In the science of geography there is a clear concept of how the bay differs from the sea. If in the first one there are no significant features from the rest of the ocean, then in the seas, even open ones, there is its own regime of hydroexchange, a special flora and fauna. In this sense, the Bay of Bengal was undeservedly offended. After all, these are not just masses of oceanic water that have moved far towards the continent (as, for example, in the Bay of Biscay off the coast of Spain), but a real open sea. However, in the east, the bay has its own inland sea - the Andaman, protected from other water areas by a chain of islands of the same name.
The Bay of Bengal has been known to people for a long time. Even before the Age of Discovery, these expanses of water were plowed by the Chinese, Indians, Persians and Malays. Since the 7th century, the Arabs have been intensively mastering the water area. Using navigation devices such as the astrolabe and compass, theymoved from the Persian Gulf far to the east, reaching the coast of Indochina. At the beginning of the 15th century, European ships appeared in these latitudes. Northern newcomers contributed to the study of the geographical and climatic features of the local seas, in particular, they discovered and described the impact on the climate in the bay of powerful trade winds that form on both sides of the equator.
The Bay of Bengal does not have a distinct southern border. In the west, its cordon is Hindustan and Sri Lanka, and in the east - the Indochina peninsula. The average depth of this vast open sea is more than two and a half thousand meters, but the depth fluctuations are very heterogeneous. In the north, thanks to the mighty rivers Brahmaputra, Ganges, Pennara, Krishna, Godovari and Mahanadi, the bottom rises. Water arteries carry a lot of sediment and silt into the sea, which form the continental shelf. Therefore, in the northern part of the bay, the salinity of the water is less than in the southern part - 30 ppm against 34. If you look at the water area from a height, the difference in water turbidity is also noticeable.
The Bay of Bengal is located in the zone of influence of the humid equatorial climate. The seasons here are shaped by the monsoons. In the south, a powerful trade wind current is established in winter, which turns into a monsoon in the north. The largest daily fluctuations in the water level are recorded here - low tides sometimes take the sea away by 11 meters. In November and December, powerful tropical cyclones form over the equatorial part of the bay, which attack the shores, causing significant damage and causing loss of life. The lower the coast, the greater the damage caused by the elements. So, in the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, which rises only eight meters above sea level, monsoon water floods the streets to the waist.
Description of the Indian Ocean, especially its fauna and flora, can be attributed to the flora and fauna of the Bay of Bengal. The ever-warm waters are populated by coral colonies, especially the reefs near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Sri Lanka. A wide variety of fish, jellyfish, crustaceans and mollusks are found here. Very common are stingrays (manta rays) and sharks - coral, tiger, white. Some of these predators penetrate far upstream the rivers, attacking people. Of the mammals, several species of dolphins, baleen whales, as well as a thunderstorm of the Indian Ocean - killer whales can be mentioned.
