Bay of Bengal
Gulf of Bengal or Bay of Bengal, is a sea in the northeast area of the Indian Ocean. Its shape resembles a triangle. Its waters bathe the coasts of four countries. From west to east: Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Some also include Indonesia in the list, arguing that the northern shores of the island of Breueh mark the southern boundary of the Gulf of Bengal.
characteristics
The Gulf of Bengal has a total area of more than 2 million square kilometers. It is important to know that in the Gulf of Bengal numerous rivers of a large size also flow between these are the great sacred river tributary of India, the Ganges river and also one of the largest rivers in Asia, the Brahmaputra river, also known with the Tsangpo-Brahmaputra name. Both rivers have deposited a large amount of sediment causing the Bengal abyss fan to form. The influence of the monsoon phenomenon is constantly felt in the waters of the Gulf, whether in winter or summer. It is common also the presence of cyclones, tidal waves, strong winds and typhoons during the fall season and other natural phenomena that occur due to climatic variations in its waters. Due to its location, the waters of the Gulf of Bengal have a constant maritime traffic. In it you can practice water activities such as fishing because it has a large number of fish. On the shores of the Gulf of Bengal we also find important natural ports such as Calcutta, the most important for having a financial commercial center. Here food, textiles, chemicals, electrical equipment and transport are produced. If we go back in history we will realize that this place was bombarded by the Japanese during World War II, hence it is considered a historical place.The average depth of the gulf is 2,600 meters, although the deepest point is 4,694 meters
The coastal areas surrounding the Bay of Bengal were first colonized by the Portuguese. One of the main settlements was Santo Tomé de Meliapor, now a neighborhood in the city of Madras in India. In 1522, the Portuguese built a church there and, a year later, a small town had already been built there. At the beginning of the 17th century, Sao Tome was a great city according to the criteria of the time. Although there is no doubt that Europeans played an important role in the historical development of the Bengali region, it is also true that, in general, they were more continuators of the activities of previous cultures than initiators of development. Today, experts believe that the influence in this region of the first commercial relations with Europeans has been overestimated. It has been shown that the number of Asian merchants dedicated to the import and export of materials such as silk and other textiles in the area of the Bay of Bengal was higher than that of Europeans, even in the mid-eighteenth century.
The highest international authority on the delimitation of seas, the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), considers the Bay of Bengal ("Bay of Bengal") as a sea. In its worldwide reference publication, "Limits of oceans and seas", it assigns the identification number 43 and defines it as follows:
In the East.
A line that goes from Cabo Negrais (16 ° 03'N), in Burma, through the largest islands of the Andaman group, so that all the waters of the straits between the islands are east of the line and they are excluded from the Bay of Bengal, as far as the tip on Little Andaman Island at latitude 10º48'N, longitude 92º24'E, and from there along the southwest limit of the Burma Sea
Adam's Bridge (between India and Ceylon), and from the southern end of Dondra Head (southern Ceylon) to the northern tip of Poeloe Bras (5º44'N, 95 ° 04'E).
Coasts and islands
The long coastline of the Gulf of Bengal is generally straight and uneven, except for the deltas, capes and small bays formed by the mouths of the rivers. They stand out above all that of the Ganges, at the most northern end, and that of the Irrawaddy, further east.
Other important rivers that flow into the waters of the Gulf of Bengal are Padma, Brahmaputra-Jamuna, Godavari, Baitarani, Krishna and Kaveri.
The islands of the Gulf of Bengal are numerous. The most important island groups are:
Andaman Islands (India).
Nicobar Islands (India).
Mergui Archipelago, off the coast of Myanmar.
Cheduba Islands, in the northeast, where large occasionally active mud volcanoes rise.
To the east, the Andaman Islands archipelago serve as a natural barrier that separates the Gulf of Bengal and the Andaman Sea.
To the west, the Palk Strait connects the waters of the gulf with those of the Laquedivas Sea.
The biological diversity of the Bay of Bengal is enormous. In its waters, coasts and islands we find landscapes as diverse as coral reefs, estuaries, beaches and mangroves.
Among the most representative species, the golf turtle, the barracuda, the yellowfin tuna, the humpback dolphin (pictured), the spotted dolphin, the Bryde whale, the saltwater crocodile and the giant leatherback turtle stand out.
The flora and fauna of the Gulf of Bengal is currently facing serious environmental threats from overfishing, coastal pollution and degradation of the most important natural habitats.
Maritime and commercial traffic in the Gulf of Bengal is very intense. The most important ports are: Calcutta, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Pondicherry, Dhamra and Gopalpur (India) and Chittagong, Mongla and Payra (Bangladesh).
The presence of large natural gas buildings is currently a matter of dispute between India, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Comments
Post a Comment