Encyclopedia Article
Map of Rann of Kachchh
Rann of Kachchh (also spelled Kutch), extensive saline mudflats, lying in north-western Gujarat, western India, and southern Sindh, southern Pakistan. From its western extreme at the mouths of the Indus in Pakistan to its eastern point at the mouth of the Sabarmati on the Gulf of Khambhāt, the rann covers approximately 23,300 sq km (8,995 sq mi). It is divided into the Great Rann (18,000 sq km/6,950 sq mi), which lies in the north and runs along the border with Pakistan, and the Little Rann (5,300 sq km/2,045 sq mi), which lies in the hinterland of the Kathiawar Peninsula, between the gulfs of Kachchh and Khambhāt.
The Rann of Kachchh (Hindi, ran, “wilderness”) was once an extension of the Arabian Sea, then later a navigable lake, but today, due to the build-up of silt, it is a vast swampland. During the dry season the rann is a sandy salt basin, prone to dust storms, while in the rainy monsoon season it is inundated with floodwaters and the whole Kachchh Peninsula becomes an island. This salt desert-wetland ecosystem is unique and provides an important habitat for a number of species, including the wolf, houbara bustard, lesser florican, and the endangered wild ass (a herd of which live in the Little Rann). It is also a nesting ground for flamingos, pelicans, and avocets. Much of the Little Rann is a wildlife sanctuary. Irrigation projects and desertification by the Thar Desert in the north threaten the rann’s fragile ecosystem, while the expansion of the Rann of Kachchh has encroached on surrounding farmland.
Lying on the island of Khadir in the Great Rann is the ancient town of Dholavira, where excavations have revealed one of the largest-known settlements of the Indus Valley civilization. The rann is located in the district of Kachchh, which was established in the 14th century by Rajputs; the district has maintained a distinct culture over the centuries because of its remoteness. In 1965 India and Pakistan clashed over territory in the Rann of Kachchh. The dispute ended in 1968 when an international tribunal awarded Pakistan 10 per cent of the border area (approximately 775 sq km/300 sq mi) within the rann. The Kachchh Peninsula experiences numerous earth tremors as it lies on the boundary of the Indian and Asian plates, an area renowned for tectonic activity (see Plate Tectonics).