The Andaman Sea is a body of water to the southeast of the Bay of Bengal, south of Myanmar and west of Thailand; it is part of the Indian Ocean. It is roughly 1200 kilometers long (north-south) and 650 kilometers wide (east-west), with an area of 797,700 km². Its average depth is 870 meters, and the maximum depth is 3,777 meters. Image File history File links LocationAndamanSea. ... A map showing the location of the Bay of Bengal. ... A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer) (symbol: km) is a unit of length equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words khilia = thousand and metro = count/measure). ... Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ... The metre (Commonwealth English) or meter (American English) (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ...

At its southeastern reaches, the Andaman Sea narrows to form the Straits of Malacca, which separate the Malay Peninsula from the island of Sumatra. The Straits of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water between Peninsular Malaysia (West Malaysia) and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. ... The Malay Peninsula (Malay: Semenanjung Tanah Melayu) is a major peninsula located in Southeast Asia. ... Sumatra (also spelled Sumatara and Sumatera) is the sixth largest island of the world (approximately 470,000 km²) and is the largest part of Indonesia. ...

Ocean floor tectonics

The Andaman Sea, showing tectonic plate boundaries

Running in a rough north-south line on the seabed of the Andaman Sea is the boundary between two tectonic plates, the Burma plate and the Sunda Plate. These plates (or microplates) are believed to have formerly been part of the larger Eurasian Plate, but were formed when transform fault activity intensified as the Indian Plate began its substantive collision with the Eurasian continent. Image File history File links Neic_slav_fig72narrow. ... Image File history File links Neic_slav_fig72narrow. ... The tectonic plates of the world were mapped in the second half of the 20th century. ... The tectonic plates of the world were mapped in the second half of the 20th century. ... The Burma Plate is a small tectonic plate located in Southeast Asia, often considered a part of the larger Eurasian Plate. ... Sunda Plate ... The Eurasian plate is shown in green on this map. ... A transform fault is a geological fault that is a special case of strike-slip faulting which terminates abruptly, at both ends, at a major transverse geological feature. ... The India or Indian Plate is a minor tectonic plate. ... It has been suggested that Geographic Realms be merged into this article or section. ...

As a result, a seafloor spreading centre was created, which began to form the marginal basin which would become the Andaman Sea, the current stages of which commenced approximately 3-4 million years ago (Ma). Age of oceanic crust. ... Annum is a Latin term meaning year. ...

Volcanic activity

Within the sea to the east of the main Great Andaman island group is Barren Island, an active volcano (the only presently active volcano associated with the Indian subcontinent). Its volcanic activity is due to the ongoing subduction of the India Plate beneath the Andaman island arc, which forces magma to rise in this location of the Burma Plate. The volcanic island of Narcondam which lies further to the north was also formed by this process; however it has not recently been active. Great Andaman is the main archipelago of the Andaman Islands of India. ... For other areas bearing the same name, see Barren Island (disambiguation) An eruption column rises over Barren Island in 1991. ... Active volcanoes are volcanoes constantly erupting, including Pompeii and Krakatoa. ... Eruption redirects here. ... Composite satellite image of South Asia Map of South Asia. ... Subduction zones mark sites of convective downwelling of the Earths lithosphere. ... An island arc is a type of archipelago formed by plate tectonics as one oceanic tectonic plate subducts under another and produces magma. ... Magma is molten rock often located inside a magma chamber beneath the surface of the Earth. ... Narcondam Island is a small volcanic island located in the Andaman Sea. ...

See also

• Andaman Islands
• Andaman and Nicobar Islands
• Myanmar