Ramree Island
| Ramree ရမ်းဗြဲကျွန်း | |
|---|---|
| Island | |
|
View of Thun Site River from Ramree Island | |
  Ramree | |
| Coordinates: 19°4′N 93°50′E / 19.067°N 93.833°E | |
| Country | Myanmar |
| State | Rakhine |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1,350 km2 (520 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 275 m (902 ft) |
| Time zone | Myanmar Standard Time (UTC+6:30) |
Ramree Island (Burmese: ရမ်းဗြဲကျွန်း; also spelt Yangbye Island or Yanbye Island) is an island off the coast of Rakhine State, Burma. The area of the island is about 1350 km² and the main populated center is Ramree.
Geography
The island is separated from the mainland by a narrow canal-like strait, which is only 150 m wide in average. There is a bridge over the strait connecting the island with the continental shore. The highest point is Zikha Taung, a 305 m high hill located near the western shore in the southern part of the island.[1]
Nearby islands
- Sagu Kyun is a 5 km long and 4 km wide island located off the southern cape of Ramree, separated from it by a 2.4 km wide strait.
- Magyi Kyun is a 2.2 km long islet off the southern end of Sagu Kyun.
- Cheduba Island lies further offshore, about 10 km from the southwestern coast of Ramree Island.
History
During World War II the Battle of Ramree Island was fought during January and February 1945, as part of the British 14th Army 1944/45 offensive on the Southern Front of the Burma Campaign. At the close of the battle, Japanese soldiers were forced into the marshes surrounding the island, and saltwater crocodiles are claimed to have eaten 400 (or 980 of them, as only 20 survived according to one account[2]) — in what the Guinness World Records has listed as "The Greatest Disaster Suffered [by humans] from Animals".
Proposed pipeline
Ramree Island is also the location of a proposed gas pipeline system to be built on the Indian Ocean coast to the province of Yunnan in China. From a deep water port to be completed on Kyaukphyu in Rakhine State and from Ramree Island, oil from the Middle East and gas from Burma's ocean coast will be transported through the pipelines to China. The pipelines will enable China to rely less on ocean-transported oil and gas through the treacherous Strait of Malacca and will also cut two weeks off the potential transport time. The pipeline transport fees will be a source of revenue for the Burma government, on top of the sale of the gas.[3] Construction began in 2011.[4]
See also
- List of islands of Burma
References
- ↑ Prostar Sailing Directions 2005 India & Bay of Bengal. Enroute. National Geospatial-intelligence Agency (Feb 1, 2007). p. 168
- ↑ Top 10 Places You Don’t Want To Visit, 5: Ramree Island, Burma
- ↑ Burmese junta profits from Chinese pipeline - Telegraph
- ↑ "Kyaukpyu to Kunming pipeline construction officially commenced", 18 August 2011, ramree.com
External links
Media related to Ramree Island at Wikimedia Commons
| ||||||||||