territory of Daman, belonging to the same nation, on the N. On the E. it is bounded by the Western See also:Ghats, and on the W. by the See also:Indian Ocean. This tract comprises the three See also:British districts of See also:Thana, See also:Ratnagiri and See also:Kolaba, and the native states of See also:Janjira and See also:Sawantwari. It may be estimated at 300 M. in length, with an See also:average breadth of about 40. From the mountains on its eastern frontier, which in one See also:place attain a height of 4700 ft., the See also:surface, marked by a See also:succession of irregular hilly spurs from the Ghats, slopes• to the westward, where the mean See also:elevation of the See also:coast is not more than See also:loo ft.. above the level of the See also:sea. Several See also:mountain streams, but none of any magnitude, See also:traverse the See also:country in the same direction. One of the most striking characteristics of the See also:climate is the violence of the See also:monsoon rains—the mean See also:annual fall at See also:Mahabaleshwar amounting to 239 in. The coast has a straight See also:general outline, but is much broken into small bays and harbours. This, with the uninterrupted view along the See also:shore, and the See also:land and sea breezes, which force vessels steering along the coast to be always within sight of it, rendered this country from See also:time immemorial the seat of piracy; and so formidable Jiad the pirates become in the 18th See also:century, that all See also:ships suffered which did not receive a pass from their chiefs. The See also:Great See also:Mogul maintained a See also:fleet for the See also:express purpose of checking them, and they were frequently attacked by the Portuguese. British See also:commerce was protected by occasional expeditions from Bombay; but the piratical See also:system was not finally extinguished until 1812. The See also:southern Konkan has given its name to a See also:dialect of See also:Marathi, which is the See also:vernacular of the See also:Roman Catholics of Goa. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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