<Tr> <Th> Basin countries </Th> <Td> India, Sri Lanka </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Max . width </Th> <Td> 82 kilometres (51 mi) </Td> </Tr> <P> The Palk Strait (Tamil: பாக்கு சலசந்தி / பாக்கு நீரிணை, Sinhala: පෝක් සමුද්‍ර සන්ධිය Pok Samudra Sandhiya) is a strait between the Tamil Nadu state of India and the Mannar district of the Northern Province of the island nation of Sri Lanka . It connects the Bay of Bengal in the northeast with Palk Bay in the southwest . The strait is 53 to 82 kilometres (33 to 51 mi) wide . Several rivers flow into it, including the Vaigai River of Tamil Nadu . The strait is named after Robert Palk, who was a governor of Madras (1755--1763) during the Company Raj period . </P> <P> Palk Bay is studded at its southern end with a chain of low islands and reef shoals that are collectively called Adam's Bridge, since ages it is popularly known in Hindu Mythology as "Ram Setu" i.e. The Bridge of Rama . This chain extends between Dhanushkodi on Pamban Island (also known as Rameswaram Island) in Tamil Nadu and Mannar Island in Sri Lanka . The island of Rameswaram is linked to the Indian mainland by the Pamban Bridge . </P>

Narrow channel of sea that separates sri lanka and india