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Bay of Bengal

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: General Geography

   A map showing the location of the Bay of Bengal.
   Enlarge
   A map showing the location of the Bay of Bengal.

   The Bay of Bengal is a bay that forms the northeastern part of the
   Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered on the
   east by Malay Peninsula, and on the west by India. On the northern tip
   of the "bay" lies the Bengal region, comprising the Indian state of
   West Bengal and the country of Bangladesh, thus the name. The southern
   extremes reach the island country of Sri Lanka, and the Indian Union
   Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

   A zone 50 m. wide extending from the island of Ceylon 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
   ioo fathom line of sea bottom; some 50 m. beyond this lies the
   Soo-fathom limit. Opposite the mouth of the Ganges, however, the
   intervals between these depths are very much extended by deltaic
   influence.

   Many major rivers of India flow west to east into the Bay of Bengal: in
   the north, the Ganges River (or Ganga), Meghna River and Brahmaputra
   River rivers, and in the south Mahanadi River through the Mahanadi
   River Delta, Godavari River, Krishna River, Irrawaddy and Kaveri River
   (sometimes written as Cauvery) rivers. The Sundarbans mangrove forest
   is formed at the delta of the Ganga, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers on
   the Bay of Bengal. The Ayeyarwady River of Myanmar also flows into the
   bay.
   Fishing boats on the Bay of Bengal
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   Fishing boats on the Bay of Bengal

   Major Bangladeshi ports on the bay include Chittagong and Mongla. Major
   Indian ports on the bay include Chennai (formerly Madras),
   Vishakhapatnam, Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) and Pondicherry.

   The islands in the bay are very numerous, including the Andaman,
   Nicobar and Mergui groups. The group of islands, Cheduba and others, in
   the north-east, off the Burmese coast, are remarkable for a chain of
   mud volcanoes, which are occasionally active.

   Cox's Bazar, on the northeastern coast of the bay, is one of the
   longest unbroken natural beaches of the world. Other beaches along the
   bay are Bakkhali, Digha, Chandipur, Puri, Waltair, and Marina Beach at
   Chennai.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_of_Bengal"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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