Andaman Sea Facts

Andaman Sea Facts
The Andaman Sea is located north of Sumatra, west of Thailand, south of Burma, and is considered to be part of the Indian Ocean. The Andaman Sea narrows at its south-eastern region to form the Straits of Malacca. The Straits of Malacca separate the island of Sumatra from the Malay Peninsula. The Andaman Sea covers an area of 231,700 square miles. Its average depth is 3,596 feet and its maximum depth is 13,773 feet. The maximum width of the Andaman Sea is 401 miles and its maximum length is 746 miles. The coastal countries of the Andaman Sea have been popular tourist destinations and the sea is important for fisheries.
Interesting Andaman Sea Facts:
Countries included in the basin of the Andaman Sea include Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, and India.
In 2004 a tsunami did major damage to the tourist and fishery industry infrastructure of the Andaman Sea and its coastal regions.
The only active volcano of the Indian subcontinent is located to the east of the Great Andaman island group - called Barren Island. This volcano is 2 miles in diameter. It had been quite for 200 years until 1991.
The monsoons of Asia's south-east region determine the Andaman Sea's climate and its salinity. The salinity of the water decreases in the winter.
Along the Andaman Sea coast the flora is made up of mangroves and seagrass meadows.
The mangroves along the shoreline of the Andaman Sea provide shelter and homes for fish and help to protect the shoreline from erosion by waves and wind.
Along the Malay Peninsula sea water of the Andaman Sea there are approximately 280 different species of edible fish. 232 live in the mangroves and 149 live in seagrass. Some of these species live in both.
There are four species of sea turtles living in the Andaman Sea including the green turtle (threatened), Olive Ridley turtle, hawksbill turtle (critically endangered), and leatherback turtle (critically endangered).
There are approximately 150 dugongs living in the Andaman Sea. Dugongs are a type of sea cow, known for their similarity in appearance and temperament to livestock.
It is estimated that there are 73,364 rai of coral reef in the Andaman Sea. Of these roughly only 6.4% are considered to be in good condition.
Fishing in the Andaman Sea is important commercially for Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Burma. A conflict in 1998 and 1999 resulted in fatalities.
In 2005 Thailand fished 943,000 tonnes from the Andaman Sea.
There are deposits of tin off Malaysia and Thailand's coasts in the Andaman Sea.
Major ports along the Andaman Sea are found in Belawan (Indonesia), Penang and George Town (Malaysia), Yangon, Mergui, Mawlamyine, Dawei, and Pathein (Myanmar).
The tsunami that occurred in 2004 resulted in 1.5% of the seagrass habitat along the Andaman Sea coasts being destroyed.
Earthquakes have occurred in the Andaman Sea because it is the boundary of the Sunda and Burma tectonic plates. The earthquake in 2004 was 9.3 magnitude and resulted in the tsunami that killed roughly 280,000 people along the Indian Ocean's coastal regions.


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