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The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
. Geographically it is positioned between the
Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...
and the
Indochinese peninsula Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...
, located below the
Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
region. Many South Asian and Southeast Asian countries are dependent on the Bay of Bengal. Geopolitically, the bay is bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India comprising 572 islands, of which only 38 are inhabited. The islands are grouped into two main clusters: the northern Andaman Islands and the southern Nicobar Islands, separated by a ...
of India. Its southern limit is a line between Sangaman Kanda, Sri Lanka, and the northwesternmost point of
Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...
, Indonesia.
Cox's Bazar Cox's Bazar (; ; ) is a city, fishing port, tourism centre, and Cox's Bazar District, district headquarters in south-eastern Bangladesh. Cox's Bazar Beach, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Bangladesh, is the longest uninterrupte ...
, the longest sea beach in the world and
Sundarbans Sundarbans (; pronounced ) is a mangrove forest area in the Ganges Delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Hooghly River in India's state of West Bengal ...
, the largest
mangrove forest Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets or mangals, are productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones. Mangrove forests grow mainly at tropical and subtropical latitudes because mangrove trees cannot withsta ...
and the natural habitat of the
Bengal tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies and the nominate tiger subspecies. It ranks among the largest wild cats alive today. It is estimated to have been present in the Indian subcontinent since the Late ...
, are located along the bay. The Bay of Bengal occupies an area of . A number of large rivers flow into the Bay of Bengal: the
Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...
– Hooghly, the
Padma The Padma () is a major river in Bangladesh. It is the eastern and main distributary of the Ganges, flowing generally southeast for to its confluence with the Meghna River, near the Bay of Bengal. The city of Rajshahi is situated on the bank ...
, the
Brahmaputra The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Southwestern China, Northeastern India, and Bangladesh. It is known as Brahmaputra or Luit in Assamese, Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, and ...
– Jamuna, the
Barak Barak ( or ; ; Tiberian Hebrew: '' Bārāq''; "lightning") was a ruler of Ancient Israel. As military commander in the biblical Book of Judges, Barak, with Deborah, from the Tribe of Ephraim, the prophet and fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israe ...
– Surma–
Meghna The Meghna () is one of the major rivers in Bangladesh, one of the three that form the Ganges Delta, the largest delta on earth, which fans out to the Bay of Bengal. A part of the Surma-Meghna River System, the Meghna is formed inside Bangladesh ...
, the
Irrawaddy Irrawaddy or Ayeyarwady may refer to: *Irrawaddy River, the main river of Burma *Irrawaddy Delta, a rice growing region of the country *Irrawaddy, an alternative spelling of Ayeyarwady Region, an administrative division of Burma *''The Irrawaddy'' ...
, the
Godavari The Godavari (, od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga River and drains the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakeshwar, Nashik, Maharash ...
, the
Mahanadi The Mahanadi River is a major river in East Central India. It drains an area of around and has a total length of . Mahanadi is also known for the Hirakud Dam which was the first major multipurpose river valley project after India's independenc ...
, the
Brahmani Brahmani may refer to: *A number of Hindu goddesses such as ** Brahmani (Matrika) *Rivers: ** Brahmani River, a river in Odisha, India ** Brahmani River (Dwarka), a tributary of the Dwarka in Jharkhand and West Bengal {{Disambiguation ...
, the
Baitarani The Baitarani (also spelled Vaitarani) is one of six major rivers of Odisha, India. Venerated in popular epics and legends, the Baitarani River is a source of water for agricultural irrigation. The coastal plain of Odisha has the name of " ...
, the
Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...
, the
Kaveri The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery) is a Rivers of India, major river flowing across Southern India. It is the third largest river in the region after Godavari River, Godavari and Krishna River, Krishna. The catchment area of the Kaveri basin i ...
and the
Penna River Penna (also known as Pinakini, Penneru, Penner, Pennar, Pennai) is a river of southern India. After originating from Nandi hills, it flows as two different streams, one in North and South directions. The Penna rises in the Nandi Hills, India, ...
.


Background


Extent

The
International Hydrographic Organization The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) (French: ''Organisation Hydrographique Internationale'') is an intergovernmental organization representing hydrography. the IHO comprised 102 member states. A principal aim of the IHO is to ...
defines the limits of the Bay of Bengal as follows: ::''On the east:'' A line running from
Cape Negrais Cape Negrais (, also known as Pagoda Point (ဆံတော်ရှင်မြတ်ငူ) or Mawtin Point (မော်တင်စွန်း, Mawtin Soon) is a cape in Burma (Myanmar), west of the Irrawaddy Delta. It is located 133 k ...
(16°03'N) in Burma through the larger islands of the
Andaman Andaman may refer to: * Andaman Islands, an island group in the Bay of Bengal * Andaman Island, Penang, an artificial island in George Town, Penang * Andaman Sea, a sea of the eastern Indian Ocean * ''Andaman'' (1998 film), an Indian Kannada-lang ...
group, in such a way that all the narrow waters between the islands lie Eastward of the line and are excluded from the Bay of Bengal, as far as a point in
Little Andaman Little Andaman Island ( Onge: ''Gaubolambe'') is the fourth largest of the Andaman Islands of India with an area of 707 km2, lying at the southern end of the archipelago. It belongs to the South Andaman administrative district, part of the ...
Island in latitude 10°48'N, longitude 92°24'E and thence along the Southwest limit of the Burma Sea Oedjong Raja"'' [''"Ujung Raja" or "Point Raja"''">Point_Raja.html" ;"title=" line running from ''"Point Raja">Oedjong Raja"'' [''"Ujung Raja" or "Point Raja"''() in
Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...
to Poeloe Bras Breueh Island (also Pulo Breuh, Pulau Breuh, Poelau Bras, Poeloe Bras) is an island in Pulo Aceh district, Aceh Besar Regency, Aceh, Indonesia off the northwest tip of the island of Sumatra. It is about 18 mi west-northwest of Banda Aceh. ...
(Breuëh) and on through the Western Islands of the Nicobar Group to Sandy Point in Little Andaman Island, in such a way that all the narrow waters appertain to the Burma Sea">Nicobar Islands">Nicobar Group to Sandy Point in Little Andaman Island, in such a way that all the narrow waters appertain to the Burma Sea ::''On the south:''
Adam's Bridge Adam's Bridge, also known as Rama's Bridge or ''Rama Setu'', is a chain of natural limestone shoals between Pamban Island, also known as Rameswaram Island, off the southeastern coast of Tamil Nadu, India, and Mannar Island, off the northwe ...
(between India and Ceylon) and from the Southern extreme of
Dondra Head Dondra (, ) is a settlement on the extreme southernmost tip of Sri Lanka, in the Indian Ocean near Matara, Southern Province, Sri Lanka. The Dondra Head Lighthouse, ruins of several Hindu shrines of Tenavaram and a Vihara (Buddhist temple) are ...
(South point of Ceylon) to the North point of
Poeloe Bras Breueh Island (also Pulo Breuh, Pulau Breuh, Poelau Bras, Poeloe Bras) is an island in Pulo Aceh district, Aceh Besar Regency, Aceh, Indonesia off the northwest tip of the island of Sumatra. It is about 18 mi west-northwest of Banda Aceh. ...
(). Note: Oedjong means "
cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...
" in Dutch language on maps of the
Netherlands East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...
(Indonesia).Glossary of Terms Appearing on Maps of the Netherlands East Indies
, United States Army Map Service, page 115.


