ANDAMAN SEA

sea, part of the northeastern Indian Ocean, with an area of 308,000 square miles (798,000 square km). Through such ports as Bassein, Moulmein, Tavoy, and Merguias well as Yangn (Rangoon) itselfit forms the most important sea link between Myanmar (Burma) and other nations; it also forms part of a shipping route between India and China, via the Strait of Malacca. The Andaman Sea is bounded to the north by the Irrawaddy River delta of Myanmar; to the east by peninsular Myanmar, Thailand, and Malaysia; to the west by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which are under Indian administration; and to the south by the island of Sumatra (part of Indonesia) and by the Strait of Malacca. The sea takes its name from the Andaman Islands. The Andaman Sea is 750 miles (1,200 km) long, from north to south, and 400 miles (645 km) wide. Less than 5 percent of the sea is deeper than 10,000 feet (3,000 m), but, in a system of submarine valleys east of the Andaman-Nicobar Ridge, depths exceed 14,500 feet (4,400 m). The sea's northern and eastern third is less than 600 feet (180 m) deep, in part because of silts deposited by the Irrawaddy River at its delta. The western and central half of the sea is 3,000 to 10,000 feet deep. Southeast Asia's monsoonal regime governs the sea's climate and waters. In the winter, the regional humidity is low, the sea receives little rainfall or runoff, and hence its surface salinities are high. Huge volumes of runoff water from Myanmar flow into the Andaman Sea during the summer monsoon, however, forming a marked pattern of low surface salinity in its northern third. Neither the Andaman's surface waters nor its bottom are rich in marine life. Its waters along the Malay Peninsula, however, favour molluscan growth, and there are about 250 edible species of fish in those intensively fished coastal waters. The sea's mineral resources are similarly limited but include tin deposits off the coasts of Malaysia and Thailand. Trading vessels have plied the Andaman Sea since ancient times. It was part of the early coastal trade route between India and China and, from the 8th century, formed a link in a thriving trade between India and Sri Lanka (Ceylon) to the west and the Myanmar ports of Thaton, Martaban, and Tavoy to the east. The two largest modern ports on the sea are George Town (Malaysia) to the southeast and Yangn (Myanmar) to the north.