By Indian
standard
Goa
is a
tiny
state.
The
coastline
on which
much
of its
fame
depends
is only
97km
long.
The
north
and
south
of the
state
are
separated
by the
broad
estuaries
of the
Zuari
and
Mandovi
rivers.
Joined
at high
tide
to create
an island
on which
Panaji
stands,
these
short
rivers
emerge
from
the
high
ranges
of the
Western
Ghats
less
than
50 km
from
the
coast
and
then
glide
almost
imperceptibly
to the
sea.
Alfonso
de Albuquerque
grasped
the
advantages
of this
island
site,
large
enough
to give
a secure
food-producing
base
but
with
a defensible
most,
at the
same
time
well
placed
with
respect
to the
important
northwestern
sector
of the
Arabian
Sea.
The
rich
lowland
soils
have
a high
mineral
content,
patches
of almost
sterile
red
laterite
forming
upland
areas
between
the
lower
lying
fertile
deltas.
Huge
reserves
of manganese
and
iron
ore
have
been
discovered
and
mined.
While
the
income
derived
from
this
has
helped
to boost
Goa’s
foreign
exchange,
it often
scars
the
landscape
of the
interior
and
has
had
a detrimental
effect
on neighboring
agriculture.
Back