Etymology

The bay gets its name from the historical Bengal region (modern-day
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
and the Indian states of
West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
,
Tripura Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...
and the Barak valley of Southern
Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...
). In Ancient Indian
scriptures Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...
, this water body may have been referred to as Mahodadhi. Ancient Romans called it ''Sinus Gangeticus'' or ''Gangeticus Sinus'' whilst Ancient Greeks called it in , meaning "Gulf of the Ganges", and old European maps continued to use this name.


History

In ancient
Classical India The middle kingdoms of India were the political entities in the Indian subcontinent from 230 BCE to 1206 CE. The period begins after the decline of the Maurya Empire and the corresponding rise of the Satavahana dynasty, starting with Sim ...
, the Bay of Bengal was known as Vaṅgasāgara (
Vanga The family Vangidae (from ''vanga'', Malagasy for the hook-billed vanga, ''Vanga curvirostris'') comprises a group of often shrike-like medium-sized birds distributed from Asia to Africa, including the vangas of Madagascar to which the family o ...
Sea). Another name used mainly in ancient
Tamil literature Tamil literature includes a collection of literary works that have come from a tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution. Contributors to the T ...
was Vanga Kadal (
Vanga The family Vangidae (from ''vanga'', Malagasy for the hook-billed vanga, ''Vanga curvirostris'') comprises a group of often shrike-like medium-sized birds distributed from Asia to Africa, including the vangas of Madagascar to which the family o ...
Sea or Ocean). It was also known as Kalinga Sagar ( Kalinga Sea).
Northern Circars The Northern Circars (also spelt Sarkars) was a division of British India's Madras Presidency. It consisted of a narrow slip of territory lying along the western side of the Bay of Bengal from 15° 40′ to 20° 17′ north latitude, in the pre ...
occupied the western coast of the Bay of Bengal and is now considered to be India's Odisha and Andhra Pradesh state.
Chola dynasty The Chola dynasty () was a Tamil dynasty originating from Southern India. At its height, it ruled over the Chola Empire, an expansive maritime empire. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd cen ...
(9th century to 12th century) when ruled by
Rajaraja Chola I Rajaraja I (Middle Tamil: ''Rājarāja Cōḻaṉ''; Classical Sanskrit: ''Rājarāja Śōḷa''; 3 November 947 – January/February 1014), also known as Rajaraja the Great, was a Chola Empire, Chola emperor who reigned from 985 to 1014. He ...
and
Rajendra Chola I Rajendra I (26 July 971 – 1044), often referred to as Rajendra the Great, was a Chola Empire, Chola Emperor who reigned from 1014 to 1044. He was born in Thanjavur to Rajaraja I. His queen was Vanavan Mahadevi and he assumed royal power as ...
occupied and controlled the Bay of Bengal with
Chola Navy The Chola Navy was composed of ships used for transporting the land army overseas.The Cholas did not have a standing navy in the modern sense. The maritime force of Cholas was formed by using ships used for trade, as they did not have a dedicat ...
circa AD 1014, the Bay of Bengal was also called the Chola Sea or Chola Lake. The
Kakatiya dynasty The Kakatiya dynasty (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: Kākatīya) was a Andhras, Telugu dynasty that ruled most of eastern Deccan Plateau, Deccan region in present-day India between 12th and 14th centuries. Their ter ...
reached the western coastline of the Bay of Bengal between the Godavari and the Krishna rivers.
Kushanas The Kushan Empire (– CE) was a Syncretism, syncretic empire formed by the Yuezhi in the Bactrian territories in the early 1st century. It spread to encompass much of what is now Afghanistan, Eastern Iran, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbe ...
about the middle of the
1st century AD File:1st century collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Jesus is crucified by Roman authorities in Judaea (17th century painting). Four different men (Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian) claim the title of Emperor within the span of a year; T ...
invaded northern India perhaps extending as far as the Bay of Bengal.
Chandragupta Maurya Chandragupta Maurya (Sanskrit: elp:IPA/Sanskrit, t̪͡ɕɐn̪d̪ɾɐgupt̪ɐ mɐʊɾjɐ (reigned 320 BCE – c. 298 BCE) was the founder and the first emperor of the Maurya Empire, based in Magadha (present-day Bihar) in the Indian ...
extended the
Maurya Dynasty The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary source ...
across northern India to the Bay of Bengal.
Hajipur Hajipur ( , ) is the headquarters and largest city of Vaishali district of the state of Bihar in India. Hajipur is the 16th most populous city of Bihar, besides being the second-fastest developing city, next to Patna. It had a total population ...
was a stronghold for Portuguese Pirates. In the 16th century, the Portuguese built trading posts in the north of the Bay of Bengal at Chittagong (Porto Grande) and
Satgaon Saptagram (colloquially called ''Satgaon'') was an ancient major port, the chief city and sometimes capital of southern Bengal, in ancient and medieval times of Bengal, the location presently being in the Hooghly district in the Indian state of ...
(Porto Pequeno). The earliest sign of Muslims in the region came from the textile trade routes where one targeted the east Arabian Sea influencing migration of Arabs and Persians and another to the west causing Buddhist Bengalis to culturally mix with Islam.


