The Palk Strait

A 30-mile chain of limestone shoals lies just beneath the waves here. Some call it a bridge. Geologists call it Adam’s Bridge, and it sits inside the Palk Strait.

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Indian Geography · IndGeo0043

The Palk Strait: A Barrier, Not a Bridge

India — Adam’s Bridge / Ram Setu — Sri Lanka

Pamban Island
India

~30-mile shoal
Adam’s Bridge

Mannar Island
Sri Lanka

1–10 m

Typical strait depth

2005

Sethusamudram project approved

2007

Work put on hold by SC case

1755–63

Robert Palk as Madras Governor

Why the canal never got built

Dredging through Adam’s Bridge would touch a site of deep religious significance and risk the Gulf of Mannar‘s coral reefs — so a shipping shortcut has stayed stalled in court since 2007, even as Tamil Nadu keeps pushing to revive it.

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Must Know

• The Palk Strait is a narrow channel of the Bay of Bengal, between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.
• It connects the Bay of Bengal to the Gulf of Mannar in the southwest.
• Adam’s Bridge, also called Ram Setu, is a chain of limestone shoals inside the strait. It runs about 30 miles between Pamban Island, India, and Mannar Island, Sri Lanka.
• Adam’s Bridge separates the Palk Strait from the Gulf of Mannar.
• The strait is named after Robert Palk, a British colonial-era Governor of Madras.

Good to Know

• The strait is too shallow for large ships to cross directly. Depths run mostly between 1 and 10 metres.
• This shallowness forces ocean-going vessels to sail all the way around Sri Lanka, adding significant distance and time.
• The proposed Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project aimed to dredge a deep channel through this shallow stretch. It would link the Palk Strait to the Gulf of Mannar directly.
• The idea dates back to 1860, under British engineer A. D. Taylor. The Indian government formally proposed it again in 1955.

Test Yourself

Please wait…

1. Which two countries does the Palk Strait separate?

Sri Lanka and the Maldives

Bangladesh and Myanmar

India and Bangladesh

India and Sri Lanka

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Great to Know

• The Union Cabinet approved the Sethusamudram project in 2005.
• The Government of India put the project on hold in 2007, after a Supreme Court case questioned the plan. Petitioners argued that dredging through Adam’s Bridge would damage a site of religious significance.
• Environmental groups also raised concerns. They warned that dredging could harm the coral reefs and marine biodiversity of the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park nearby.
• As of August 2025, the project remains stalled. Legal disputes continue, and the Tamil Nadu Assembly has passed a resolution urging the Union government to revive it.
• The Palk Bay, the northern part of this same India-Sri Lanka maritime zone, is also a recurring flashpoint. Indian fishermen crossing it are frequently detained by Sri Lankan authorities for allegedly fishing in Sri Lankan waters.