View source for Salsette Island

{{Short description|Island off the coast of Maharashtra, India}}
{{Distinguish|text = [[Salcete]], Goa}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2017}}
{{Moresources|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox islands
| name             = Salsette
| image_name       = Mumbaicitydistricts.png
| image_caption    = The metropolis of [[Mumbai]] and the city of [[Thane]] lie on Salsette Island.
| image_size       = 
| map              = India Maharashtra
| map_caption      = 
| native_name      = 
| native_name_link = 
| nickname         = 
| location         = [[Arabian Sea]]
| coordinates      = {{Coord|19|12|N|72|54|E|region:IN_type:isle_scale:500000|display=title}}
| archipelago      = 
| total_islands    = 
| major_islands    = 
| area_km2         = 619
| length_km        = 
| width_km         = 
| highest_mount    = Kanheri Peak, [[Sanjay Gandhi National Park]]
| elevation_m      = 467
| country          = India
| country_admin_divisions_title     = 
| country_admin_divisions           = 
| country_admin_divisions_title_1   = 
| country_admin_divisions_1         = 
| country_admin_divisions_title_2   = 
| country_admin_divisions_2         = 
| country_largest_city              = [[Mumbai]]
| country_largest_city_population   = 
| population       = 23,729,378 (estimated) {{cn|date=January 2022}}
| population_as_of = 
| density_km2      = 38,335
| ethnic_groups    = {{cns|[[Maharashtrians]] (53%), [[Gujaratis]] (22%), [[North Indians]] (17%), [[Sindhi people|Sindhis]] (3%), [[Telugus]] (2%), Others (3%)|date=December 2024}}
| additional_info  = 
}}

'''Salsette Island''' ({{langx|pt|Salsete}}, {{langx|kok|साष्टी|translit=sāṣṭī}}, Sashti) is an [[island]] in [[Konkan division]] of the state of [[Maharashtra]], along [[coast of India|India's west coast]]. The cities of [[Mumbai]] ([[Mumbai City district]] and [[Mumbai Suburban district]]), [[Thane]] and [[Mira-Bhayandar]] (both part of [[Thane district]]) lie on it, making it very [[list of islands by population|populous]] and one of the [[list of islands by population density|most densely populated islands in the world]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2025}} The island forms the central part of the [[Mumbai Metropolitan Region]] and has a population of more than 20 million inhabitants living on an area of about {{convert|619|km2}}.{{cn|date=January 2022}}

==Location==
Salsette is bounded on the north by [[Vasai Creek]], on the northeast by the [[Ulhas River]], on the east by [[Thane Creek]] and [[Mumbai Harbour]], and on the south and west by the [[Arabian Sea]]. The original [[Seven Islands of Bombay|seven islands of Bombay]], which were merged by [[land reclamation]] during the 19th and early 20th centuries to form the city of Mumbai, are now practically a southward protruding peninsula of the much larger Salsette Island.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cultural.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/greater_bombay/general.html#1 |title= Geography - Salsette group of Islands|access-date=24 March 2012|work= Maharashtra State Gazetteer, Greater Bombay district |year=1987}}</ref>

The island of [[Trombay]] that was to the southeast of Salsette is today part of Salsette as much of the intervening swamps have been reclaimed. It contains [[Sanjay Gandhi National Park]], also known as Borivali National Park. The city of [[Thane]] is at the northeastern corner, on [[Thane Creek]], while the western suburbs of Mumbai which stretches from [[Bhayandar]] in the northwest corner to [[Bandra]] which lies just before the Mumbai City district, lies on its western side while the eastern suburbs of Mumbai that stretch from [[Thane]] to [[Kurla]] lie  on the eastern half of the island. Both suburbs are separated by the Sanjay Gandhi National Park till the neighbourhood of [[Powai]] in Andheri. Politically, the [[Mumbai City district]] covers the peninsula south of Mahim and Sion while most of the original island constitutes the [[Mumbai Suburban district]]. The northern portion lies within [[Thane district]], which extends across Thane creeks onto the mainland.<ref name="MCDP">{{cite web|url=http://www.mcgm.gov.in/irj/portalapps/com.mcgm.ahome_keyprojects/docs/2-17%20Disaster%20Management.pdf| title=2.17.1 Existing Situation|access-date=24 March 2012|work= Mumbai city Development Plan 2005}}</ref>

==History==
{{See also|History of Mumbai}}
{{Moresources | section|date=March 2024}}
[[File:Agrees, or Salt Cultivators of Salsette (9842277595).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Agri (caste)|Aagri]] people of Salsette ({{circa|1855}})]]