Historic sites

In alphabetical order: *
Antarvedi Antarvedi is a village in the Sakhinetipalle mandal, located in the Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema district of the Andhra Pradesh state in India. The village is situated at the place where the Bay of Bengal and Vashista Godavari, a distribu ...
is a popular place of worship Southern India, in
Konaseema district Konaseema district (officially Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema district) is a List of districts of Andhra Pradesh, district in Konaseema region of Andhra Pradesh in India. It is situated between the tributaries of the Godavari River in the Coas ...
of Andhra Pradesh devoted to Sri Lakshmi
Narasimha Narasimha (, , or , ), is the fourth avatara of the Hindu god Vishnu in the Satya Yuga. He incarnated as a part-lion, part-man and killed Hiranyakashipu, ended religious persecution and calamity on earth, and restored dharma. Narasimha has th ...
Swamy Temple. This is the place where one of the distributaries of
Godavari River The Godavari (, Help:IPA/Sanskrit, od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganges River, Ganga River and drains the third largest Drainage basin, basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. It ...
meets the Bay of Bengal. *
Arikamedu Arikamedu is an archaeological site in Southern India, in Kakkayanthope, Ariyankuppam Commune, Puducherry. It is from the capital, Pondicherry of the Indian territory of Puducherry. Sir Mortimer Wheeler 1945, and Jean-Marie Casal conducted ...
is an archaeological site in Southern India, in Kakkayanthope, Ariyankuppam Commune, Puducherry. It is 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from the capital, Pondicherry of the Indian territory of Puducherry * British penal colony:
Cellular Jail The Cellular Jail, also known as Kālā Pānī (), was a British colonial prison in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The prison was used by the colonial government of India for the purpose of exiling criminals and political prisoners. Many ...
or "Black Waters" built in 1896 on
Ross Island Ross Island is an island in Antarctica lying on the east side of McMurdo Sound and extending from Cape Bird in the north to Cape Armitage in the south, and a similar distance from Cape Royds in the west to Cape Crozier in the east. The isl ...
, a part of the Andaman Island Chain. As early as 1858, this island was used as a British penal colony for political prisoners facing life imprisonment. * Buddhist heritage sites of
Pavurallakonda Pavurallakonda or Pavurallabodu is a hill popularly known as Narasimhaswamy Konda. It is located near Bheemunipatnam, about 25 km north of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. Pavurallakonda consists of a ruined hilltop Buddhist monastic ...
,
Thotlakonda Thotlakonda Buddhist Complex is situated on a hill near Bheemunipatnam about from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, India. The hill is about above sea level and overlooks the ocean. The Telugu name ''Toṭlakoṇḍa'' derived from the presenc ...
and
Bavikonda Bavikonda Buddhist Complex lies about 16 km from Visakhapatnam, in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, on a hill about 130 metres above mean sea level. The term Bavikonda in Telugu means a hill of wells. As per its name, Bavikonda is a hil ...
lie along the coast of Bay of Bengal at
Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...
in India. *
Konark Konark is a medium-sized town in the Puri district in the state of Odisha, India. It lies on the coast by the Bay of Bengal, 65 kilometres from the state capital Bhubaneswar. It is the site of the 13th-century Konark Sun Temple, Sun Temple, also ...
is the home of the
Sun Temple A sun temple (or solar temple) is a building used for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, dedicated to the sun or a solar deity. Such temples were built by a number different cultures and are distributed around th ...
or Black Pagoda. This Brahman sanctuary was built of black granite mid-1200 AD and has been declared a
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
. *
Jagannath Temple The Jagannath Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Jagannath, a form of Vishnu in Hinduism. It is located in Puri in the state of Odisha, situated on the eastern coast of India. As per temple records, King Indradyumna of Avanti (reg ...
at
Puri Puri, also known as Jagannath Puri, () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state ca ...
is one of the four sacred places in Hindu pilgrimage along with Puri beach on the banks of Bay of Bengal. Mahodadhi was named after Lord
Jagannath Jagannath (; formerly ) is a Hindu deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India as part of a triad along with (Krishna's) brother Balabhadra, and sister, Subhadra. Jagannath, within Odia Hinduism, is the supreme god, '' Purushot ...
. *
Ramanathaswamy Temple Ramanathaswamy Temple (''Rāmanātasvāmi Kōyil'') is a Hindu temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva located on Rameswaram island in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga temples. It is one of the 275 Paadal ...
is at Dhanushkodi, where the Bay of Bengal and the Gulf of Mannar come together. *
Seven Pagodas of Mahabalipuram "Seven Pagodas" has served as a nickname for the southern Indian city of Mamallapuram, also called Mahabalipuram (old name), since the first European explorers reached it. The phrase "Seven Pagodas" refers to a belief that has circulated in Indi ...
is the name for
Mahabalipuram Mamallapuram (also known as Mahabalipuram), is a town in Chengalpattu district in the southeastern Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu, best known for the UNESCO World Heritage Site of 7th- and 8th-century Hindu Group of ...
. Mahabalipuram's
Shore Temple The Shore Temple (c. 725 AD) is a complex of temples and shrines that overlooks the shore of the Bay of Bengal. It is located in Mahabalipuram, about south of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. It is a structural temple, built with blocks of gran ...
, a
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
was constructed in the 8th century AD and myth has it that six other temples were built here. * Sri Vaisakheswara Swamy temple lies two kilometers from the Visakhapatnam coast under the Bay of Bengal's sea bed. Spokespeople from
Andhra University Andhra University is a public university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established in 1926. It is graded as an A++ institution by NAAC receiving a score of 3.74 on a scale of 4. History King Vikram Deo Verma, the Mah ...
Centre for
Marine Archaeology Maritime archaeology (also known as marine archaeology) is a discipline within archaeology as a whole that specifically studies human interaction with the sea, lakes and rivers through the study of associated physical remains, be they vessels, sh ...
say the temple may be opposite the Coastal Battery. *
Vivekanandar Illam Vivekanandar Illam, earlier known as Ice House or Castle Kernan, is a historical building in Chennai, India. It was constructed in 1842 by Frederic Tudor. Indian Saint Swami Vivekananda stayed in the building when he visited Chennai in 1897, and ...
was constructed in 1842 by the American "Ice King"
Frederic Tudor Frederic Tudor (September 4, 1783 – February 6, 1864) was an American businessman and merchant. Known as Boston's "Ice King", he was the founder of the Tudor Ice Company and a pioneer of the international ice trade in the early 19th century. H ...
to store and market ice year round. In 1897,
Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda () (12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta, was an Indian Hindus, Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. Vivekananda was a major figu ...
's famous lectures were recorded here at Castle Kernan. The site is an exhibition devoted to Swami Vivekananda and his legacy.


