Bay of Bengal
| Bay of Bengal | |
|---|---|
A map of the Bay of Bengal | |
| Location | South Asia and Southeast Asia |
| Coordinates | 15°N 88°E / 15°N 88°E |
| Type | Bay |
| Primary inflows | Indian Ocean |
| Basin countries | Bangladesh India Indonesia Myanmar Sri Lanka |
| Max. length | 2,090 km (1,300 mi) |
| Max. width | 1,610 km (1,000 mi) |
| Surface area | 2,600,000 km2 (1,000,000 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 2,600 m (8,500 ft) |
| Max. depth | 4,694 m (15,400 ft) |
| References | World Atlas, The Asiatic Society, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh |
| Location | |
Interactive map of Bay of Bengal | |
The Bay of Bengal forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, located between the Indian subcontinent and the Indochinese peninsula, south of the Bengal region. Spread across an area of 2,600,000 km2 (1,000,000 sq mi), it is bordered by many of the countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
Geopolitically, the bay is bound by mainland India on the west and northwest, Bangladesh in the north, Myanmar in the northeast and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India in the east. Its southern limit is a line between Sangaman Kanda in Sri Lanka, and the northwesternmost point of Sumatra in Indonesia.
Major river systems of the Indian subcontinent such as the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, Godavari, Krishna, Mahanadi, and Kaveri flow into the Bay of Bengal. The coast consist of many beaches including some of the world's longest natural beaches, such as Cox's Bazar and Marina, and varied ecosytems such as the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world.