The Gulf of Khambhat is an inlet of the Arabian Sea

Arabian Sea

The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India...

 along the west coast of India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, in the state of Gujarat. It is about 80 miles in length, and divides the Kathiawar

Kathiawar

Kathiawar or Kathiawad is a peninsula in western India, which is part of the Saurashtra region on the Arabian Sea coast of Gujarat state. It is bounded on the north by the great wetland of the Rann of Kutch, on the northwest by the Gulf of Kutch, on the west and south by the Arabian Sea, and on...

 peninsula to the west from the eastern part of Gujarat state on the east. The Narmada

Narmada River

The Narmada , also called Rewa is a river in central India and the fifth largest river in the Indian subcontinent. It is the third largest river that completely flows within India after Ganges and Godavari...

 and Tapti

Tapti River

The Tapi River ancient original name Tapi River , is a river in central India. It is one of the major rivers of peninsular India with a length of around 724 km...

 rivers empty into the Gulf. The Gulf is shallow and abounds in shoals and sandbanks including the Mal Bank at the river mouths and the Malacca Banks

Malacca Banks

The Malacca Banks are sandbanks below the sea surface, in the Gulf of Khambhat in Gujarat, India. They lie to the west and southwest of the port of Surat and are a system of four irregular ridges running roughly from north to south parallel with the entrance channels to the Gulf...

 at the gulf's entrance to the Arabian Sea. The Gulf is known for its extreme tide

Tide

Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....

s, which vary greatly in height and run into it with amazing speed. At low tide the bottom is left nearly dry for some distance below the town of Khambhat.

The Alang Ship Recycling Yard takes advantage of the extreme high tides of the gulf. Large ships are beached during the twice-monthly highest tides, and are dismantled when the tide recedes.

The Gulf of Khambhat has been an important centre of trade since ancient times; its ports connect central India to the maritime trade routes of the Indian Ocean. Bharuch

Bharuch

Bharuch , also known as Broach, is the oldest city in Gujarat, situated at the mouth of the holy river Narmada. Bharuch is the administrative headquarters of Bharuch District and a municipality of more than 1,50,000 inhabitants. As Bharuch is a major seaport city, a number of trade activities have...

 (Broach), Surat

Surat

Surat , also known as Suryapur, is the commercial capital city of the Indian state of Gujarat. Surat is India's Eighth most populous city and Ninth-most populous urban agglomeration. It is also administrative capital of Surat district and one of the fastest growing cities in India. The city proper...

, Khambhat

Khambhat

Khambhat , formerly known as Cambay, is a city and a municipality in Anand district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It was formerly an important trading center, although its harbour has gradually silted up, and the maritime trade has moved elsewhere...

, Bhavnagar

Bhavnagar

-Topography:Bhavnagar is a coastal city in the eastern coast of Saurashtra, also known as Kathiawar, located at . It has an average elevation of 24 metres . It occupies area of 53.30 km². General slope dips in the northeasterly direction at the apex of Gulf of Khambhat...

, and Daman are historically important seaports. Bharuch has been important since ancient times; Khambhat was the gulf's chief port in the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

, but after the silting of its harbour, Surat

Surat

Surat , also known as Suryapur, is the commercial capital city of the Indian state of Gujarat. Surat is India's Eighth most populous city and Ninth-most populous urban agglomeration. It is also administrative capital of Surat district and one of the fastest growing cities in India. The city proper...

 rose to prominence as the most important harbour of the Mughal empire

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

.

In 2000, India's science and technology minister Murli Manohar Joshi

Murli Manohar Joshi

Murli Manohar Joshi was the Union Human Resources Development minister of India in the NDA government. Joshi is a leading member of the Bharatiya Janata Party...

 announced that evidence of an ancient civilisation exists in the form of a large complex of man-made structures underwater in the Gulf of Khambhat.

See also

• Kalpasar Tidal Energy Project
  Kalpasar Project
  The Kalpasar Project envisages building a dam across the Gulf of Khambat for generating tidal power and for establishing a huge reservoir for fresh water for irrigation, drinking and industrial purposes...
  
  
• Marine archaeology in the Gulf of Cambay