ntil the last Holocene transgression the Saurashtra peninsula was a separate island. It was cut off by the“Null”, and was part of the Arabian Sea connecting the Gulf of Cambay with

the Gulf of Kachh. Over the centuries, sediments from river waters of Banas, Luni, Saraswati and Rupen filled up this shallow lagoon, turning most of the areas of the Rann into a huge mud flat. Till very recently, one branch of the Indus river flowed past the NW edge of the Rann. An earthquake in 1817 altered the course. Recently some Harappan relics have been discovered near Nanda Bait, indicating an ancient port.

When monsoon comes, flood waters of innumerable seasonal streams and rivers inundate most of this otherwise arid region. It becomes a vast marshland and plays host to tens of thousands of flamingos, cranes, storks, pelicans and a variety of other water birds.

In the last few years, an influential international
organization known as the Ramsar Convention . . .