How does Ram Setu look like from space? European agency shares stunning picture; Check out

A picture of the Ram Setu captured by the European Space Agency's Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite has been made public.  Also known as the Adam's Bridge, it is a chain of shoals linking India and Sri Lanka.

The Ram Setu connects Mannar Island in Sri Lanka with Rameswaram Island, which is located off the southeast coast of India, and spans 48 km. It divides the Palk Strait, an entrance of the Bay of Bengal, to the north, from the Gulf of Mannar, an inlet of the Indian Ocean.

Geological evidence indicates that these shoals of limestone are the remains of land that formerly connected India and Sri Lanka, despite the fact that there are many different ideas regarding how the bridge was built.

This "natural bridge was traversable until the 15th century, after which it was gradually eroded by storms over the years," according to reports, according to the European Space Agency. It noted that some of the sandbanks are dry, while the sea here is very shallow, only 1–10 m deep, as indicated by the light colour of the water.

Mannar Island, which is around 130 square kilometres in size, is connected to the Sri Lankan mainland by both a road and a railway bridge. At the southernmost tip of the island, both of them are visible. 

On the Indian side, the Rameswaram Island -- also popular as Pamban Island -- can be accessed via the 2-km-long Pamban Bridge. Here, the two main towns are Pamban, on the western edge, and Rameswaram, which is around 10 km east of Pamban. Both sections of the Ram Setu are part of protected national parks in their respective countries. 

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Arichal Munai, the starting point of the Ram Setu.

• Adam's Bridge
• European agency
• India
• Mannar island
• Pamban island
• Ram Setu
• Rameswaram Island
• Sri Lanka
• Tamil Nadu