page_title: Salsette Island
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Salsette Island / Geography
caption_attribution_description: English: This is an 1893 map of the original islands of Bombay before they were merged to form the present-day geographic entity.
context_page_description: Salsette Island is an island in the state of Maharashtra on India's west coast. The metropolis of Mumbai and the cities of Thane and Mira-Bhayander lie on it, making it very populous and one of the most densely populated islands in the world. It has a population approaching 20 million inhabitants living on an area of about 619 square kilometres.
context_section_description: 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, Juhu (an old linear sand bar rising above sea level by just a metre or two), Versova, Marve Island, Dharavi Island and Rai Murdhe, all with a 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. This national park is the world's biggest within city limits.
caption: 1893 map showing the island
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