Wikipedia:April Fools/April Fools' Day 2024/Red Sea with a sea of red
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The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez (leading to the Suez Canal). It is underlain by the Red Sea Rift, which is part of the Great Rift Valley.
The Red Sea has a surface area of roughly 438,000 km2 (169,000 sq mi), is about 2,250 km (1,400 mi) long, and — at its widest point — 355 km (221 mi) wide. It has an average depth of 490 m (1,610 ft), and in the central Suakin Trough it reaches its maximum depth of 3,040 m (9,970 ft).
Approximately 40% of the Red Sea is quite shallow (less than 100 m (330 ft) deep), and about 25% is less than 50 m (164 ft) deep. The extensive shallow shelves are noted for their marine life and corals. More than 1,000 invertebrate species and 200 types of soft and hard coral live in the sea. The Red Sea is the world's northernmost tropical sea, and has been designated a Global 200 ecoregion.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Red Sea as follows:
On the North. The Southern limits of the Gulfs of Suez [A line running from Ràs Muhammed (27°43'N) to the South point of Shadwan Island (34°02'E) and thence Westward on a parallel (27°27'N) to the coast of Africa] and Aqaba [A line running from Ràs al Fasma Southwesterly to Requin Island (27°57′N 34°36′E) through Tiran Island to the Southwest point thereof and thence Westward on a parallel (27°54'N) to the coast of the Sinai Peninsula]. On the South. A line joining Husn Murad (12°40′N 43°30′E) and Ras Siyyan (12°29′N 43°20′E).
Exclusive economic zones in Red Sea:
Number | Country | Area (Km2) |
---|---|---|
1 | Saudi Arabia | 186,392 |
2 | Saudi Arabia | 92,513 |
3 | Saudi Arabia | 91,279 |
4 | Saudi Arabia | 78,383 |
5 | Saudi Arabia | 35,861 |
6 | Saudi Arabia | 7,037 |
Total | Red Sea | 491,465 |
Note: Hala'ib Triangle disputed between Sudan and Egypt and calculated for both.
- Dickson, Henry Newton (1911). "Red Sea" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). pp. 970–971.
- Hamblin, W. Kenneth & Christiansen, Eric H. (1998). Earth's Dynamic Systems (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-745373-3.
- Miran, Jonathan. (2018). "The Red Sea," in David Armitage, Alison Bashford and Sujit Sivasundaram (eds.), Oceanic Histories (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), pp. 156–181.
- Red Sea Coral Reefs
- Red Sea Photography
- Potts, D.T.; Gillies, Sean; Scalfano, Perry; Talbert, R.; Elliott, Tom; Becker, Jeffrey (2 March 2021). "Places: 39290 (Arabicus Sinus/Erythr(ae)um/Rubrum Mare)". Pleiades. Retrieved 2 June 2023.