Sundarbans is a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. Spread across parts of India and Bangladesh, this forest is the largest mangrove forest in the world. It spans the area from the Baleswar River in Bangladesh's division of Khulna to the Hooghly River in India's state of West Bengal. It comprises closed and open mangrove forests, land used for agricultural purpose, mudflats and barren land, and is intersected by multiple tidal streams and channels. Sundarbans is home to the world's largest area of mangrove forests. Four protected areas in the Sundarbans are enlisted as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, viz. Sundarbans West (Bangladesh), Sundarbans South (Bangladesh), Sundarbans East (Bangladesh) and Sundarbans National Park (India).
Inside the sundarbans
Village in a clearing of the Sundarbans. Drawing by Frederic Peter Layard after an original sketch of 1839
Farm among paddy fields in the Sundarbans, 2010
SPOT satellite image of Sundarbans, released by CNES
The Ganges Delta is a river delta in Eastern South Asia predominantly covering the Bengal region of the subcontinent, consisting of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the world's largest river delta and it empties into the Bay of Bengal with the combined waters of several river systems, mainly those of the Brahmaputra river and the Ganges river. It is also one of the most fertile regions in the world, thus earning the nickname the Green Delta. The delta stretches from the Hooghly River east as far as the Meghna River.
Ganges Delta, 2020 satellite photograph.
A typical landscape in the Delta with palms, rice, flat, green and ponds
Bengal tiger
Rice, cattle and fishing in rivers and ponds are important sources of food.