Marine archaeology

Maritime archaeology Maritime archaeology (also known as marine archaeology) is a discipline within archaeology as a whole that specifically studies human interaction with the sea, lakes and rivers through the study of associated physical remains, be they vessels, sh ...
or marine archaeology is the study of how ancient peoples interacted with the sea and waterways. A specialized branch,
archaeology of shipwrecks The archaeology of shipwrecks is the field of archaeology specialized most commonly in the study and exploration of shipwrecks. Its techniques combine those of archaeology with those of Underwater diving, diving to become Underwater archaeology. ...
, studies the salvaged artifacts of ancient ships. Stone anchors, amphorae shards, elephant tusks, hippopotamus teeth, ceramic pottery, a rare wood mast and lead ingots are examples which may survive submerged for centuries for archaeologists to discover, study, and place their salvaged findings into the timeline of history. Coral reefs, tsunamis, cyclones, mangrove swamps, battles, and a criss-cross of sea routes in a high trading area combined with piracy have all contributed to shipwrecks in the Bay of Bengal.


Shipwrecks and important shipping incidences

In chronological order: * 1778 to 1783: The
Naval operations in the American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War saw a series of battles involving naval forces of the British Royal Navy and the Continental Navy from 1775, and of the French Navy from 1778 onwards. Although the British enjoyed more numerical victories, these ...
or American War of Independence ranged as far as the Bay of Bengal. * : ''Mornington'' ship burned in the Bay of Bengal. * 1850: American clipper brig ''Eagle'' is supposed to have sunk in the Bay of Bengal. * American Baptist missionary
Adoniram Judson Adoniram Judson (; August 9, 1788 – April 12, 1850) was an American Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalist and later Particular Baptist missionary who worked in Burma for almost 40 years. At the age of 25, Judson was ...
died 12 April 1850 and was buried at sea in the Bay of Bengal. * 1855: The Bark "Incredible" struck on a sunken rock in the Bay of Bengal. * 1865: a gale dismasted the ''Euterpe'' while traversing the Bay of Bengal typhoon. * 1875: ''Veleda'' - 76 m (250 ft) long and 15 m (50 ft) wide. It is part of a current salvage operation. * 1914: September 10 - SS Indus: A
steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...
that was captured and scuttled by SMS ''Emden''. * 1942: Japanese cruiser ''Yura'' of the Second Expeditionary Fleet, Malay Force, attacked merchant ships in the Bay of Bengal. ** April 7 - SS ''Selma City:'' Attacked by Japanese bombers in the Bay of Bengal, about 25 miles (40 km) offshore from Vizagapatam, India. ** April 9 - HMS Hermes: The world's first purpose-built aircraft carrier, which sunk after receiving 40 direct hits from 70 Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter/bombers off the coast of Sri Lanka. * 1971: December 3 –
Pakistan Navy The Pakistan Navy (PN) (; ''romanized'': Pākistān Bahrí'a; ) is the naval warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The Chief of the Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Com ...
submarine PNS ''Ghazi'' sunk under mysterious circumstances, near
Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...
, in the Bay of Bengal.


