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A shallow, reef-fringed gulf between India and Sri Lanka, and India's first marine biosphere reserve.

The Gulf of Mannar is a warm, shallow sea studded with a chain of low coral islands and fringing reefs. Its clear, sediment-poor water and gentle shelf let corals, seagrass meadows and pearl-oyster beds flourish.

Declared India’s first Marine Biosphere Reserve, it shelters dugongs, sea turtles and hundreds of reef species, and is separated from Palk Bay to the north by the shoals of Adam’s Bridge.

Sources

• UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme

A short reference note: this summary draws on third-party sources such as the Geological Survey of India and Wikipedia. In time I plan to give every geological feature its own learning-oriented write-up — with custom diagrams, graphs, and study pointers — as I’ve already done for the 11 locations that have an Instagram reel.