The word ''Sasashti'' (also shortened to ''Sashti'') is Maharashtri Konkani term for "sixty-six", referring to the original "sixty-six villages" on the island.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Census of India |url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924071135820/cu31924071135820_djvu.txt |last=India. Census Commissioner.|publisher=Government Central Press, Bombay|year=1901 |access-date=16 April 2012}}</ref> It was inhabited by (Aagri, Kunbi) farmers, agriculturists, (Bhandaris) [[toddy tapper]]s, (Sutar, Malis) artisans and (Kolis) fisherfolk who trace their conversion to Christianity back to 55 [[AD]] with the arrival of Christ's disciple, [[Bartholomew the Apostle]], in north [[Konkan region]]. They were later converted to the [[Latin Church in India]] by four [[religious orders]]—the [[Dominican Order|Dominican]]s, [[Franciscan]]s, [[Augustinians|Augustinian]]s & [[Jesuit]]s— who arrived in the 15th century with the Portuguese. These original inhabitants of Salsette are the [[Bombay East Indian Catholics]], the Aagris & [[Koli people|Kolis]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.freewebs.com/east_indian/Bom_gaz.pdf| title= Populations. Christians. history|access-date=25 March 2012 |work= Bombay Gazetteer}}</ref>

109 [[Buddhism in India|Buddhist]] caves, including those at Kanheri, can be found on the island, and date from the end of the 2nd century.<ref>{{cite book|author=Alexander Kyd Nairne|title=History of the Konkan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nzPCcILP-XwC&pg=PA9|year=1894|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=978-81-206-0275-5|page=9}}</ref> Salsette was ruled by a succession of Hindu kingdoms, the last of which were the [[Silhara dynasty|Silharas]] and later the [[Maratha Empire|Maratha]]s. In 1343, the islands were annexed by the [[Sultan of Guzerat]]. 

In 1534, the [[Portuguese empire]] seized the islands from Sultan [[Bahadur Shah of Gujarat|Bahadur Shah]]. Sashti became part of the northern province of [[Portuguese India]], which was governed from [[Vasai (Bassein)]] on the north shore of Bassein Creek. It was leased to the explorer [[Diogo Rodrigues]] from 25 October, 1535 to 1548. In 1554, the islands were handed over to [[Garcia de Orta]], a renowned physician and botanist and the author of ''Colloquies on the Simples Drugs and Medical Matter of India'', a seminal work on Indian [[Eastern medicine]] of its time.

Nine churches were built on Salsette island by the Portuguese; Nirmal (1557), Nossa Senhora dos Remédios (1557), Sandor (1566), Agashi (1568), Nandakal (1573), Papdy (1574), Pale (1595), Manickpur (1606), and Nossa Senhora das Mercês (1606). The [[St. Andrew's Church, Mumbai|St Andrews Church]] and the [[Mount Mary Church|Mount St Mary's Church]] in Bandra, the Cross at [[Cross Maidan]], [[Gloria Church]] (1632) in Mazagaon and the remnants of a church in Santa Cruz are the sole places of worship that have survived to the 21st century.

In 1661, the seven Bombay (Mumbai) islets were ceded to [[United Kingdom|Britain]] as part of the [[marriage Treaty|dowry]] of [[Catherine de Braganza]] to [[Charles II of England]]; while Salsette remained in Portuguese hands. Charles II in turn, leased the Bombay islets to the [[English East India Company]] in 1668 for £10 per year. The company found the deep harbour at [[Mumbai (Bombay)]] eminently apposite, and the population rose from 10,000 in 1661 to 60,000 by 1675. In 1687, the East India Company transferred their headquarters there from [[Surat]]. In 1737, the island was captured by Mahratta violence, all of the Portuguese northern province in India, except [[Damaon, Diu & Silvassa]], as it was frequently invaded by the Mahratta forces until 1739. [[Marquis de Pombal]] formally ceded what would become Greater Bombay, to [[Peshwa]] [[Balaji Baji Rao|Balaji Bajirao]] of the [[Mahratta Confederacy]] in the 1750s.