Significance


Economic importance

One of the first trading ventures along the Bay of Bengal was The Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies, more commonly referred to as the
British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
.
Gopalpur-on-Sea Gopalpur is a coastal town and a Notified Area Council on the Bay of Bengal coast in Ganjam district in the southern part of Odisha, India. It's a port town with beautiful sea beach. Gopalpur is around 15 km from Berhampur. Demographics ...
was one of their main trading centers. Other trading companies along the Bay of Bengal shorelines were the
English East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South Asia and Southeast A ...
and the
French East India Company Compagnie des Indes () may refer to several French chartered companies involved in long-distance trading: * First French East Indies Company, in existence from 1604 to 1614 * French West India Company, active in the Western Hemisphere from 1664 t ...
.
BIMSTEC The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organization of seven South Asian and Southeast Asian nations, housing 1.73 billion people and having a combined gross domestic pro ...
(Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) supports free trade internationally around the Bay of Bengal between
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
,
Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...
, India, Myanmar,
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
, Sri Lanka, and
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
. The
Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project () is a proposed project to create a shipping route in the shallow straits between India and Sri Lanka. This would provide a continuously navigable sea route around the Indian Peninsula. The channel would b ...
is a new venture proposed which would create a channel for a shipping route to link the
Gulf of Mannar The Gulf of Mannar ( ) (; ) is a large shallow bay forming part of the Laccadive Sea in the Indian Ocean with an average depth of .SAARC The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, ...
and
ASEAN The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its member states r ...
. It influences China's southern landlocked region in the north and major sea ports of Bangladesh and India. China, India, and Bangladesh have forged naval cooperation agreements with Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia to increase cooperation in checking terrorism in the high seas. The Bay of Bengal's connection of South Asia to East Asia has aided in Bangladesh's efficiency of distributing natural gas to the Asia Pacific. Its outlying islands (the Andaman and Nicobar Islands) and, most importantly, major ports such as
Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...
, Mongla, Payra,
Paradip Paradeep, also spelled Paradip (originally Paradweep, also spelled Paradwip), is a major industrial seaport town and municipality, nearly 80 km from Cuttack city, in Jagatsinghpur district of Odisha, India. Paradeep was constituted as an NAC o ...
,
Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
,
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
,
Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...
, and
Tuticorin Thoothukudi (formerly called Tuticorin) is a port industrial city in  Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. The city is capital and headquarters of the district. ...
, along its coast with the Bay of Bengal added to its importance. China has recently made efforts to project influence into the region through tie-ups with Myanmar and Bangladesh. The United States has held major exercises with Bangladesh, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and recently India. The largest ever
wargame A normal wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for Recreational wargaming, recreation, to train military officers in the art of milit ...
in Bay of Bengal, known as Malabar 2007, was held in 2007 and naval warships from the United States, India, Singapore, Japan and Australia took part. Large deposits of natural gas in the areas within Bangladesh's sea zone incited a serious urgency by India and Myanmar into a territorial dispute. Disputes over rights of some oil and gas blocks have caused brief diplomatic spats between Myanmar and India with Bangladesh. The disputed
maritime boundary A maritime boundary is a conceptual division of Earth's water surface areas using physiographical or geopolitical criteria. As such, it usually bounds areas of exclusive national rights over mineral and biological resources,VLIZ Maritime Boun ...
between Bangladesh and Myanmar resulted in military tensions in 2008 and 2009. The maritime dispute between Bangladesh and Myanmar settled in 2012 through the judgement of ITLOS. In 2014, the dispute between India and Bangladesh was also settled in which the UN tribunal awarded Bangladesh 19,467 km2 of the 25,602 km2 sea area of the Bay of Bengal.


Key features


Beaches


Islands

The islands in the bay are numerous, including the
Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago, made up of 200 islands, in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a mari ...
and
Nicobar Islands The Nicobar Islands are an archipelago, archipelagic island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean. They are located in Southeast Asia, northwest of Aceh on Sumatra, and separated from Thailand to the east by the Andaman Sea. Located southeast of t ...
of India. The Cheduba group of islands, in the north-east, off the Burmese coast, are remarkable for a chain of mud volcanoes, which are occasionally active.
Great Andaman Great Andaman is the main archipelago of the Andaman Islands of India. It comprises seven major islands. From north to south, these are North Andaman, Interview Island, Middle Andaman, Long Island, Baratang Island, South Andaman, and Rut ...
is the main archipelago or island group of the Andaman Islands, whereas
Ritchie's Archipelago Ritchie's Archipelago is a cluster of smaller islands which lie east of Great Andaman, the main island group of the Andaman Islands. The Islands belong to the South Andaman administrative district, part of the Indian union territory of Andam ...
consists of smaller islands. Only 37, or 6.5%, of the 572 islands and islets of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are inhabited.


Rivers

Many major rivers of
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
flow west to east before draining into the Bay of Bengal. The
Ganga The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary riv ...
is the northernmost of these rivers. Its main channel enters and flows through Bangladesh, where it is known as the
Padma River The Padma () is a major river in Bangladesh. It is the eastern and main distributary of the Ganges, flowing generally southeast for to its confluence with the Meghna River, near the Bay of Bengal. The city of Rajshahi is situated on the banks ...
, before joining the
Meghna River The Meghna () is one of the major rivers in Bangladesh, one of the three that form the Ganges Delta, the largest delta on earth, which fans out to the Bay of Bengal. A part of the Surma-Meghna River System, the Meghna is formed inside Banglade ...
. However, the
Brahmaputra River The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Southwestern China, Northeastern India, and Bangladesh. It is known as Brahmaputra or Luit in Assamese language, Assamese, Yarlung Tsangpo in Lhasa Tibetan, Tibetan, the Siang/Dihan ...
flows from east to west in
Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...
before turning south and entering Bangladesh where it is called the
Jamuna River The Jamuna River () is one of the three main rivers of Bangladesh. The two other major rivers in Bangladesh are the Padma and the Meghna. The Jamuna is the lower stream of the Brahmaputra River, which originates in Tibet as Yarlung Tsangpo, ...
. This joins the Padma where upon the Padma joins the
Meghna River The Meghna () is one of the major rivers in Bangladesh, one of the three that form the Ganges Delta, the largest delta on earth, which fans out to the Bay of Bengal. A part of the Surma-Meghna River System, the Meghna is formed inside Banglade ...
that finally drains into Bay of Bengal. The
Sundarbans Sundarbans (; pronounced ) is a mangrove forest area in the Ganges Delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Hooghly River in India's state of West Bengal ...
is a mangrove forest in the southern part of the
Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta The Ganges Delta (also known the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, the Sundarbans Delta or the Bengal Delta) is a river delta predominantly covering the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, consisting of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West B ...
which lies in the Indian state of West Bengal and in Bangladesh. The Brahmaputra at is the 15th longest River in the world. It originates in
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...
. The
Hooghly River The Hooghly River (, also spelled ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli'') is the westernmost distributary of the Ganges, situated in West Bengal, India. It is known in its upper reaches as the Bhagirathi. The Bhagirathi splits off from the main branch of the G ...
, another channel of the
Ganga The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary riv ...
that flows through
Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
drains into Bay of Bengal at Sagar in West Bengal, India. The Ganga–Brahmaputra-Barak rivers deposit nearly 1000 million tons of
sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...
every year. The sediment from these three rivers form the Bengal Delta and the
submarine fan Abyssal fans, also known as deep-sea fans, underwater deltas, and submarine fans, are underwater geological structures associated with large-scale sediment deposition and formed by turbidity currents. They can be thought of as an underwater ve ...
, a vast structure that extends from
Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
to south of the Equator, is up to thick, and contains at least 1,130 trillion tonnes of sediment, which has accumulated over the last 17 million years at an average rate of 665 million tons per annum. The fan has buried organic carbon at a rate of nearly 1.1 trillion mol/yr (13.2 million t/yr) since the early
Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
period. The three rivers currently contribute nearly 8% of the
total organic carbon Total organic carbon (TOC) is an analytical parameter representing the concentration of organic carbon in a sample. TOC determinations are made in a variety of application areas. For example, TOC may be used as a non-specific indicator of wa ...
(TOC) deposited in the world's oceans. Due to high TOC accumulation in the deep sea bed of the Bay of Bengal, the area is rich in oil and natural gas and
gas hydrate Clathrate hydrates, or gas hydrates, clathrates, or hydrates, are crystalline water-based solids physically resembling ice, in which small non-polar molecules (typically gases) or polar molecules with large hydrophobic moieties are trapped inside ...
reserves. Bangladesh can reclaim land substantially and economically gain from the sea area by constructing sea
dikes Dyke or dike may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), formations of magma or sediment that cut through and across the layering of adjacent rocks * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess ...
, bunds,
causeways A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tr ...
and by trapping the sediment from its rivers. Further southwest of
Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
, the
Mahanadi The Mahanadi River is a major river in East Central India. It drains an area of around and has a total length of . Mahanadi is also known for the Hirakud Dam which was the first major multipurpose river valley project after India's independenc ...
,
Godavari The Godavari (, od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga River and drains the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakeshwar, Nashik, Maharash ...
,
Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...
and
Kaveri River The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery) is a major river flowing across Southern India. It is the third largest river in the region after Godavari and Krishna. The catchment area of the Kaveri basin is estimated to be and encompasses the states o ...
s also flow from west to east across
Deccan Plateau The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura Range, Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound ...
in Peninsular India and drain into the Bay of Bengal forming
delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...
s. Many small rivers also drain directly into the Bay of Bengal forming Estuary, estuaries; the shortest of them is the Cooum River at . While Myanmar's Irrawaddy River flows into the Andaman Sea, sediment from the river is found in the eastern Bay of Bengal.


