Gulf of Mannar - wikipedia Gulf of Mannar Gulf of Mannar Location Tamil Nadu Coordinates 8 ° 28 ′ N 79 ° 01 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 8.47 ° N 79.02 ° E ﻿ / 8.47 ; 79.02 Coordinates : 8 ° 28 ′ N 79 ° 01 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 8.47 ° N 79.02 ° E ﻿ / 8.47 ; 79.02 Basin countries India, Sri Lanka Max. length 160 km ( 99 mi ) Max. width 130 -- 275 km ( 81 -- 171 mi ) Surface area 10,500 km ( 4,100 sq mi ) Average depth 1,335 m ( 4,380 ft ) References The Gulf of Mannar is a large shallow bay forming part of the Laccadive Sea in the Indian Ocean. It lies between the southeastern tip of India and the west coast of Sri Lanka, in the Coromandel Coast region. The chain of low islands and reefs known as Ramsethu, also called Adam 's Bridge, which includes Mannar Island, separates the Gulf of Mannar from Palk Bay, which lies to the north between India and Sri Lanka. The estuaries of Thamirabarani River and Vaipar River of South India and the Malvathu Oya ( Malvathu River ) of Sri Lanka drain into the Gulf. The dugong ( sea cow ) is found here. Contents 1 Conservation 1.1 Marine sanctuary 1.2 Biosphere reserve 2 Marine activities 3 References Conservation Marine sanctuary See also : Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park Located on the southeastern tip of the subcontinent, the Gulf of Mannar is known to harbour over 3,600 species of flora and fauna, making it one of the richest coastal regions in Asia. 117 hard coral species have been recorded in the Gulf of Mannar. Sea turtles are frequent visitors to the gulf as are sharks, dugongs, and dolphins. However, the combined effects of 47 villages, with a total population of around 50,000 has meant that overharvesting of marine species has become a problem. The decline of fish populations has been accompanied with reducing numbers of pearl oyster, gorgonian coral, and acorn worm. Local fishermen rely on the reef to feed their families, but destructive fishing methods combined with the stress of pollution and coral mining have meant both nearshore and offshore catches have decreased. Endangered species include dolphins, dugongs, whales and sea cucumbers. In 1986, a group of 21 islets lying off the Tamil Nadu coast between Thoothukudi and Dhanushkodi was declared the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park. The park and its 10 km buffer zone were declared a Biosphere Reserve in 1989. Biosphere Reserve The Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve covers an area of 10,500 km2 of ocean, 21 islands and the adjoining coastline. The islets and coastal buffer zone include beaches, estuaries, and tropical dry broadleaf forests, while the marine environments include seaweed communities, sea grass communities, coral reefs, salt marshes and mangrove forests. Marine activities Pearl fishing in the Gulf of Mannar, ca. 1926 The Gulf of Mannar is known for its pearl banks of Pinctada radiata and Pinctada fucata for at least two thousand years. Pliny the Elder ( 23 -- 79 ) praised the pearl fishery of the gulf as one of the most productive in the world. Although extraction of natural pearls is considered too expensive in most parts of the world, it is still carried out in the gulf. The chief seaports on the Gulf of Mannar are Thoothukudi ( Tuticorin ) in Tamil Nadu, and Colombo in Sri Lanka. While these ports can accommodate deep - draft vessels, the shallow Palk Strait can only accommodate small shallow - draft vessels. In July 2005, the Indian Government took preliminary steps to go ahead with the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project, which would create a deep channel linking the Gulf of Mannar to the Bay of Bengal. Project boosters emphasize the benefits of a direct shipping route that connects India 's east and west coasts without the long trip around Sri Lanka ; environmentalists have warned against the grave damage such a project could cause to the sea life and fisheries of the Palk Strait and the Gulf. References Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gulf of Mannar. ^ Jump up to : J. Sacratees, R. Karthigarani ( 2008 ). Environment impact assessment. APH Publishing. p. 10. ISBN 81 - 313 - 0407 - 8. Jump up ^ Gulf of Mannar, Great Soviet Encyclopedia ( in Russian ) Jump up ^ Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta Sastri. ( 1979 ). South India and South - East Asia : studies in their history and culture. Geetha Book House. Jump up ^ UNDP Project brief : `` Conservation and Sustainable - use of the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve 's Coastal Biodiversity '', New York, 1994 UNDP Project Brief Archived 16 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ R. Raghu Prasad and P.V. Ramachandran Nair ( 1973 ). `` India and the Indian Ocean Fisheries '' ( PDF ). