Bay of Bengal

Bay of Bengal, wide arm of the Indian Ocean between India and Ceylon on the west, and Burma on the east. In the north, along the coast of Bangladesh, the sea is shallow because vast quantities of silt are brought down by the rivers. Further south the depth increases to a maximum of 13,020 ft (3,968 m). The winds and surface sea currents vary with the prevailing monsoon: clockwise with the northeast monsoon and counterclockwise with the southwest monsoon. In October particularly, at the change of monsoon, very severe storms occur. The important rivers flowing into the bay are the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Godavari, Kistna, and Cauvery.

See also: Indian Ocean.