Seaports

Indian ports on the bay include Paradip Port, Port of Kolkata, Kolkata Port, Haldia Port, Chennai Port, Visakhapatnam Port, Kakinada Port, Pondicherry Port, Dhamra Port, and
Gopalpur-on-Sea Gopalpur is a coastal town and a Notified Area Council on the Bay of Bengal coast in Ganjam district in the southern part of Odisha, India. It's a port town with beautiful sea beach. Gopalpur is around 15 km from Berhampur. Demographics ...
. Bangladeshi ports on the Bay are Port of Chittagong, Chittagong, Port of Mongla, Mongla, Payra Port. Sri Lankan ports include Jaffna, Kankesanthurai, Batticaloa, and Trincomalee. Myanmar's main sea port includes Akyab (Sittwe).


Oceanography


Geology


Lithosphere and plate tectonics

The lithosphere of the earth is broken up into what are called Plate tectonics, tectonic plates. Underneath the Bay of Bengal, which is part of the great Indo-Australian Plate and is slowly moving north east. This plate meets the Burma Plate, Burma Microplate at the Sunda Trench. The
Nicobar Islands The Nicobar Islands are an archipelago, archipelagic island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean. They are located in Southeast Asia, northwest of Aceh on Sumatra, and separated from Thailand to the east by the Andaman Sea. Located southeast of t ...
and the
Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago, made up of 200 islands, in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a mari ...
are part of the Burma Microplate. The India Plate subducts beneath the Burma Plate at the Sunda Trench or Java Trench. Here, the pressure of the two plates on each other increase pressure and temperature resulting in the formation of volcanoes such as the List of volcanoes in Myanmar, volcanoes in Myanmar, and a volcanic arc called the Sunda Arc. The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Sumatra-Andaman earthquake and Asian tsunami was a result of the pressure at this zone causing a submarine earthquake which then resulted in a destructive tsunami.


Marine geology

A zone 50 m wide extending from the island of Sri Lanka and the Coromandel coast to the head of the bay, and thence southwards through a strip embracing the Andaman and Nicobar islands, is bounded by the 100 fathom line of sea bottom; some 50 m. beyond this lies the 500-fathom limit. Opposite the mouth of the Ganges, however, the intervals between these depths are very much extended by deltaic influence. Swatch of No Ground is a 14 km-wide deep sea canyon of the Bay of Bengal. The deepest recorded area of this valley is about 1340 m. The submarine canyon is part of the Bengal Fan, the largest submarine fan in the world.


Submarine fans

Submarine fan is also known as abyssal fan. Bay of Bengal fan, known as Bengal Fan, also known as the Ganges Fan is world's largest abyssal fan, also known as deep-sea fans, underwater deltas, and submarine fans. The fan is about long, wide with a maximum thickness of . The fan resulted from the uplift and erosion of the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau produced by the collision between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. Most of the sediment is supplied by the
Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...
and Brahmaputra rivers which supply the Lower
Meghna The Meghna () is one of the major rivers in Bangladesh, one of the three that form the Ganges Delta, the largest delta on earth, which fans out to the Bay of Bengal. A part of the Surma-Meghna River System, the Meghna is formed inside Bangladesh ...
Ganges Delta, delta in Bangladesh and the Hooghly River, Hoogly delta in
West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
(India). Several other large rivers in Bangladesh and India provide smaller contributions. Turbidity currents have transported the sediment through a series of submarine canyons, some of which are more than in length, to be deposited in the Bay of Bengal up to 30 degrees latitude from where it began. To date, the oldest sediments recovered from the Bengal fan are from Early Miocene age. Their mineralogical and geochemical characteristics allow to identify their Himalayan origin and demonstrate that the Himalaya was already a major mountain range 20 million years ago. The fan completely covers the floor of the Bay of Bengal. It is bordered to the west by the continental slope of eastern India, to the north by the continental slope of Bangladesh and to east by the northern part of Sunda Trench off Myanmar and the
Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago, made up of 200 islands, in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a mari ...
, the accretionary wedge associated with subduction of the Indo-Australian Plate beneath the Sunda Plate and continues along the west side of the Ninety East Ridge. The Nicobar Fan, another lobe of the fan, lies east of the Ninety East Ridge. The fan is now being explored as a possible source of fossil fuels for the surrounding developing nations. The fan was first identified by bathymetric survey in the sixties by Bruce C. Heezen and Marie Tharp which identified the abyssal cone and canyon structures. It was delineated and named by Joseph Curray and David Moore following a geological and geophysical survey in 1968.


