Sri Lanka, an island in the Indian Ocean, is located to the south of the Indian subcontinent. It lies between 5º55' and 9º55' north of the equator and between the eastern longitudes 79º42' and 81º52'. Sri Lanka is shaped like a giant teardrop falling from the southern tip of the vast Indian subcontinent. It is separated from India by the 50-km-wide Palk Strait, although there is a series of stepping-stone coral islets known as Adam's Bridge that almost form a land bridge between the two countries.