Ram Setu: World’s Largest Man-made Tombolo

Ram Setu is a bridge-like construction that is also known as Adam’s bridge in foreign countries. It is a linkage of natural limestone reefs situated between Pamban island (Rameswaram island) in India and Mannar island in Sri Lanka. Some geographical evidence suggests that the adam’s bridge is a former land connecting both India and Sri Lanka as a bridge.

The history behind Ram Setu

According to our Hindu mythology, Ram Setu is built by the Hindu legend Lord Rama and his vanaras (monkeys) to reach Lanka and rescue his wife Sita from King Ravana. Ramsetu bridge is a long wide bridge with a 48 km distance and 3 km wide. History says that the ram setu was a walkable bridge until the 15th century. According to the Ramanathaswamy temple records, the adam’s bridge was entirely above sea level till 1480. In 1480 a cyclone broke the bridge and most of it got destroyed.

In 1966, NASA’s Gemini-11 satellite found a landmass that emerged in the form of 48km long between India and Sri Lanka. There were a lot of debates going around the origin of this bridge. Scientists, geologists, and archaeologists say that the bridge is nature’s wonderful creation and some say that it was built by lord Rama to reach Sri Lanka (present-day Sri Lanka). But the interesting fact is that there was still a debate running whether the bridge is manmade or natural.

Do you know?

There are many more bridges like ramsetu in the world. These types of bridges are known as ‘Tombolo.’ So what is a tombolo? A tombolo is a landform that connects an island to the mainland by a narrow land. Ramsetu bridge is the world’s largest tombolo.

Now let’s know the other tombolos in Asia. There are 9 tombolos in different parts of the Asian continent. They are:

Ram Setu, India

Ramsetu bridge is the world’s largest tombolo which is situated between India and Sri Lanka at a distance of around 48 km. It starts from India’s Pamban Island to Sri Lanka’s Mannar Island, the bridge starts as a chain of shoals.

Angel Road of Shodo Island, Japan

Angel Road of Shodo island is a sandbar on Shodoshima island situated in the Shikoku region. It is a 500 meters long sandbar that connects three tiny islands with Shodoshima island. Of all the scenic views in Japan, Angel Road has a separate place.

Bennett Island, Russia

Of all De Long Islands, Bennett Island is the largest situated in the northern part of the East Serbian Sea. The total area of Bennett island is 150 sq. km. It has a tombolo at its eastern end.

Bijia Mountain, China

Bijia mountain is an island in the Liaodong Bay of China’s Bohai Sea. The island is situated on the south coast of the Jinzhou region of the Liaodong province, Coastal China. Most of the daytime, Bijiashan can only be accessed by boat. But when the sea recedes, a natural zigzagging cobblestone tombolo, over 10 meters wide, links the island to the mainland.

Cheung Chau, Hong Kong

Cheung Chau is an island that is 10 km southwest of Hong Kong Island. It has a nickname called “dumbbell island” due to its shape. The formation of this island happened from two mostly granite masses joined by a tombolo.

Gwadar, Pakistan

Gwadar is situated on Pakistan’s southwestern Arabian Sea coast in the Gwadar District of Balochistan province. Gwadar is located on a natural hammerhead-shaped tombolo peninsula forming two almost perfect and naturally curved semicircular bays on either side.

Hakodate, Japan

Hakodate was originally an island formed by volcanic eruptions that happened millions of years ago. Throughout history, a sandbar formed between Mount Hakodate and the peninsula. This landform is a tombolo that connects the former Hakodate island with the main peninsula Hokkaido to the north.

Kapıdağ Peninsula, Turkey

Kapıdağ Peninsula is a tombolo located in northwestern Anatolia that is extending into the Sea of Marmara in Balıkesir Province, Turkey. On the east, it forms the Gulf of Bandirma, and on the west Gulf of Erdek.

Sharp Island, Hong Kong

Sharp Island is situated on the margin of the caldera. Over 140 million years ago a volcano was located in Sai Kung. The sea currents near the island pushed gravel and sand near the shore. After many years, the rock and sand formed a natural tombolo connecting Sharp Island and Kiu Tau.