Oceanographic chemistry

Coastal regions bordering the Bay of Bengal are rich in minerals. Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka, Serendib, or ''Ratna – Dweepa'' which means Gem Island. Amethyst, beryl, ruby, sapphire, topaz, and garnet are just some of the gems of Sri Lanka. Garnet and other precious gems are also found in abundance in the states of India, Indian states of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. A 2014 study found that as a result of ocean acidification, there was reduced shell thickness of marine animals and breaking strength compared to normal shells. The study also showed that the pH in Bay of Bengal fell to 7.75 compared in 1994 when it averaged 7.95.


Oceanographic climate

From January to October, the current is northward flowing, and the clockwise circulation pattern is called the "East Indian Current". The Bay of Bengal Climate of India, monsoon moves in a northwest direction striking the Nicobar Islands, and the Andaman Islands first end of May, then coast of Mainland India by end of June. The remainder of the year, the counterclockwise current is southwestward flowing, and the circulation pattern is called the East Indian Winter Jet. September and December see very active weather, season varsha (or monsoon), in the Bay of Bengal producing severe cyclones which affect eastern India. Several efforts have been initiated to cope with storm surge.


Marine biology, flora and fauna

The Bay of Bengal is full of biological diversity, diverging amongst coral reefs, estuaries, fish spawning and nursery areas, and mangroves. The Bay of Bengal is one of the World's 64 Marine ecoregion, largest marine Marine ecosystem, ecosystems. ''Kerilia jerdonii'' is a sea snake of the Bay of Bengal. Glory of Bengal cone (''Conus bengalensis'') is just one of the seashells which can be photographed along beaches of the Bay of Bengal. An Endangered Species Act, endangered species, the olive ridley sea turtle can survive because of the nesting grounds made available at the Gahirmatha Marine Wildlife Sanctuary, Gahirmatha Beach, Odisha, India. Marlin, barracuda, skipjack tuna, skipjack tuna, (''Katsuwonus pelamis''), yellowfin tuna, Indo-Pacific hump-backed dolphin, Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphin (''Sousa chinensis''), and Bryde's whale, Bryde's whale (''Balaenoptera edeni'') are a few of the marine animals. Bay of Bengal hogfish (''Bodianus neilli'') is a type of wrasse which live in turbid lagoon reefs or shallow coastal reefs. Schools of dolphins can be seen, whether they are the bottle nose dolphin, bottle nose dolphin (''Tursiops truncatus''), pantropical spotted dolphin, pantropical spotted dolphin (''Stenella attenuata'') or the spinner dolphin, spinner dolphin (''Stenella longirostris''). Tuna and dolphins usually reside in the same waters. In shallower and warmer coastal waters the Irrawaddy dolphin, Irrawaddy dolphins (''Orcaella brevirostris'') can be found. The Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve provides sanctuary to many animals some of which include the saltwater crocodile, saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus''), giant leatherback sea turtle, leatherback sea turtle (''Dermochelys coriacea''), and Cuora amboinensis, Malayan box turtle (''Cuora amboinensis kamaroma'') to name a few. Another endangered species Bengal tiger, royal Bengal tiger is supported by Sundarbans National Park, Sundarbans a large estuarine delta that holds a mangrove area in the Ganges Delta, Ganges River Delta.


Transboundary issues

A transboundary issue is defined as an environmental problem in which either the cause of the problem and/or its impact is separated by a national boundary; or the problem contributes to a global environmental problem and finding regional solutions is considered to be a global environmental benefit. The eight Bay of Bengal countries have (2012) identified three major transboundary problems (or areas of concern) affecting the health of the Bay, that they can work on together. With the support of the Bay Of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem Project (BOBLME), the eight countries are now (2012) developing responses to these issues and their causes, for future implementation as the Strategic Action Programme.


Ecological degradation


Fisheries overexploitation

Fisheries production in the Bay of Bengal is six million tonnes per year, more than seven percent of the world's catch. The major transboundary issues relating to shared fisheries are: a decline in the overall availability of fish resources; changes in species composition of catches; the high proportion of juvenile fish in the catch; and changes in marine biodiversity, especially through loss of vulnerable and endangered species. The transboundary nature of these issues are: that many fish stocks are shared between BOBLME countries through the transboundary migration of fish, or Ichthyoplankton, larvae. Fishing overlaps national jurisdictions, both legally and illegally – overcapacity and overfishing in one location forces a migration of fishers and vessels to other locations. All countries (to a greater or lesser degree) are experiencing difficulties in implementing fisheries management, especially the ecosystem approach to fisheries. Bay of Bengal countries contribute significantly to the global problem of loss of vulnerable species, vulnerable and endangered species. The main causes of the issues are: open access to fishing grounds; government emphasis on increasing fish catches; inappropriate government subsidies provided to fishers; increasing fishing effort, especially from Fishing trawler, trawlers and purse seiners; high consumer demand for fish, including for seed and fishmeal for aquaculture; ineffective fisheries management; and illegal and destructive fishing.


Marine habitats degradation

The Bay of Bengal is an area of high biodiversity, with many endangered and vulnerable species. The major transboundary issues relating to habitats are: the loss and degradation of mangrove habitats; Environmental issues with coral reefs, degradation of coral reefs; and the loss of, and damage to, seagrasses. The transboundary nature of these major issues are: that all three critical habitats occur in all BOBLME countries. Coastal development hazards, Coastal development for several varying uses of the land and sea are common in all BOBLME countries. Trade in products from all the habitats is transboundary in nature. Climate change impacts are shared by all BOBLME countries. The main causes of the issues are: food security needs of the coastal poor; lack of Coastal management, coastal development plans; increasing trade in products from coastal habitats; coastal development and industrialization; ineffective marine protected areas and lack of enforcement; upstream development that affects water-flow; Nonpoint source pollution, intensive upstream agricultural practices; and increasing tourism.


