Andaman and Nicobar Islands (pop. 380,581) are two island groups in the eastern Bay of Bengal. They form a union territory of India and cover an area of about 3,185 square miles (8,249 square kilometers). The capital, Port Blair, is the only town. It is in the Andaman Islands. Most of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are uninhabited.
The Andaman group consists of 204 islands and lies 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of the Nicobar group. The Andaman Islands are hilly, and most of them are covered with dense forests. Palm trees abound on the 19 islands in the Nicobar group.
Some of the Andaman ethnic groups have little contact with the outside world. Most islanders follow their own religious and local customs, although many Nicobarese have accepted Christianity.
In December 2004, a powerful undersea earthquake in the Indian Ocean near the Indonesian island of Sumatra generated a series of large ocean waves called a tsunami. The tsunami’s towering waves killed more than 3,500 people and caused enormous property damage in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
