Adam’s Bridge Between Sri Lanka And India
7 August 2005

Note: The area of coverage in this SPOT-5 image is approximately 12.5 km x 12.5 km.
The reduced resolution image on display has undergone compression and so does not represent the true resolution of the original satellite image.

The Mannar Peninsula of northern Sri Lanka ends in a series of islands, reefs, and sand splays that is collectively known as Adam’s Bridge, and links Sri Lanka and India. In the epic poem, the Ramayana, Adam’s Bridge is famous as the crossing place from India to Sri Lanka. Lines of surf break on the southern side of the islands, with reefs and submerged sand splays extending towards the north. The bright sandy spits and forelands on the small islands indicate the complicated pattern of water movement round the islets and through the small straits. Beach ridges give rise to a linear pattern of vegetation across the tip of the Mannar Peninsula, which is marked by beaches on both sides, the southern ones being better developed. Three spits extend west from the peninsula.