Sri Lanka: When An Island Becomes An Island

I apologise for the delay in writing this blog post. Islands are my favourite geographical feature, as you can probably tell from the content of my blog so far. However, I want my blog to have a broader approach to both physical and human geography. After my last post about the Diomede islands, I promised to myself that my next post would focus on something other than islands.

So by the inclusion of Sri Lanka in the title of this post, you probably now think a promise of mine is not very valuable at all. If you keep reading, I may be able to convince you otherwise, however if I can't I hope you enjoy the post regardless.

Glance across a map of the world, or of South Asia specifically, and you will see the unmistakeable 'tear-drop' shaped outline of Sri Lanka, sitting off the south-east coast of India. Sri Lanka punches well above its weight in terms of biodiversity, and is said to be one of a few countries where you can see both elephants and blue whales- the largest mammals of the land and sea, respectively. The flag of Sri Lanka is a favourite of flag enthusiasts, as it has been designed to represent the huge ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity of the island.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Sri_Lanka.svg

However, Sri Lanka has not always been an island. Submerged in the water between India and Sri-Lanka is a collection of limestone shoals, known as Rama's Bridge (also, Adam's Bridge). This geographical feature has significance in Hindu Literature; believed to have been built by Rama's army to connect Sri Lanka to the continent. There is no consensus amongst Geologists as to the origin of the feature, but they believe it may be the remnant of the tombolo created by Sri Lanka's separation from the continent.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@9.1922377,79.4665992,235630m/data=!3m1!1e3

While geological events such as continental drift may occur over millions of years, the sinking of Rama's Bridge occured far more recently. In fact, there is evidence to suggest the bridge was patent until the 15th Century, when it was wiped out by a powerful cyclone. Sri Lanka, by a wisp, was connected to the Indian Subcontinent. 

At the very tip Pamban Island, on the Indian side of the Palk strait, lies a ghost town known as Danushkodi, which was destroyed in a 1964 cyclone. I've read a source which claims that here lies a 45 yard long border on a sand dune between India and Sri Lanka which persists today, making it one of the world's shortest land borders. Sadly, I cannot find any official recognition of this border, so I'll leave it up to you to decide whether you believe it or not.

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