Pichavaram Mangrove Forest

Pichavaram is a village near Chidambaram in Cuddalore District, Tamil Nadu, India. It is located between the Vellar estuary in the north and Coleroon estuary in the south. The Vellar-Coleroon estuarine complex forms the Killai backwater and the mangroves that are permanently rooted in a few feet of water. Pichavaram consists of a number of islands interspersing a vast expanse of water covered with mangrove forest. Pichavaram mangrove Forest is the second largest mangrove forest in the world covering about 1100 hectare of area. It is separated from the Bay of Bengal by a sand bar. The biotope consists of species like Avicennia and Rhizophora. It also supports the existence of rare varieties of economically important shell and finfishes.