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.

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.

See also

• Andaman Islands
• Cox's Bazar

     
     Waters of South Asia      
    

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