A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean , a lake , or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf , sea , sound , or bight . A cove is a small, circular bay with a narrow entrance. A fjord is an elongated bay formed by glacial action. The term embayment is also used for related features , such as extinct bays or freshwater environments.
10-484: Trincomalee Bay , also known as Koddiyar Bay , is a bay in the Eastern Province , Sri Lanka . The bay is located by Trincomalee town on the north-east coast of the island. 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
20-552: A bight . There are various ways in which bays can form. The largest bays have developed through plate tectonics . As the super-continent Pangaea broke up along curved and indented fault lines, the continents moved apart and left large bays; these include the Gulf of Guinea , the Gulf of Mexico , and the Bay of Bengal , which is the world's largest bay. Bays also form through coastal erosion by rivers and glaciers . A bay formed by
30-502: A broad, flat fronting terrace". Bays were significant in the history of human settlement because they provided easy access to marine resources like fisheries . Later they were important in the development of sea trade as the safe anchorage they provide encouraged their selection as ports . The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea defines a bay as a well-marked indentation in
40-400: A glacier is a fjord . Rias are created by rivers and are characterised by more gradual slopes. Deposits of softer rocks erode more rapidly, forming bays, while harder rocks erode less quickly, leaving headlands . Headland A headland , also known as a head , is a coastal landform , a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water . It
50-480: 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). The bay is overlooked by terraced hills in
60-791: 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 . Bay A bay can be the estuary of a river, such as the Chesapeake Bay , an estuary of the Susquehanna River . Bays may also be nested within each other; for example, James Bay
70-473: Is a type of promontory . A headland of considerable size often is called a cape . Headlands are characterised by high, breaking waves , rocky shores , intense erosion , and steep sea cliff . Headlands and bays are often found on the same coastline. A bay is flanked by land on three sides, whereas a headland is flanked by water on three sides. Headlands and bays form on discordant coastlines, where bands of rock of alternating resistance run perpendicular to
80-413: Is an arm of Hudson Bay in northeastern Canada . Some large bays, such as the Bay of Bengal and Hudson Bay, have varied marine geology . The land surrounding a bay often reduces the strength of winds and blocks waves . Bays may have as wide a variety of shoreline characteristics as other shorelines. In some cases, bays have beaches , which "are usually characterized by a steep upper foreshore with
90-408: The coastline, whose penetration is in such proportion to the width of its mouth as to contain land-locked waters and constitute more than a mere curvature of the coast. An indentation, however, shall not be regarded as a bay unless its area is as large as (or larger than) that of the semi-circle whose diameter is a line drawn across the mouth of that indentation — otherwise it would be referred to as
100-507: The northwest and its entrance is guarded by two headlands. 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. 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 Trincomalee Harbour, formerly
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