Physical Geography

There are approximately 550 islands in the group, 26 of which are inhabited. They are located 950 km from the mouth of the Hooghly River, 193 km from Cape Negrais in Myanmar, the nearest point of the mainland, and 547 km from the northern extremity of Sumatra. The length of the island chain is 352 km and its greatest width is 51 km. The total land area of the Andamans is 6408 km².

The five chief islands over a distance of 251 km, are known collectively as Great Andaman. These are from north to south, North Andaman, Middle Andaman, South Andaman, Baratang and Rutland Island. Four narrow straits part these islands, Austin Strait, between North and Middle Andaman, Homfray’s Strait between Middle Andaman and Baratang, and the north extremity of South Andaman, Middle (or Andaman) Strait between Baratang and South Andaman and Macpherson Strait between South Andaman and Rutland Island. Of these only the last is navigable by ocean-going vessels.

Together with the chief islands are, on the extreme north, Landfall Islands, separated by the navigable Cleugh Passage; Interview Island, separated by the navigable Interview Passage, off the West coast of the Middle Andaman; the Labyrinth Island off the southwest coast of the South Andaman, through which is the navigable Elphinstone Passage; Ritchie’s (or the Andaman) Archipelago off the East coast of South Andaman and Baratang, separated by the wide and safe Diligent Strait and intersected by Kwangtung Strait and the Tadma Juru (Strait).

Little Andaman, roughly 42 km by 26 km, forms the southern extremity of the whole group and lies 50 km south of Rutland Island across the Manners Strait, the main shipping route between the Andamans and the Madras coast. Besides these are a great number of islets lying off the shores of the main islands.