Environmental degradation


Environmental hazards

The Asian brown cloud, a layer of air pollution that covers much of South Asia and the Indian Ocean every year between January and March, and possibly also during earlier and later months, hangs over the Bay of Bengal. It is considered to be a combination of vehicle exhaust, smoke from cooking fires, and industrial discharges. Because of this cloud, satellites attempting to track ocean acidification and other ocean health indicators in the Bay have difficulty obtaining accurate measurements.


Pollution and water quality

The major transboundary issues relating to marine pollution, pollution and water quality are: sewage-borne pathogens and organic load; solid waste/marine litter; increasing nutrient inputs; oil pollution; persistent organic pollutants (Persistent organic pollutant, POPs) and persistent toxic substances (PTSs); sedimentation; and heavy metals. The transboundary nature of these issues are: discharge of untreated/partially treated sewage being a common problem. Sewage and organic discharges from the
Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...
-Brahmaputra-Meghna River are likely to be transboundary. Plastics and derelict fishing gear can be transported long distances across national boundaries. Around 4 million tonnes of microplastics are estimated to come from India and Bangladesh travelling into Sundurban and subsequently the Bay of Bengal. High nutrient discharges from rivers could intensify largescale hypoxia. Atmospheric transport of nutrients is inherently transboundary. Differences between countries with regard to regulation and enforcement of shipping discharges may drive discharges across boundaries. Tarball (oil), Tar balls are transported long distances. POPs/PTSs and Mercury (element), mercury, including organo-mercury, undergo long-range transport. Sedimentation and most heavy metal contamination tend to be localized and lack a strong transboundary dimension. The main causes of the issues are: increasing coastal population density and urbanization; higher consumption, resulting in more waste generated per person; insufficient funds allocated to waste management; migration of industry into BOBLME countries; and proliferation of small industries. A pertinent issue is the rapid growth of the shrimp culture industry which requires use of antibiotics and chemicals for export-quality food safety but pollutes the Bay of Bengal.


Tropical storms and cyclones

A tropical storm with rotating winds blowing at speeds of is called a cyclone when they originate over the Bay of Bengal, and called a hurricane in the Atlantic. Between 100,000 and 500,000 residents of Bangladesh were killed because of the 1970 Bhola cyclone. * 2023: Cyclone Mocha, Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Mocha * 2021: Cyclone Yaas, Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Yaas * 2020: Cyclone Nivar, Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Nivar * 2020: Cyclone Amphan, Super Cyclonic Storm Amphan * 2019: Cyclone Bulbul, Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Bulbul * 2019: Cyclone Fani, Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Fani * 2018: Cyclone Gaja, Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Gaja * 2018: Cyclone Titli * 2017: Cyclone Mora, Severe Cyclonic Storm Mora * 2017: Cyclone Maarutha * 2016: Cyclone Vardah, Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Vardah * 2016: 2016 North Indian Ocean cyclone season#Cyclone Nada, Cyclone Nada * 2016: 2016 North Indian Ocean cyclone season#Cyclone Kyant, Cyclone Kyant * 2016: Cyclone Roanu * 2015: Cyclone Komen * 2014: Cyclone Hudhud, Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Hudhud * 2013: Cyclone Phailin, Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Phailin * 2013: Cyclone Viyaru * 2012: Cyclone Nilam * 2011: Cyclone Thane, Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Thane * 2010: Cyclone Giri, Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Giri * 2009: Cyclone Aila, Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Aila * 2008: Cyclone Nargis, Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Nargis * 2007: Cyclone Sidr, Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Sidr * 2006: Cyclone Mala, Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Mala * 1999: 1999 Odisha cyclone, Odisha Super Cyclonic Storm 05B * 1996: Konaseema Cyclone * 1991: 1991 Bangladesh cyclone, Super Cyclonic Storm 02B * 1989: November Typhoon Gay (1989), Typhoon Gay * 1985: May Tropical Storm One (1B) * 1982: April Cyclone One (1B) * 1982: May Tropical Storm Two (2B) * 1982: October Tropical Storm Three (3B) * 1981: December Cyclone Three (3B) * 1980: October Tropical Storm One (1B) * 1980: December Unknown Storm Four (4B) * 1980: December Tropical Storm Five (5B) * 1977: 1977 Andhra Pradesh cyclone, Andhra Pradesh Cyclone (6B) * 1971: 1971 Odisha cyclone, Odisha cyclone * 1970: 1970 Bhola cyclone, Bhola cyclone * The 1864 Calcutta Cyclone: caused a storm surge of 40 feet. Barometer 28.025 inches of mercury. 50,000 direct deaths and 30,000 from disease. * The Backergunge cyclone of 1876: 10 to 30 or 40 feet storm surge. 100,000 direct deaths and 100,000 indirect from disease. * The Pre-1890 North Indian Ocean cyclone seasons, False Point cyclone of 1885: 22 feet of storm surge. Barometer 27.135 inches of mercury.


See also

* History of Indian influence on Southeast Asia * Maritime Silk Road * Arabian Sea * Bangladesh and the Indo-Pacific Strategy


References


Further reading


The Maritime Boundary Dispute Between Bangladesh and Myanmar: Motivations, Potential Solutions, and Implications
by Jared Bissinger (''Asia Policy'', July 2010) published by National Bureau of Asian Research


External links

* *
487 V. Suryanarayan, Prospects for a Bay of Bengal Community

Arabian Sea: depth contours and undersea features – Map/Still – Britannica Concise



Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bay of Bengal Bay of Bengal, Marginal seas of the Indian Ocean Bays of Asia Maritime archaeology Bangladesh–India border Bangladesh–Myanmar border Bays of India Bodies of water of Bangladesh Bays of Indonesia Bodies of water of Myanmar Bodies of water of Sri Lanka