Mumbai

Sister cities

• Espoo
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• İzmir
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History

Mumbai is built on what was originally an archipelago of seven islands: Isle of Bombay, Parel, Mazagaon, Mahim, Colaba, Worli, and Old Woman's Island (also known as Little Colaba). Pleistocene sediments near Kandivali suggest that the islands were inhabited since the South Asian Stone Age. In the 3rd century BCE, the islands became part of the Maurya Empire under Ashoka, followed by the Satavahana dynasty in the 2nd century BCE. The Koli fishing community populated the region during the beginning of the Common Era. The Mahakali Caves in Andheri were cut out between the 1st century BCE and the 6th century CE, while the Kanheri Caves in Borivali, excavated in the 1st century CE, became an important centre of Buddhism in Western India. In the 2nd century, Greek geographer Ptolemy referred to the islands as Heptanesia (Ancient Greek: A cluster of seven islands). Between the 2nd century and 9th centuries, the islands were ruled by successive indigenous dynasties including the Western Satraps, Abhira, Vakataka, Kalachuris, Konkan Mauryas, Chalukyas, and Rashtrakutas, before being ruled by the Shilaharas from 810 to 1260. Important historic structures from this period that survive include the Jogeshwari Caves (between 520 and 525), Elephanta Caves (between 6th to 7th century), Walkeshwar Temple (10th century), and Banganga Tank (12th century). In the late 13th century, King Bhima established a kingdom in the region and made Mahikawati (present-day Mahim) its capital. Around 1298, the Pathare Prabhus, among the earliest known settlers of the city, migrated to Mahikawati from Saurashtra in Gujarat. The Delhi Sultanate annexed the islands in 1347–48 and ruled them until 1407, during which they were administered by Muslim governors of Gujarat appointed by the sultanate. The…

Geography

Mumbai is spread over an area of , and is divided into two districts–Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban. The suburban district occupies and is divided into three tehsils–Andheri, Borivali, and Kurla. The city district-region located to the south is referred to as South Mumbai or "Island City", and occupies an area of . The Mumbai Metropolitan Region includes portions of Thane, Palghar and Raigad districts in addition to Greater Mumbai, and covers an area of . It lies at the mouth of the Ulhas River on the western coast of India, in the Konkan region. It shares the Salsette Island, with the Thane district. Navi Mumbai is located to the east of the Thane Creek, and Thane is situated towards the north of the Vasai Creek. The majority of the city lies just above the mean sea level, with elevations ranging from , and an average elevation of . Northern Mumbai consists of hilly terrain, with the highest point in the city at in the Powai–Kanheri range. The coastline is indented with creeks and bays, stretching from the Thane creek in the east to Madh Marve on the western front. The eastern coast of the Salsette Island is covered with mangrove swamps, while the western coast is mostly sandy and rocky. Soil cover in the city region is predominantly sandy. In the suburbs, the soil cover is largely alluvial and loamy. The underlying rock is black Deccan basalt, dating to the late Cretaceous and early Eocene eras. Mumbai sits on a seismically active zone with 23 fault lines. The area is a Seismic Zone III region, which means an earthquake of up to magnitude 6.5 on the Richter magnitude scale could occur. The Sanjay Gandhi National Park (Borivali National Park) is situated partly in the Mumbai suburban and Thane districts, and covers an area of . There are two major…

Most-observed species

• House Crow

  Corvus splendens Vieillot, 1817 · Aves
  23,481
• Black Kite

  Milvus migrans (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  21,285
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  17,657
• Rose-ringed Parakeet

  Psittacula krameri (Scopoli, 1769) · Aves
  16,796
• Common Myna

  Acridotheres tristis (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  15,432
• Large-billed Crow

  Corvus macrorhynchos Wagler, 1827 · Aves
  14,501
• Common Tailorbird

  Orthotomus sutorius (Pennant, 1769) · Aves
  14,485
• Asian Koel

  Eudynamys scolopaceus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,426

Most recent

• M 4.1 — 2019-07-24
  25 km WSW of Shirgaon, India