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Andaman Sea
 
 
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The Andaman Sea (; ) is a body of water to the southeast of the Bay of Bengal
Bay of Bengal

The Bay of Bengal is a Headlands and bays that forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered by India and Sri Lanka to the West, Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal to the North , and Myanmar, southern part of Thailand and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the East....
, south of Myanmar
Myanmar

Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar, is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia, or Indochina. The country is bordered by the People's Republic of China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, and the Bay of Bengal to the southwest with...
, west of Thailand
Thailand

The Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Laos and Myanmar, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Myanmar....
 and east of the Andaman Islands
Andaman Islands

The Andaman Islands are a group of archipelago islands in the Bay of Bengal, and are part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Union Territory of India....
; it is part of the Indian Ocean. It is roughly (north-south) and wide (east-west), with an area of . Its average depth is , and the maximum depth is .

At its southeastern reaches, the Andaman Sea narrows to form the Straits of Malacca, which separate the Malay Peninsula
Malay Peninsula

The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a major peninsula located in Southeast Asia. It is also known as the Kra Peninsula and runs approximately north-south through the Kra Isthmus....
 from the island of Sumatra
Sumatra

Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the list of islands by area in the world ....
.

ing in a rough north-south line on the seabed of the Andaman Sea is the boundary between two tectonic plate
Tectonic Plate

#REDIRECT Plate tectonics...
s, the Burma plate
Burma Plate

The Burma Plate is a small tectonic plate or microplate located in Southeast Asia, often considered a part of the larger Eurasian Plate. The Andaman Islands, Nicobar Islands, and northwestern Sumatra are located on the plate....
 and the Sunda Plate
Sunda Plate

The Sunda Plate is a tectonic plate located in southeast Asia and commonly considered a part of the Eurasian Plate. The Sunda includes the South China Sea, the Andaman Sea, southern parts of Vietnam and Thailand along with Malaysia and the islands of Borneo, Sumatra, Java , and part of the Celebes in Indonesia, plus the south-western Phili...
.






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Locationandamansea
The Andaman Sea (; ) is a body of water to the southeast of the Bay of Bengal
Bay of Bengal

The Bay of Bengal is a Headlands and bays that forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered by India and Sri Lanka to the West, Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal to the North , and Myanmar, southern part of Thailand and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the East....
, south of Myanmar
Myanmar

Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar, is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia, or Indochina. The country is bordered by the People's Republic of China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, and the Bay of Bengal to the southwest with...
, west of Thailand
Thailand

The Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Laos and Myanmar, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Myanmar....
 and east of the Andaman Islands
Andaman Islands

The Andaman Islands are a group of archipelago islands in the Bay of Bengal, and are part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Union Territory of India....
; it is part of the Indian Ocean. It is roughly (north-south) and wide (east-west), with an area of . Its average depth is , and the maximum depth is .

At its southeastern reaches, the Andaman Sea narrows to form the Straits of Malacca, which separate the Malay Peninsula
Malay Peninsula

The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a major peninsula located in Southeast Asia. It is also known as the Kra Peninsula and runs approximately north-south through the Kra Isthmus....
 from the island of Sumatra
Sumatra

Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the list of islands by area in the world ....
.

Ocean Floor Tectonics

Neic Slav Fig72narrow
Running in a rough north-south line on the seabed of the Andaman Sea is the boundary between two tectonic plate
Tectonic Plate

#REDIRECT Plate tectonics...
s, the Burma plate
Burma Plate

The Burma Plate is a small tectonic plate or microplate located in Southeast Asia, often considered a part of the larger Eurasian Plate. The Andaman Islands, Nicobar Islands, and northwestern Sumatra are located on the plate....
 and the Sunda Plate
Sunda Plate

The Sunda Plate is a tectonic plate located in southeast Asia and commonly considered a part of the Eurasian Plate. The Sunda includes the South China Sea, the Andaman Sea, southern parts of Vietnam and Thailand along with Malaysia and the islands of Borneo, Sumatra, Java , and part of the Celebes in Indonesia, plus the south-western Phili...
. These plates (or microplates) are believed to have formerly been part of the larger Eurasian Plate
Eurasian Plate

The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate which includes most of the continent of Eurasia , with the notable exceptions of the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent, and the area east of the Chersky Range in East Siberia....
, but were formed when transform fault
Transform fault

A transform fault or transform boundary is a Fault which runs along the boundary of a tectonic plate. The relative motion of such plates is Horizontal plane in either sinistral or dextral direction....
 activity intensified as the Indian Plate began its substantive collision with the Eurasian continent
Continent

A continent is one of several large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents ? they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia ....
.

As a result, a seafloor spreading
Seafloor spreading

Seafloor spreading occurs at mid-ocean ridges, where new oceanic crust is formed through volcano and then gradually moves away from the ridge....
 centre was created, which began to form the marginal basin
Basin

Basin may mean:* Drainage basin, hydrological basin or catchment basin, a region of land where water drains downhill into a specified body of water...
 which would become the Andaman Sea, the current stages of which commenced approximately 3-4 million years ago (Ma
Annum

Annum is one form of the Latin noun meaning year, not a form normally used for derivatives in modern languages: the accusative case Grammatical number of the second declension grammatical gender noun annus , anni ....
).

Volcanic activity

Within the sea to the east of the main Great Andaman
Great Andaman

Great Andaman is the main archipelago of the Andaman Islands of India. It comprises five major islands. From north to south, these are North Andaman, Middle Andaman, South Andaman, Baratang and Rutland Island....
 island group is Barren Island
Barren Island (Andaman Islands)

Barren Island is located in the Andaman Sea, one of the most easterly of the Andaman Islands. It is the only confirmed active volcano in South Asia....
, an active volcano (the only presently active volcano
Volcano

A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or Crust , which allows hot, molten rock, ash, and gases to escape from below the surface....
 associated with the Indian subcontinent
South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries on the west and the east....
). Its volcanic activity is due to the ongoing subduction
Subduction

In geology, subduction is the process that takes place at convergent boundary by which one tectonic plate moves under another tectonic plate, sinking into the Earth's mantle, as the plates converge....
 of the India Plate beneath the Andaman island arc, which forces magma
Magma

Magma is molten Rock that is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and may also exist on other terrestrial planets. Besides molten rock, magma may also contain suspended crystals and gas bubbles....
 to rise in this location of the Burma Plate. The volcanic island of Narcondam
Narcondam Island

Narcondam or Narcondum is a small volcano island located in the Andaman Sea. Its central peak rises some 710 m above mean sea level. It is considered to be part of the Andaman Islands, the main body of which lie approximately 114 km to the west....
 which lies further to the north was also formed by this process; however it has not recently been active.

See also

  • Andaman Islands
    Andaman Islands

    The Andaman Islands are a group of archipelago islands in the Bay of Bengal, and are part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Union Territory of India....
  • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
    Andaman and Nicobar Islands

    The Andaman & Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India.Informally, the territory's name is often abbreviated to A & N Islands, or ANI....
  • Kra Isthmus
    Kra Isthmus

    The Kra Isthmus is the narrow land bridge which connects the Malay Peninsula with the mainland of Asia. The east part of the landbridge belongs to Thailand, while the west part belongs to the Tanintharyi division of Myanmar....