Bay of Bengal
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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" lie 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.
Many major rivers of India flow west to east into the Bay of Bengal: in the north, the
Ganges River (or Ganga),
Meghna and
Brahmaputra rivers, and in the south
Mahanadi,
Godavari,
Krishna and
Kaveri (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.
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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.
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,
Puri,
Waltair, and Marina Beach at
Chennai.
*
Andaman Islands*
Cox's Bazar
