Bays, Gulf & Sea – India

Adam’s Bridge/ Rama’s Bridge/ Rama Setu 

• a chain of limestone shoals, between Pamban Island, also known as Rameswaram Island
• Lies off the south-eastern coast of Tamil Nadu, India, and Mannar Island, off the north-western coast of Sri Lanka

Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project

• Would link Palk Bay & Gulf of Mannar b/w Tamilnadu & Sri Lanka
• By creating a shipping channel through the shallow sea called Sethusamudram via Ram Sethu.
  

Famous Seas / Oceans of India

Bay of Bengal

• Bay of Bengal is bordered to the north by a wide continental shelf that narrows to the south and by slopes of varying gradient on the northwest, north, and northeast.
• Bay of Bengal has a distinct tropical marine ecosystem, and copious river drainage into the northern part of the bay and the profusion of wetlands, marshes, and mangroves increase productivity of nearshore fish species.
• Petroleum and natural-gas discoveries have been made in the Bay of Bengal, notably offshore of the Godavari and Manandi deltas.
• The principal trade routes for large tankers en route from the Persian Gulf to the Strait of Malacca pass south of the Bay of Bengal.
• Haldia, Vishakhapatnam, and Paradeep are well developed as iron ore terminals, reflecting India’s profitable exportation of raw materials.

Bay of Bengal Major Branches

• Chandipur & Gopalpur in Orissa
• Marina in Chennai

Arabian Sea

• The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the south by north-eastern Somalia, on the east by India and on the west by the Arabian Peninsula.
• The countries with coastlines on the Arabian Sea are Somalia, Djibouti, Yemen, Oman, Iran, Pakistan, India and the Maldives.
• The Arabian Sea has two important branches – the Gulf of Aden in the southwest, connecting with the Red Sea through the strait of Bab-el-Mandeb; and the Gulf of Oman to the northwest, connecting with the Persian Gulf.
• There are also the gulfs of Cambay and Kutch on the Indian coast.
• The Indus and the Narmada rivers are the principal waterways draining into the sea.

Arabian Sea Major Branches

• Mandavi, Dwarka & Chorwad in Gujrat
• Dahanu & Murad in Maharashtra
• Arambol & Karwar in Karnataka
• Kollam & Kovalam in Kerala

Indian Ocean 

• Strategic significance → India overlooks some of the most important sea lanes viz. Suez Canal, Malacca Strait
• Economic significance → Long coastline, 2.02 million sq km EEZ (Exclusive economic zone)
• Tourism Significance → Marine biodiversity and rich ecosystem with coral reefs, mangroves
• Large Fishing potential, Wave energy & Tidal energy potential, Zone of Hydrocarbons
• Generation of south west Monsoon