The Red Sea is a rich and diverse ecosystem. More than 1,100 species of fish have been recorded in the Red Sea, and around 10% of these are found nowhere else. The rich diversity is in part due to the 1,240 miles of coral reef extending along its coastline; these fringing reefs are 5,000-7,000 years old and are largely formed of stony acropora and porites corals. The reefs form platforms and lagoons along the coast and, occasionally, other features such as cylinders. The Red Sea is a salt water inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb sound and the Gulf of Aden. In the north are the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez (leading to the Suez Canal). The Red Sea is a Global 200 ecoregion. Occupying a part of the Great Rift Valley, the Red Sea has a surface area of about 438,000 km² (169,100 square miles ). It is roughly 2250 km (1398 mi) long and, at its widest point at 355 km (220.6 miles) wide. It has a maximum depth of 2211 m (7254 ft) in the central median trench and an average depth of 490 m (1,608 feet ), but there are also extensive shallow shelves, noted for their marine life and corals. The sea is the habitat of over 1,000 invertebrate species and 200 soft and hard corals and is the world's northernmost tropical sea. The name of the sea may signify the seasonal blooms of the red-coloured (Archabactera) Trichodesmium erythraeum near the water's surface. Some suggest that it refers to the mineral-rich red mountains nearby which are called Harei Edom (הרי אדום). Edom, meaning "ruddy complexion", is also an alternative Hebrew name for the red-faced biblical character Esau (brother of Jacob), and the nation descended from him, the Edomites, which in turn provides yet another possible origin for Red Sea. Another hypothesis is that the name comes from the Himyarite, a local group whose own name means red. Yet another theory favored by some modern scholars is that the name red is referring to the direction South, just as the Black Sea's name may refer to North. The basis of this theory is that some Asiatic languages used color words to refer to the cardinal directions[4]. Herodotus on one occasion uses Red Sea and Southern Sea interchangeably. A final theory suggests that it was named so because it borders the Egyptian Desert which the ancient Egyptians called the Dashret or "red land"; therefore it would have been the sea of the red land.[citation needed The association of the Red Sea with the Biblical account of the Israelite Crossing of the Red Sea is ancient, and was made explicit in the Septuagint translation of the book of Exodus from Hebrew into Koine Greek in approximately the third century B.C. In that version, the Hebrew Yam Suph (ים סוף) is translated as Erythra Thalassa (Red Sea). (See also the more recent suggestion that the Yam Suph of the Exodus refers to a Sea of Reeds).
To anyone standing on its shore and gazing out across its heavenly waters, the Red Sea may seem to be a mislabeling. Its blueness is eternal and anything less red cannot be fantasized. The Red Sea, where the desert meets the ocean, is truly one of the planet’s most exotic and fascinating natural seascape environments. The Red Sea is located between Asia and Africa. At its most northerly point forms the Sinai Peninsula and stretches over 1000 miles south to join the Indian Ocean, between Ethiopia and Yemen. In the north and west are desert plains, while in the south a mountainous region (2642 meters high), which is part of the mountain range stretching from deep in Saudi Arabia, across the Sinai and then into Nubia of the African continent. The Red Sea holds beneath its crystal blue surface an oasis of living creatures, reefs, and coral formation. Its use as a highway between East and West has attracted man since the beginning of time. The Red Sea was created by the movement of plates in the Earth’s surface about 30 million years ago. In that time, the Arab peninsula started to part from Africa along a thin break line which was filled by the ocean’s water. However, "Mother Nature" did not stop there. Twenty million years ago another geological movement started. The Arab peninsula which parted from Africa, started to move to the north. That movement struck resistance in Turkey and swung to the east, and another break line was formed. This one stretching all the way from the northern part of Israel, through the Jordan valley to the Dead Sea, and finally through the Gulf of Eilat to Ras Mohamad at the southern point of the Sinai. The young age of the Gulf of Eilat is what makes it so deep, 100 meters in Dahab and 1800 meters north of the Straits of Tiran. On the other hand, the old Gulf of Suez is relatively shallow, with a 85 meters maximum depth. The Red Sea is still widening at about one-half inch per year, the rift is the youngest region of continental breakup on the planet, allowing geologists to learn about processes that occurred in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans hundreds of millions of years earlier.
The water of the Red Sea is also a vital asset. Surrounding cities are totally dependent on it for household and industrial supplies, and tremendous desalination plants are in operation. These supply drinking water which has been purified to a high standard, as well as non-potable domestic water. Sea water is also used in large quantities by oil refineries and cement works situated along the coastline. The danger of pollution is always present in the Red Sea, particularly from oil spillage. A Royal Decree forbids the discharge of any pollutant substances, including oil, within 100 miles of the Saudi Arabian coastline. Currently, the areas of the Eastern Desert and around the Red Sea have received a great deal of overdue attention. A joint expedition from the University of Delaware and Leiden University and Leiden University has been working at the ancient Red Sea port of Berinike. The past season the Delaware-Leiden team excavated in two areas, opened a total of seven trenches, and found four public buildings. One of the sites contained offering tables, an incense burner, a stela stand and an almost life-size bronze figure of a cloaked woman clasping a snake. Scraps of colorful textile from the Fourth and Fifth centuries A.D. have also been found. In addition, evidence of trade appears in the form of imported coconuts, pepper, and rice. So, while the edges of the Red Sea are being explored, the sea itself is being plunged in a survey of sunken wrecks. The Institute for Nautical Archaeology in Egypt, is continuing the underwater survey started last season, plotting the locations of shipwrecks along the Red Sea coast. For swimmers, divers, traders, industrialists, fishermen, archaeologists, and tourists, the Red Sea has its own kind of incomparability. And even the leisured gazer, speculating the inaccessible blue/red abnormality, can be said to have been given something to think about. The underwater amazement of the Red Sea remains a living tapestry of resounding corals and exotic fish, waiting for you to discover its secrets. Snorkeling is a popular way to view the edge of the reef, especially for those with limited confidence in their swimming ability. Sharks, manta rays, turtles, and eels will take pieces of bread from your hand, and brilliantly colored schools of fish team all around in bewildering color. However, most divers will tell you that there is nothing to beat the thrill of experiencing the depth of the reef and the abounding marine life to be found in the Red Sea. The lure of the reef is such that many novice divers become totally "hooked" and cannot imagine why they have never joined in the fun before. Furthermore, when asked to compare their local diving conditions with those in the Red Sea, they find it a "paradise" with clear visibility, little wave action, and warm temperatures all year long.
