Pulicat Lake (Pazhaverkaadu in Tamil) is a brackish-water lake on the Coromandel Coast of southeastern India. It lies at the border of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh states, 60 km north of Chennai. The barrier island of Sriharikota separates the lake from the Bay of Bengal. Sriharikota is home to the town of Pulicat. Tamil (தமிழ் ) is a classical language and one of the major languages of the Dravidian language family. ... Brackish water is water that is saltier than fresh water, but not as salty as sea water. ... The Coromandel Coast is the name given to the southeastern coast of the Indian peninsula. ... Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ... Andhra Pradesh  : (Telugu: ఆంధ్ర ప్రదేశ్, Urdu: آندھرا پردیش, IPA: ), is a state in South India. ... Chennai   (Tamil: ), formerly known as Madras  , is the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu and is Indias fourth largest metropolitan city. ... In geography, a bar is a linear shoaling landform feature within a body of water. ... Sriharikota (also Sriharikote) is a barrier island off the coast of Andhra Pradesh in India. ... A map showing the location of the Bay of Bengal. ... Pulicat is a town which lies in the nellore District, in the state of andhra Pradesh, India. ...

The lake is 60 km long and varies from 0.2 to 17.5 km in width. It is the second-largest brackish water ecosystem on India's east coast, after Orissa's Chilka Lake. The lake is shallow, and varies in area with the tides and seasonal rainfall, from 460 km² in high water to 250 km² in low water. Orissa   (Devanagari: उड़ीसा) (2001 provisional pop. ... Chilka Lake (also Chilika Lake) is a brackish water coastal lake in Indias Orissa state, south of the mouth of the Mahanadi River. ...

The shallow lake is known for its diversity of aquatic birds, and is an important stopover on migration routes. Approximately 15,000 flamingos visit the lake each year, along with pelicans, kingfishers, herons, painted storks, spoonbills and ducks. The beaches of Sriharikota are an important nesting spot for sea turtles. Flamingos are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus and family Phoenicopteridae. ... Species Pelecanus occidentalis Pelecanus thagus Pelecanus erythrorhynchos Pelecanus onocrotalus Pelecanus crispus Pelecanus rufescens Pelecanus philippensis Pelecanus conspicillatus A pelican is any of several very large water birds with a distinctive pouch under the beak belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae. ... Families Alcedinidae Halcyonidae Cerylidae Kingfishers are birds of the three families Alcedinidae (river kingfishers), Halcyonidae (tree kingfishers), and Cerylidae (water kingfishers). ... Genera See text. ... Genera See text. ... Genera and Species See text Spoonbills are a group of large, long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, which also includes the Ibises. ... // Subfamilies Dendrocygninae Oxyurinae Anatinae Merginae Duck is the common name for a number of species in the Anatidae family of birds. ... Genera Family Cheloniidae (Oppel, 1811) Caretta Lepidochelys Chelonia Eretmochelys Natator Family Dermochelyidae Family Protostegidae (extinct) Family Toxochelyidae (extinct) Family Thalassemyidae (extinct) Sea turtles (Chelonioidea) are turtles found in all the worlds oceans with the exception of the Arctic Ocean, and some species travel between oceans. ...

A legend goes that the Dutch and the British berthed their ships on the Karimanal Village, right opposite the mouth of the lake, from where the name 'Coramandel' was coined.

The Pulicat Town is an interesting spot, with the First Dutch Cemetery with 22 protected tombs (1631 to 1655 AD) and another Landmark Dutch Cemetery with 76 tombs and mausoleums protected by the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India), a dilapidated Dutch Church and a Dutch Fort in shambles, dating back to 1609. The tombstones in both the Cemetries tell us the story of the Pulicat, from 1606 to 1690 AD. History tell us that the Dutch had a fort by the name Geldria at Pulicat, from where they traded with the British East India Company.

Behind the market place, there are streets with dilapidated masonry houses once occupied by ethnic Arabian Muslims. A few families are still left over and they possess a document with them in Arabic which says that during the 13th Century, they were banished from Mecca, in four boats, for refusing to pay tributes to a new calif.

One of those four boats drifted towards Pulicat. In 1606 A.D. when a Dutch ship ran aground on the Pulicat shores these Muslims offered food and help to the Dutch and struck a trade partnership with them, to procure and supply local merchandise for the Dutch to trade with the East Indies.

Although much of the lake is protected as a wildlife sanctuary, proposals for a petrochemical complex, power plant, and a satellite port on Ennore creek have raised concern about the continued ecological health of the lake. Petrochemicals are chemical products made from raw materials of petroleum (hydrocarbon) origin. ... A power station (also power plant) is a facility for the generation of electric power. ...