Adam's Bridge
Also called: Ram Setu · Topic: India and her Neighbours · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Adam's Bridge, also called Rama Setu, is a chain of limestone shoals about 48 km long between India and Sri Lanka. Shoals are shallow sandbanks and rocks that sit just under or just above the sea. The chain runs from Pamban (Rameswaram) Island in Tamil Nadu to Mannar Island in Sri Lanka. It separates Palk Bay to the north from the Gulf of Mannar to the south. The water over it is too shallow for big ships, so they must sail all the way around Sri Lanka. The Sethusamudram canal project planned to cut a shipping channel through it, but the project is stalled.
Example
Pamban Island, off the coast of Ramanathapuram district in Tamil Nadu, is the Indian end of Adam's Bridge. From there the line of shoals runs southeast to Mannar Island off north-western Sri Lanka. The order of the water bodies from north to south is Palk Strait, Palk Bay, Adam's Bridge and then the Gulf of Mannar.
Don't confuse with
- Palk Strait: a narrow, shallow stretch of sea between Tamil Nadu and northern Sri Lanka that joins the Bay of Bengal to Palk Bay. It lies north of Adam's Bridge. Adam's Bridge is a line of shoals, not open water.
- Gulf of Mannar: the shallow inlet south of Adam's Bridge, known for its coral reefs and dugongs. Adam's Bridge lies north of the Gulf, not south of it.