Hudson Bay vs. Bay of Bengal: Which Is the World's Largest Bay?

Hudson Bay is not the largest bay in the world. That title belongs to the Bay of Bengal.

Bay of Bengal – The Champion

• Area: ~2,172,000 km² (838,000 sq mi)
• Location: Northeastern Indian Ocean, bordered by India (west), Bangladesh (north), Myanmar (east), Sri Lanka & Andaman/Nicobar Islands (south)
• Rivers: Ganges, Brahmaputra, Meghna, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri—discharge ~1,500 km³/yr
• Depth: Avg 2,600 m; max 4,694 m (Sunda Trench)

Hudson Bay – Large, But Second

• Area: ~1,230,000 km² (475,000 sq mi)
• Location: Northeastern Canada (Nunavut, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec)
• Connection: Foxe Basin → Hudson Strait → Labrador Sea → Atlantic
• Depth: Shallow avg ~100 m; max ~270 m
• Ice: Frozen 6–8 months/year

Why the Confusion?

Hudson Bay is often called the "largest bay in the world" in older Canadian textbooks because it's the largest entirely within one country (Canada). But by absolute area, Bay of Bengal wins by ~77%.

Other Contenders

• Gulf of Mexico (~1.6M km²) – often classed as a gulf, not bay
• Bay of Biscay (~223K km²)
• James Bay (southern Hudson Bay) – ~68K km²