Dhamara is a joint stream in

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

that is formed by the confluence of the Brahmani and Baitarani rivers south of the town of

Chandabali Chandabali (or Chandbali) is an old town in the Bhadrak district of Odisha on the bank of the River Baitarani. History Before the 19th century AD, Chandabali was a small fishing village, and a natural river port. In 1866, trading began from th ...

. It lies in the

Bhadrak district Bhadrak is a district of Odisha state in eastern India. Bhadrak city is the headquarters and the largest city of the district. Origin of name The district is named after Bhadrakali, a deity in Hinduism, whose temple is situated on bank of Sa ...

and empties into the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

. To the north of its mouth is the

Dhamra Port The Dhamra Port is a port in Bhadrak district, Odisha, India, on the shore of the Bay of Bengal about seven kilometres from Dhamra town. The agreement to develop the port was signed in April 1998. The Dhamra Port Company Limited (DPCL) was forme ...

and near the mouth is the Gahiramatha sanctuary, a nesting site for

olive ridley sea turtle The olive ridley sea turtle (''Lepidochelys olivacea''), also known commonly as the Pacific ridley sea turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Cheloniidae. The species is the second-smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in t ...

s. The river's mouth is as wide as , and it enters the sea through two distinct river channels separated by an island formation called Kalibhanja. The two channels are further separated by another island formation in the sea called Kanika Sands which is approximately wide. The

Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary Bhitarkanika Mangroves is a mangrove wetland in Odisha, India, covering an area of in the Brahmani River and Baitarani River deltas. History The Bhitarkanika Mangroves were zamindari forests until 1952, when the government of Odisha abolish ...

, famous for its

estuarine crocodile The saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats, brackish wetlands and freshwater rivers from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaland to northern Australia and Micronesia. It h ...

s, lies on the Dhamra estuary. Wheeler Island, a

DRDO The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is an agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, charged with the military's research and development, headqu ...

missile launch centre is located off the mouth of the Dhamra in the

References

{{coord, 20, 47, N, 86, 58, E, display=title, region:IN_type:river_source:GNS-enwiki Rivers of Odisha