BENGAL, BAY OF — 7th ed. (1842)

BENGAL, BAY OF, a portion of the Indian Ocean, of the figure of a triangle, having on its western side the coast of Bengal, and on the east the coast of Arracan, Pegu, and the Malayan peninsula. Its two sides, from Bengal to Ceylon on the west, and to Junkseylon on the east, may be estimated at 1120 miles in length, and the whole is comprehended within the latitudes of 8° and 20° N. At the bottom of the bay the breadth from Chittagong to Balasore is not above 250 miles; and at its mouth, from Cape Comorin to the Malayan peninsula, the breadth may be estimated at 1200 miles. The western and eastern coasts of the Bay of Bengal form a singular contrast in all the points most essential to a navigator. On the western coast there are no harbours for large ships, while on the eastern coast there are many excellent harbours, such as Arracan, Cheduba, Negrais, and Syriam, in Pegu; a harbour near Martaban, Tavay River, and King's Island; and several harbours in the Mergui Archipelago, besides Junkseylon, Telebone, and Pula Lada. Off the west coast of Coromandel there are no soundings about 30 miles from the shore, while the east coast has soundings two degrees from it. Coromandel presents an open country: it is often parched with drought from winds blowing over sultry sands; the mouths of its rivers are shallow from bars of sand, and it is often visited by dangerous gales. The east coast, on the other hand, is covered with wood. The climate is always temperate; the rivers are deep and muddy; and the weather is generally calm. The monsoons blow over the Bay of Bengal, though it is remarkable that here, as in many parts of India, strong winds are found blowing directly from the sea, while at some distance from the land it is a dead calm. Thus in Bengal there are strong northerly winds, while at sea calms prevail until May and June; and on the Malabar coast the south-west monsoon does not commence blowing till the beginning of the rainy season, but on shore there are strong westerly winds about and after the time of the vernal equinox. (F.)