Palk Strait is a strait between the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It connects the Palk Bay in the Bay of Bengal in the north with the Gulf of Mannar in the Laccadive sea in the south. It stretches for about 137 km (85 mi) and is 64 to 137 km wide. It is named after Robert Palk, who was a governor of Madras (1755–1763) during the Company Raj period.