Palk Strait
Palk Strait | |
---|---|
Location | Laccadive Sea–Bay of Bengal |
Coordinates | 10°00′N 79°45′E / 10.000°N 79.750°E |
Type | Strait |
Etymology | Robert Palk |
Part of | Indian Ocean |
Basin countries | India, Sri Lanka |
Max. width | 82 km (51 mi) |
Min. width | 53 km (33 mi) |
Surface area | 2,500 km (1,600 mi) |
Max. temperature | 35 °C (95 °F) |
Min. temperature | 15 °C (59 °F) |
Islands | Sri Lanka |
The Palk Strait (
The unique feature around Palk Strait is that the
Geography and geology
The strait is relatively shallow. The region around Ram Setu/Adam's Bridge is typically around 1–3 metres deep, while the central part of the strait is typically around 20 metres deep, with the strait reaching a maximum depth of 35 metres.[6]
Due to lowered sea levels during the Last Glacial Period (115,000-11,700 years Before Present) where sea levels reached a maximum of 120 metres below present values, the entirety of the relatively shallow strait was exposed as dry land. Following the rise to present sea levels during the Holocene, by around 7,000 years ago, the strait became submerged.[6]
History
In 1914, there used to be regular trains from Madras/Chennai to Dhanushkodi, a ferry to Talaimannar on Mannar Island, and then a train to Colombo. In 1964, a cyclone destroyed Dhanushkodi and the railway and caused severe damage along the shores of Palk Strait and Palk Bay.[7] Dhanushkodi was not rebuilt and the railway from Talaimannar to Mahawilachchiya in Sri Lanka was given up due to the civil war (It was later completely rebuilt). At least into the 1970s there was a ferry between small piers in Rameswaram and Talaimannar, but this was discontinued.[8] Ferry service briefly resumed around 2010 but at this time there are no passenger connections across the Strait.
Proposed canal
The shallow waters and reefs of the strait make it difficult for large ships to pass through, although fishing boats and small craft carrying coastal trade have navigated the strait for centuries. Large ships must travel around Sri Lanka. Construction of a shipping canal through the strait was first proposed to the British government of India in 1860, and a number of commissions have studied the proposal up to the present day. The most recent study of the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project, as it is now called, was an environmental impact assessment and a technical feasibility study commissioned by the Tamil Nadu government in 2004.[9]
However, the plan encountered opposition from various religious circles. The
Fixed link
The construction of an Undersea Bed Rail tunnel linking India and Sri Lanka has been proposed that will pass below the Palk Strait.[11]
See also
- Andaman and Nicobar Command
- Andaman Sea
- Coral reefs in India
- Borders of India
- Exclusive economic zone of India
References
- ^ Palk Strait, Encyclopedia britannica.
- .
- S2CID 203096484.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 635.
- Encyclopedia Britannica. 2007. Retrieved 14 September 2007.
- ^ ISSN 0033-5894.
- ^ Land's end
- ^ "Sri Lanka, India to relaunch ferry service after three decades". Pakistan Today. Reuters. 7 January 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
- ^ Harnessing the Troubled Waters: Sethusamudram Canal Project
- ^ "Hanuman bridge is myth: Experts". The Times of India. 19 October 2002. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
- ^ Hegadekatti, Kartik (6 January 2016). "THE TUNNEL FROM INDIA TO SRI LANKA". Retrieved 9 January 2019.