Red Sea Facts 2020- You must have heard of the Red Sea but may not know much about it. You might have been asking how it got its name and why it attracts a lot of divers. The Red Sea also referred to as the Erythraean Sea is considered to be the saltiest sea of all the seas that connect to the ocean without even one river meeting the sea and is lying between Africa and Asia. The Red sea connects to the Indian ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden while to the north is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez (leading to the Suez Canal) and the Gulf of Aqaba are present towards the north side of the Red Sea. The Red Sea is among the 200 Global ecoregions. Therefore, this article will be providing you with Red Sea Facts including the sea’s location, history, oceanography, ecosystem, and all you need to know.
Here are the few things we will give answers to in this write-up
- Why do they call it the Red Sea?
- Which country is the Red Sea located?
- What part of the Red Sea Did Moses part?
- Why is the Red Sea famous?
- What part of the Red Sea Did Moses part?
- Why is the Red Sea famous?
- Can you swim in the Red Sea?
- Is Red Sea dangerous?
- Is Red Sea really red?
- Are there sharks in the Red Sea?
- Does Jordan touch the Red Sea?
RED SEA FACTS 2020-ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE RED SEA
The Red Sea is among the four seas on earth whose name was coined after colours. The Red Sea surface area is estimated to be around 438,000 km2, its length is about 2250 km and, and has a width of 221 miles with 355 been the widest point. The Red Sea has a maximum depth of 3,040 m in the central Suakin Trough and measured an average depth of 490 m. the red sea also has extensive shallow shelves, which are known for their marine life and corals. The sea is the home to over 1,000 invertebrate species, including 200 soft and hard corals live in the sea. The Sea is regarded to be the northernmost tropical sea in the world.
- How the Red Sea was created
The Red Sea came to be as a result of the Arabian peninsula being split from the Horn of Africa by movement of the Red Sea Rift. The split originated from the Eocene and fast-tracked during the Oligocene.
- Countries Bordering the Red Sea
The red sea is bordered by a total of six countries border. These countries are mainly African countries and Asia countries reason been that, the Red Sea flows between the two continents. The Red Sea borders many countries; it borders Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Jordan, and Israel to the eastern side and borders Egypt, Eritrea, Sudan, and Djibouti to the western side.
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- How the Red Sea Got its Name
The Red Sea name originated from the Greek words “Erythra Thalassa”. The sea is named after the Red color because of the seasonal blossoms because of a type of algae called popularly called Trichodesmium erythraeum, which is found in the sea and appears near the surface of the water. The red color that is seen as a result of the death of the blooms of algae which turns the blue-green color of the sea to a reddish-brown.
- Animals in the Red Sea
There are over 1,200 species of water life animals living in the Red Sea and 10% of them are rampant which are found in a particular place and nowhere else. Living in the Red Sea are sea animals such as the amazing Reefs with a teeming marine life, pelagic fishes, Reef Sharks, Dolphins, and even the rare Dugong. Also, about 1,240 miles or 2000 kilometres of coral reef is seen along the Red Sea shores on the eastern side. They are approximately 5000 to 7000 years old and are visited by some of the fishes. There are 44 shark species that visit the coral reefs of the Red Sea some of which are the bigeye houndshark, grey reef shark, star spotted smooth-hound, milk shark, snaggletooth shark, silvertip shark, whale shark, and zebra shark. Some of these sea animals especially the tiger shark, scorpionfish, rabbitfish, and stingrays poise a threat to people.
Also, the Red Sea is home to the world’s fastest fish, the solitary sailfish. The fish can swim at speeds of up to 68 miles per hour. What speed!
- The salinity of the Sea
The red sea is highly salty water and the saltiest as such. The sea’s salinity in the south side is averagely around 4% – 3.6% and 4.1% in the north side. This salt level is higher than the world average 3.5% due to high evaporation but very less precipitation; also no rivers empty themselves in the Red Sea and less connection with the Indian Ocean. The Red Sea waters only exchanged with the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea through the Gulf of Aden which also contributes to its high salinity.
- Desalination Plants
There are numerous desalination plants (at least 18), planted along the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia which releases warm brine and treatment chemicals (chlorine and anti-scalants) that bleach and kill corals and also cause diseases in the fish. This is only localized, but it may intensify with time and intensely influence and improve the fishing industry. This has helped meet the extensive demand for desalinated water by the population and the industries located along the Red Sea. Also, the water from the Red Sea is used by oil refineries and cement factories for cooling. The flow of used water back into the coastal zones may cause harm to the environments near the shore of the Red Sea.
- Tidal Range of the Red Sea
The normal and general tide range is between 0.6m in the north, close to the bank of the Gulf of Suez and it is 0.9m in the south close to the Gulf of Aden but fluctuates between 0.20m and 0.30 m distal from the nodal point. The central Red Sea (referred to as the Jeddah area) is almost tideless, and as such the annual water level varies and very significant.
- The current of the Red Sea
Presently, there is no detailed information about the Red Sea current, possibly because the currents are weak and vary both spatially and temporally. The Temporal and spatial currents variation is as low as 0.5 m and is overseen typically by the wind. In summer Northwest winds drive surface water southward for a period of four months at a velocity of 15-20 cm per sec., while in winter the flow of water is reversed leading to the inflow of water from the Gulf of Aden back into the Red Sea.
