Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea (pronunciation: /rɛd si:/) is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez (leading to the Suez Canal). The Red Sea is a rich and diverse ecosystem. More than 1200 species of fish have been recorded in the Red Sea, and around 10% of these are found nowhere else. This also includes 42 species of deepwater fish.
Etymology
The name of the sea is one of several toponyms sharing similar elements. Semitic languages call the sea Yam Suph or Sea of Reeds, possibly indicating the direction of the sea, or specific seasons when they were first named. In English and some other European languages, the sea got its name because of the red-colored Trichodesmium erythraeum near the water's surface. Some suggest that the red color of the sea in some parts of the year is due to seasonal blooms of the red-hued Trichodesmium erythraeum algae.
Related Terms
- Indian Ocean: The third-largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering 70,560,000 km². It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by the Southern Ocean or Antarctica.
- Suez Canal: An artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez.
- Bab el Mandeb: A strait located between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula, and Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa. It connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
- Trichodesmium erythraeum: A species of cyanobacteria that is native to the Indian Ocean, and is also found in the Red Sea. When these bacteria die off, they turn the ocean's surface a reddish-brown color.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Red Sea
- Wikipedia's article - Red Sea
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