Trincomalee Bay

Trincomalee Bay, also known as Koddiyar Bay,[2] is a bay in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. The bay is located by Trincomalee town on the north-east coast of the island.

This article is about the bay. For the port, see Trincomalee Harbour.
"China Bay" redirects here. For the airport, see China Bay Airport. For the railway station, see China Bay railway station.

Trincomalee Bay
Koddiyar Bay
View of the bay
Trincomalee Bay is located in Sri Lanka
Trincomalee Bay
Trincomalee Bay
Location in Sri Lanka
Coordinates08°30′N 81°14′E
Native name
  • ත්‍රිකුණාමලය වරාය (Sinhala)
  • திருகோணமலைத் துறைமுகம் (Tamil)
River sourcesMahaweli River
Ocean/sea sourcesIndian Ocean
Basin countriesSri Lanka
Max. length13 km (8.1 mi)
Max. width10 km (6.2 mi)
IslandsRound Island, Elephant Island, Clappenburg Island, Great Sober Island and Little Sober Island
SettlementsTrincomalee[1]

Geography
View of Round Island, located on the northern side of the bay's mouth.

Trincomalee Bay is open towards the northeast and has three differentiated parts. The main bay, also known as Koddiyar Bay, is located in the south and southeastern side and fairly regularly shaped, as well as enclosed and deep, forming a large natural harbour in the shores of the Indian Ocean. The commercial harbour is located in the 5 km (3 mi) long and 4 km (2 mi) wide northern indentation, also known as China Bay, on whose western side lies China Bay Airport. Tambalagam Bay is a mostly shallow western indentation of the main bay stretching westwards for 8 km (5 mi).[3]

The bay is overlooked by terraced hills in the northwest and its entrance is guarded by two headlands.[4] Trincomalee Bay has a length of 13 km (8 mi) and a width of 10 km (6 mi), while the mouth of the bay is 5 km (3 mi) wide.[5]

The bay includes a few islands: Round Island, Elephant Island and Clappenburg Island in the main bay, and Great Sober Island and Little Sober Island in China Bay. The latter two are wildlife sanctuaries[6]

18th century map of Trincomalee Bay.

History

Trincomalee Harbour, formerly a naval base of the Royal Navy, was taken over by the Sri Lankan Government in 1956 to be developed as a commercial port. The base in Trincomalee was fitted out to perform slipway repairs for the Sri Lanka Navy.[7]

See also

References
  1. GoogleEarth
  2. "Koddiyar Bay". Mapcarta. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  3. "China Bay". Mapcarta. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  4. Trinco Harbour will be developed next – SLPA Chief, Ceylon Today dated 5 February 2013
  5. "Port of Trincomalee". Sri Lanka Port Authority. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  6. "Elephant Island". Small islands of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  7. "Sri Lanka Navy – Trincomalee Harbor". globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
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