The Natural Lava Columns of St.Mary's Island

In Karnataka, India, the St. Mary's Islands are a well-known group of islands. On one of the four islands, Coconut Island, you can see numerous black stone columns that look like a wonder created by nature. These columns, formed by volcanic activity millions of years ago on the 500-meter-long and 100-meter-wide hexagonal island, are made of lava. This site is known for geo-tourism.

In 1498, the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed on this island before entering India and named it St. Mary's Island, and the islands have been known by that name ever since. The formation of vertical columns with regular shapes of five, six, or seven sides on the island seems like a wonder. The tallest column is 20 feet high. These are made of igneous rock. Many scientific studies have been conducted on this island, and it is an important research location for geologists. You can reach the island from Malpe port in Karnataka. The ancient Vadabhandeshwara temple there is also worth seeing.