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of India. 15 : 1 -- 19. Jump up ^ Arnold Wright ( 1999 ). Twentieth century impressions of Ceylon : its history, people, commerce, industries, and resources. p. 227. ISBN 81 - 206 - 1335 - X. Jump up ^ James Hornell ( 2009 ). The Indian Pearl Fisheries of the Gulf of Manar and Palk Bay. BiblioBazaar. p. 6. ISBN 1 - 110 - 87096 - 5. Jump up ^ Michael O'Donoghue ( 2006 ). Gems : their sources, descriptions and identification. Butterworth - Heinemann. p. 566. ISBN 0 - 7506 - 5856 - 8. Hydrography of the Indian subcontinent Inland rivers Beas Betwa Bhagirathi Brahmaputra Chambal Chenab Damodar Godavari Gandaki Ganges Ghaghara Indus Jhelum Kali Kaveri Kosi Krishna Luni Mahanadi Mahaweli Meghna Narmada Padma Ravi Sarasvati Sankosh Sharda Son Sutlej Tapti Yamuna Inland lakes, deltas, etc. Ganges Basin Ganges Delta Indus Delta Dal Lake Pookode Lake Skeleton Lake Chilika Lake Lake Powai Borith Lake Saiful Muluk Gosaikunda Nizam Sagar Red Hills Lake Malampuzha Kerala backwaters Pulicat Lake Coastal Indian Ocean Arabian Sea Bay of Bengal Gulf of Kutch Gulf of Khambhat Gulf of Mannar Laccadive Sea Palk Strait Categories Lakes of Bangladesh / India / Nepal / Pakistan Reservoirs and dams in India Rivers of Bangladesh / Bhutan / India / Nepal / Pakistan Geography of Sri Lanka Climate Climate Climatic regions Dry Zone Wet Zone Natural disasters Geology Indian Plate Gems Central Highlands Hanthana Mountain Range Knuckles Mountain Range Extreme points Highest North South East West Landforms Beaches Islands Lagoons Lakes Mountains Rivers Valleys Waterfalls Bordering entities Bay of Bengal Gulf of Mannar India Indian Ocean Palk Strait Subdivisions Provinces Districts DS Divisions GN Divisions Settlements Cities Towns Environment Environmental issues Deforestation Biogeographic classification Biosphere Reserves Ecoregions Forests National Parks Protected Areas Sanctuaries Wildlife Fauna Flora Protected areas of Tamil Nadu Biosphere reserves Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve National parks Grass Hills National Park Guindy National Park Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park Karian Shola National Park Mudumalai National Park Mukurthi National Park Palani Hills Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park Wildlife sanctuaries Cauvery North Wildlife Sanctuary Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary Kanyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary Vallanadu Wildlife Sanctuary Bird sanctuaries Chitrangudi Kanjirankulam Karaivetti Karikili Koothankulam Melaselvanur - Kilaselvanur Pulicat Lake Udayamarthandapuram Vaduvur Vedanthangal Vellode Vettangudi Tiger reserves Anaimalai Tiger Reserve Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve Mudumalai Tiger Reserve Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve Conservation reserves Tiruvidaimarudur Conservation Reserve Protected areas of India GND : 4559252 - 4 VIAF : 249395458 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gulf_of_Mannar&oldid=853710350 '' Categories : Gulf of Mannar Gulfs of the Indian Ocean Gulfs of India Coromandel Coast Bodies of water of Sri Lanka Landforms of Tamil Nadu India -- Sri Lanka border Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Use dmy dates from March 2017 EngvarB from March 2017 Coordinates on Wikidata Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia বাংলা Беларуская Català Čeština Deutsch Eesti Español Euskara Français Frysk 한국어 हिन्दी Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Lietuvių മലയാളം मराठी Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk ଓଡ଼ିଆ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ پنجابی Polski Português Română Русский සිංහල Suomi தமிழ் Українська اردو Tiếng Việt 中文 26 more Edit links This page was last edited on 6 August 2018, at 14 : 14 ( UTC ). 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Question: where is the gulf of mannar on a map
Answer: between the southeastern tip of India and the west coast of Sri Lanka, in the Coromandel Coast region