- Red Sea Recreational Activities
The Red Sea is one of the best water to dive in the world and this has made it a major hot spot for “scuba diving” and swimming when you consider the rich variety of its underwater ecosystem. Nearly 20% of the 1,200 species of fishes, as well as the 44 shark species, are found only in the Red Sea. Divers can swim within the large body of water in the company of brightly colored angelfish, butterflyfish and clownfish. Diving conditions in the Red Sea are sublime and relaxing. The sea is known for its remarkable recreational diving sites such as the SS Thistlegorm (shipwreck), Ras Mohammed, Elphinstone Reef, The Brothers, Daedalus Reef, St.John’s Reef, Rocky Island in Egypt.
- Red Sea Temperature
The Red sea’s temperature is moderate and the water temperatures rarely fall below 71°F/22°C even in the depths of the Egyptian winter. In the summer season, water temperatures in the southern section of the Red Sea typically reach 86°F/30°C – making it possible to plan multiple dives without getting ice-cold. Topside weather conditions are equally pleasant, with temperatures fluctuating between 68°F/20°C – 104°F/40°C depending on the time of year.
- Mineral Resources
There are six (6) major mineral resource found in the Red sea includes:
- Biogenic constituents: foraminifera, Nanofossils, pteropods, and siliceous fossils.
- Volcanogenic constituents: cristobalite, montmorillonite, Tuffites, volcanic ash, and zeolites
- Terrigenous constituents: clay minerals, fragments, Quartz, rock feldsparsmica, and heavy minerals,
- Authigenic minerals: aragonite, chalcedony, Sulfide minerals, Mg-calcite, protodolomite, dolomite, and quartz.
- Evaporite minerals: anhydrite, gypsum, Magnesite, halite, and polyhalite
- Brine precipitate: anhydrite, Fe-montmorillonite, goethite, hematite, pyrite, rhodochrosite, sphalerite, and siderite.
Red Sea Map Location On World Map
The Red Sea covers an area of about 169,000 sq mi (438,000 sq km), huge depth of Max. depth: 3,040 m (9,970 ft). countries sharing boundaries with the Red Sea are’
- Jordan
- Saudi Arabia
- Israel
- Sudan
- Egypt
- Yemen
- Djibouti
- Eritrea
Here are the major ports that surround the Red Sea
- Aqaba
- Taba
- Dahab
- El Gouna
- Duba
- Eilat
- Hurghada
- Jeddah
- Port Sudan.
Common Question Regarding Red Sea
- Why do they call it the Red Sea?
The Red Sea got her name from the presence of a bacteria known as Trichodesmium erythraeum, the blue algae present in the Red Sea giving it Blue colouration tends to turn to Red when the set of Algae dies off and looking from afar the Sea becomes Red.
- Which country is the Red Sea located?
The Red Sea, this has been the common question among many readers and scholars today to know where exactly the red sea is. The Red Sea is part of in the Indian Ocean extension or w call it an inlet of the Indian Ocean, it is geologically situated between Asia and Africa continent, the Red Sea shared a boundary with Gulf Of Aden at the South and at the north with Eastern countries of the Gulf of Aqaba.
- What part of the Red Sea Did Moses part?
According to mosses account in the book of Exodus, it was noted that the Red Sea was parted from the center of the Sea.
- Why is the Red Sea famous?
The Red Sea is famous in the early years of the Egypt as the Sea plays an important role in mounding the life of Egyptian then.
- Can you swim in the Red Sea?
This is another question that has asked over time, the answer to that is yes you can swim in the Red Sea as several activities such as the snorkelling and scuba diving have being carried out most occasion in this sea.
- Is the Red Sea dangerous?
Yes, Red Sea is considered to be dangerous to life and human because it houses mostly Dangerous Tiger shark which is one of the species of shark that possesses a threat to life, but this shark is not usually seen in the daytime near the reefs. Also, there is the presence of Grey reef shark which always is aggressive and records already have it that many of its cases on divers were reported.
- Is the Red Sea really red?
The Red Sea is the saltiest sea in the world when you write about Seas or Oceans in the world the Red sea also connect to the ocean without even one river meets the sea. It is generally believe based on adopted researches that the name the Red Sea was derivative of cyanobacteria called Trichodesmium Erythraeum, which turns the normally blue-green water a reddish-brown
- Are there sharks in the Red Sea?
Of course yes, on record so far, two species of sharks were apprehended by local fishermen which are the oceanic whitetip and a mako shark but experts in the field noted that there is no evidence so far that either of them is responsible for the major nor minor attacks recorded from the Sea. There is an abundance of oceanic whitetip sharks in the the Red Sea- Carcharhinus longimanus
- Does Jordan touch the Red Sea?
The answers to this may not be straight forward because the whole of the Gulf of Suez shared boundaries with Egypt. And also the Gulf of Aqaba shared boundaries with Egypt ditto Jordan, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Sometimes Somalia is seen as neighbouring countries to the Red Sea.
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Conclusion on Red Sea Facts 2020-All You Need To Know About the Red Sea
When next you are considering places to visit and spend your holiday, you might as well include Egypt or any country closer to the red sea to enjoy the best of diving and other leisure activities. The red sea is indeed a site to see because of the historical perspective and sea inhabitants living in the water. The Egyptian government has laid down rules and regulations to protect the biodiversity of the Red Sea’s coral reefs.
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