Pulicat Lake
Pulicat Lake is a brackish-water lake on the Coromandel Coast of southeastern India. It lies at the border of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh states, 60 km north of Chennai. The barrier island of Sriharikote separates the lake from the Bay of Bengal. Sriharikote is home to the town of Pulicat. The lake is 60 km long and from 0.2 to 17.5 km wide, and is the second-largest brackish water ecosystem on India's east coast, after Orissa's Chilka Lake. The lake is shallow, and varies in area with the tides and seasonal rainfall, from 460 sq km in high water to 250 sq km in low water. The shallow lake is known for its diversity of aquatic birds, and is an important stopover on migration routes. Approximately 15,000 flamingos visit the lake each year, along with pelicans, kingfishers, herons, painted storks, spoonbills and ducks. The beaches of Sriharikote are an important nesting spot for sea turtles. Although much of the lake is protected as a wildlife sanctuary, proposals for a petrochemical complex, power plant, and a satellite port on Ennore creek have raised concern about the continued ecological health of the lake.
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