The Red Sea

The Red Sea is the world's most northerly tropical sea; it was formed around 40 million years by the separation of the Asian and African continents. It is a part of the Great Rift Valley, and is an inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Arabia.

The southern connection to the Indian Ocean is at the straits of Bab el Mandeb (the Gate of tears), which is only 29 km wide, and 139m deep. Over time this connection was lost and re-formed as sea levels changed, sometimes cutting off the Red Sea from the Indian Ocean, allowing it to develop it's own unique eco system.

The Red Sea has a surface area of around 450,000 square km, roughly 1,900 km long and 300 km wide. It has a maximum depth of 2,500 m in the central median trench and has an average depth of 500m. There are also extensive shallow shelves, and throughout it's entire length is bordered by fringing reefs, offshore reefs, and remote islands.

A little known fact is that at a 1000m depth the water temperature is 21 degrees C, about 15 degrees higher than anywhere else in the world. This is due to geothermic activity. The continental plates are still drifting apart and the Red sea is getting wider by about 1.5cm every year.

The Red Sea lies between desert and semi-desert and is one of the most saline seas in the world, resulting from high evaporation and wind stress. Salinity ranges between 36 and 41%. Over 70cm of water is lost during the summer through evaporation, which has to be replaced by an inflow of water from the Indian Ocean in the winter months.

Red Sea holds one of the most spectacular coastal and marine environments of the world and has great bio-diversity, rich in fauna and flora. The sea is the habitat of over 1248 marine species and 250 soft and hard corals. Not only has it fish from the Indian ocean and the Indo-Pacific, but 17% of the fish species and 8% of the corals are endemic to the Red sea and found no where else on the planet.It is also home to 29 species of shark, 10 species of Dolphins, 5 species of Turtles, and the rare Dugong.

As well a s the coral reefs there are a number of other marine habitats, including sea-grass beds, saltpans, mangroves, and salt marshes making it one of the most rich and unique seas on the planet.