Question

Which of the following channels or straits is located between the Great Nicobar Island and Indonesia's Sumatra Island?
1. Grand channel
2. 10 degree channel
3. 9 degree channel
4. Palk Strait

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 1 : Grand channel

The correct answer is Grand Channel.

• The Grand Channel is located between the Great Nicobar Islands and the Sumatra Islands of Indonesia.
  • The Great Channel is located six degrees north of the equator and is popularly known as the 'Six Degree Channel'.
  • The width of the Great Channel is 163 km between Indira Point in Great Nicobar and Rondo Island in Aceh Province, Indonesia.
  • A deep and clear channel, it is suitable for navigation by large merchant ships.
  • The Great Channel is located on the western edge of the Strait of Malacca.
  • The three major sea routes of the Indian Ocean meet in the Great Channel originating from the Cape of Good Hope, the Gulf of Aden and the Strait of Hormuz.
  • Due to the convergence of sea routes, shipping density remains high in the Great Channel which increases its potential vulnerability to disruption.

• A channel is a wide-open waterway that passes through two landmasses that are located close to each other.
  • It differs from the Strait which is a relatively narrow body of water, connecting two large bodies of water.
  • Channels created by glaciers form a deep valley between the two landmasses.
  • Channels built by people are usually dug from the bottom of shallow waterways to make way for larger ships.
• The main islands under the Andaman and Nicobar Islands group are:
  • North Andaman, Middle Andaman, South Andaman, Little Andaman, Car Nicobar, Little Nicobar, Great Nicobar
• Andamans are separated from Nicobar by a 10-degree channel.
  • 10 Degree Channel separates the Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands from each other in the Bay of Bengal and forms the Indian Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 
  • It is so named as it lies on the 10-degree line of latitude, north of the equator. 
  • Andaman and Nicobar Islands situated in the Bay of Bengal, run like a narrow chain in the north-south direction extending between 6'39 N and 14'34 N.
• The Palk Strait is a strait between the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the Jaffna district of the Northern Province of the island nation of Sri Lanka.
  • It connects the Bay of Bengal in the northeast with the Palk Bay in the southwest.