Bay of Bengal
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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Bengal, Bay of
a bay in the Indian Ocean, between the Indian peninsula on the west and the Indochina peninsula and the Andaman and Nicobar islands on the east. It has an area of 2,172,000 sq km, an average depth of 2,586 m; and an average volume of 5,616,000 cu km. Its greatest depth is 5,258 m. The average water temperature in February is 25°–27° C and in August, 28° C (in May, 29° C). The salinity ranges from 30 parts per thousand (°/oo) and less near the mouth of the Ganges River to 34% in the south. Tides are semidiurnal and reach as high as 10.7 m. The main ports are Calcutta in the Ganges delta and Madras (India) and Chittagong (Chatagam, Bangladesh).
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.