In the Arabian Sea, roughly 200 kilometers (120 miles) off the west coast of southern India, are the Lakshadweep Islands. The island chain consists of 27 islands along with coral atolls and sand banks. The islands and atolls might appear scattered, but they all lie along a prominent north-south submarine ridge. Geologists have noticed that the alignment of the Lakshadweep ridge looks like a continuation of the Aravalli Range, a mountain chain running through the Indian state of Rajasthan. Some geologists have speculated that the islands might be a submerged extension of that chain