The British occupied Salsette in 1774,<ref name=Naravane>{{Cite book |last=Naravane |first=M.S. |title=Battles of the Honorourable East India Company |publisher=A.P.H. Publishing Corporation |year=2014 |isbn=9788131300343 |pages=53}}</ref> and it was formally ceded to the East India Company in the 1782 [[Treaty of Salbai]]. In 1782, [[William Hornby (governor)|William Hornby]], then Governor of [[Bombay Province]], initiated the project of connecting the islets of Bombay. By 1845, the seven southern islands had been connected to form [[South Bombay]], with an area of 435&nbsp;km². Railway viaducts and causeways were built in the 19th century to connect Bombay Island to the mainland via Salsette. The channels separating Mumbai from Salsette and Trombay were bridged by the [[Sion Causeway]] in 1803.<ref>{{cite book|author=Alexander Kyd Nairne|title=History of the Konkan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nzPCcILP-XwC&pg=PA124|year=1894|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=978-81-206-0275-5|page=124}}</ref> Accessibility considerably increased after construction of this causeway.<ref>{{cite book|author=Anne Bulley|title=The Bombay Country Ships, 1790-1833|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XEAVlScUWjwC&pg=PA99|year=2000|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-7007-1236-6|page=99}}</ref> Mahim and Bandra were connected by the [[Mahim Causeway]] in 1845.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dancewithshadows.com/mumbai_history.asp|title=City by the sea|access-date=24 March 2012|work=Dance with Shadows.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040911080938/http://www.dancewithshadows.com/mumbai_history.asp|archive-date=11 September 2004|df=dmy-all}}</ref> 

These railway lines and roads encouraged wealthier merchants to build villas on Salsette. By 1901, the population of Salsette had increased to 146,993 and the area began to be referred to as [[Greater Bombay]].

==Geography==
{{See also|Geography of Mumbai}}
[[File:IslandsofBombay1893.jpg|thumb|1893 map showing the island]]
[[File:Bombay Suburban District Map 1929.jpg|thumb|1929 Map Salsette Land Records Office]]
Salsette is dominated by a central mass of hills surrounded by tidal flats. A number of much smaller islands lay on its western flank. These included [[Bandra]], [[Khar Danda]], [[Juhu]] (an old linear sand bar rising above sea level by just a metre or two), [[Versova (Mumbai)|Versova]], [[Marve Island]], [[Gorai|Dharavi Island]] and Rai Murdhe, all with a [[hillock|knoll]] core and fringing wave-cut platforms and sandy beaches. These islands seem to have remained separate until as late as 1808. 

At the time of writing of the old Gazetteer of Thana in 1882, these islands could be reached during low tides by walking across the tidal inlets in between, except for the island of Dharavi in present-day [[Gorai]] (not to be confused with the slum near Mahim), which had to be reached by a boat. These are no longer separate, being joined to Salsette via reclamation. The highest point is the conical peak of Kanheri (467 metres) in [[Borivali National Park]] on the northern reaches of the island.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cultural.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/greater_bombay/general.html#1| title= Geography - Salsette group of Islands|access-date=25 March 2012|work= Maharashtra State Gazetteer, Greater Bombay district |year=1987}}</ref> This [[national park]] is the world's biggest within city limits.

===Geology===
The island is at the confluence of a number of fault lines.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theory.tifr.res.in/bombay/physical/fault.html| title=The Seismic environment of Mumbai|access-date=24 March 2012|work= Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai}}</ref> This makes the area [[earthquake]]-prone, up to a magnitude of 6. The island is mostly composed of black [[basalt]] rock. Since it is along the sea coast, it has a sandy belt on its western coast. The southern region of Old Mumbai is mostly at sea level. However, the parts which were erstwhile shallows are below sea level. Many parts of the city are hilly.{{cn|date=March 2024}}

===Other natural formations===
====Lakes====
There are three major lakes on the island: [[Powai Lake]], [[Tulsi Lake]] and [[Vihar Lake]]. The latter two supply part of Mumbai's water requirements. Numerous other smaller ponds and lakes are present.

====Rivers====
The [[Mithi River]] (Mahim), [[Poisar River]], [[Oshiwara River]] and [[Dahisar River]] originate in the national park and empty into the Arabian Sea. The Mithi River originates at Vihar Lake. Vasai and Thane creeks are [[estuary|estuarine]] [[distributary|distributaries]] of the [[Ulhas River]].

====Creeks====
A number of saline or [[brackish]] creeks extend inland from the coastline. Mahim Creek separates the city from the suburbs in the west. Further north on the western coast, the Oshiwara river empties into Malad (or Marvé) Creek and the Dahisar River into Gorai Creek. The eastern waterfront also has many small creeks.

====Wetlands====
The small southern part of the eastern waterfront of Salsette forms Mumbai Harbour.

North of this region lie vast amounts of protected [[wetland]]s at [[Sewree]], home to migratory birds. The northern and northwestern part of the island and parts of Mahim River have government-protected marshlands. These swampy regions form massive, dense [[mangrove]] forests.

==See also==
{{portal|Islands}}
* [[Navi Mumbai]] (New Mumbai)

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Mumbai topics}}
{{Portuguese overseas empire}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Geography of Mumbai]]
[[Category:Former Portuguese colonies]]
[[Category:Islands of Mumbai]]
[[Category:Geography of Thane district]]
[[Category:Islands of India]]
[[Category:Populated places in India]]