What Does ‘Ram Setu’ Look Like From Space?

 

 

ThE Rameswaram Island -- also popular as Pamban Island -- can be accessed from the Indian mainland through the 2-km-long Pamban Bridge. The European Space Agency has shared an image of the Ram Setu taken by its Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite. Also known as the Adam's Bridge, it is a c hain of shoals link- ing India and Sri Lanka. The Ram Setu stretches 48 km between Rameswaram Island, off the southeast coast of India, con- necting the Mannar Island in Sri Lanka.

 

It separates the Gulf of Mannar (south), an inlet of the Indian Ocean, from the Palk Strait (north), an inlet of the Bay of Bengal. While there are numerous theo- ries about how the bridge was formed, geologic evidence suggests that these limestone shoals are the remnants of land that once linked India with Sri Lanka. As per reports, this "natural bridge was traversable until the 15th cen- tury, after which it was gradually eroded by storms over the years," the European Space Agency said. It noted that some of the sand- banks are dry, while the sea here is very shallow, only 1–10 m d eep, as indicated by the light colour of the water.

 

Covering around 130 sq km, Mannar Island is connected to main- land Sri Lanka by a r oad bridge as well as a r ailway bridge. Both of them are visible at the southern end of the island. On the Indian side, the Rameswaram Island -- also popular as Pamban Island -- can be accessed via the 2-km-long Pamban Bridge. here, the two main towns are Pamban, on the western edge, and Rameswaram, which is around 10 km east of Pamban. Both sections of the Ram Setu are part of protected national parks in their respective countrie