Mid-Indian Basin

(also Central Basin), a depression of the ocean floor in the northwestern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded by the continental slope of Asia, the insular slopes of the Maldives, and the Carlsberg and East Indian ridges. The Central Basin is approximately 6,000 km long and 1,600 km wide, and its depth reaches 6,090 m. The northern part, as far south as 8°–10° S lat., is a plain; there are hills and mountains in the south. In the central part of the basin is the meridional Lanka Range, which reaches a maximum height of 1,549 m at Mount Afanasii Nikitin. The sediments in the basin are terrigenous foramineral and radiolarian oozes, and there is red clay in the extreme south. Ferromanganese nodules are also found.