Prakhar's Geography Project

The name  Sundarban  can be literally translated as "beautiful forest" in the  Bengali language  ( Shundôr , "beautiful" and  bôn , "forest"). The name may have been derived from the  Sundari  trees (the mangrove species  Heritiera fomes ) that are found in Sundarbans in large numbers. Alternatively, it has been proposed that the name is a corruption of  Samudraban ,  Shomudrobôn  ("Sea Forest"), or  Chandra-bandhe  (name of a primitive tribe). However, the generally accepted view is the one associated with  Sundari  or  Sundri  trees.

The mangrove-dominated  Ganges Delta  – the Sundarbans – is a complex  ecosystem  comprising one of the three largest single tracts of mangrove forests of the world. Situated mostly in Bangladesh, a small portion of it lies in India. The Indian part of the forest is estimated to be about 19 percent, while the Bangladeshi part is 81 percent. To the south the forest meets the Bay of Bengal; to the east it is bordered by the  Baleswar River  and to the north there is a sharp interface with intensively cultivated land. The natural drainage in the upstream areas, other than the main river channels, is everywhere impeded by extensive embankments and  polders . The Sundarbans was originally measured (about 200 years ago) to be of about 16,700 square kilometres (6,400 sq mi). Now it has dwindled into about 1/3 of the original size. The total land area today is 4,143 square kilometres (1,600 sq mi), including exposed  sandba...

The climate in Sunderbans is generally soothing and pleasant. Ordinarily, the climate in Sunderbans ranges from 34 °C and 20 °C, and the ra infall is extremely high. So the weather is almost always moist and with the humid air from Bay of Bengal blowing constantly carrying 80% humidity. From October to March the North Easterlies blow here. While from March to September, the Westerly prevails. Mainly Mangrove Forest is the primary vegetation in the Sunderbans Delta. It is a unique tree that can stand in inundated land for a long time. Spikes rise up from their roots and they help in respiration and overall support of the Mangrove Plants. Since the sea is nearby, there is a cool sea breeze during night and thus the temperature is favorable all along the day. During the high tides at sea, there is maximum possibility of Sunderbans Delta being over flooded. But at the same time the sea provides an excellent climatic condition for the vegetation and the animals. Thus the climate in ...

The physical development processes along the coast are influenced by a multitude of factors, comprising wave motions, micro and macro-tidal cycles and long shore currents typical to the coastal tract. The shore currents vary greatly along with the  monsoon . These are also affected by  cyclonic  action. Erosion and accretion through these forces maintains varying levels, as yet not properly measured, of physiographic change whilst the mangrove vegetation itself provides a remarkable stability to the entire system. During each monsoon season almost all the Bengal Delta is submerged, much of it for half a year. The sediment of the lower delta plain is primarily advected inland by monsoonal coastal setup and cyclonic events. One of the greatest challenges people living on the  Ganges Delta  may face in coming years is the threat of rising sea levels caused mostly by  subsidence  in the region and partly by climate change. In many of the Bangladesh's m...

The Sundarbans provides a unique ecosystem and a rich wildlife habitat. According to the 2015 tiger census in Bangladesh, and the 2011 tiger census in India, the Sundarbans have about 180 tigers (106 in Bangladesh and 74 in India). Earlier estimates, based on counting unique  pugmarks , were much higher. The more recent counts have used  camera traps , an improved methodology that yields more accurate results. [22] [23] [24]  Tiger attacks are frequent in the Sundarbans. Between 0 and 50 people are killed each year. There is much more wildlife here than just the endangered  Bengal tiger  ( Panthera tigris tigris ). Most importantly, mangroves are a transition from the marine to freshwater and terrestrial systems, and provide critical habitat for numerous species of small fish, crabs, shrimps and other crustaceans that adapt to feed and shelter, and reproduce among the tangled mass of roots, known as  pneumatophores , which grow upward from the anaerobic...

 A total 245 genera and 334 plant species were recorded by  David Prain  in 1903. [20]  While most of the mangroves in other parts of the world are characterised by members of the  Rhizophoraceae , Avicenneaceae or  Combretaceae , the mangroves of Bangladesh are dominated by the  Malvaceae  and  Euphorbiaceae . [9]  Dominant flora includes: The Sundarbans flora is characterised by the abundance of sundari ( Heritiera fomes ), gewa ( Excoecaria agallocha ), goran ( Ceriops decandra ) and keora ( Sonneratia apetala ) all of which occur prominently throughout the area. The characteristic tree of the forest is the  sundari  ( Heritiera littoralis ), from which the name of the forest had probably been derived. It yields a hard wood, used for building houses and making boats, furniture and other things. New forest accretions is often conspicuously dominated by keora ( Sonneratia apetala ) and tidal forests. It is an indicator spe...