The Red Sea is connected to the Indian Ocean by which gulf ?
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Red Sea Indian Ocean Persian Gulf
The Red Sea (also the Erythraean Sea) 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. To the north lie 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. The sea 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 (169,100 mi2),   is about 2250 km (1398 mi) long and, at its widest point, 355 km (220.6 mi) 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 ft). However, 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. It is the world's northernmost tropical sea.

Extent

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 () through Tiran Island to the Southwest point thereof and thence Westward on a parallel (27°54'N) to the coast of the Sinaï Peninsula].
:On the South. A line joining Husn Murad () and Ras Siyyan ().

Name

Red Sea is a direct translation of the Greek Erythra Thalassa () and Latin Mare Rubrum (alternatively Sinus Arabicus, literally "Arabian Gulf"), Arabic Al-Baḥr Al-Aḥmar (البحر الأحمر) or Baḥr Al-Qulzum (بحر القلزم), Somali Badda Cas and Tigrinya Qeyyiḥ bāḥrī (ቀይሕ ባሕሪ). The name of the sea may signify the seasonal blooms of the red-coloured Trichodesmium erythraeum near the water's surface.   A 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.  Herodotus on one occasion uses Red Sea and Southern Sea interchangeably. 

Historically, it was also known to western geographers as Mare Mecca (Sea of Mecca), and Sinus Arabicus (Gulf of Arabia).  Some ancient geographers called the Red Sea the Arabian Gulf  or Gulf of Arabia.  

The association of the Red Sea with the biblical account of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea is ancient, and was made explicit in the Septuagint translation of the Book of Exodus from Hebrew to 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). The Red Sea is one of four seas named in English after common color terms — the others being the Black Sea, the White Sea and the Yellow Sea. The direct rendition of the Greek Erythra thalassa in Latin as Mare Erythraeum refers to the north-western part of the Indian Ocean, and also to a region on Mars.

History

Ancient era

The earliest known exploration of the Red Sea was conducted by ancient Egyptians, as they attempted to establish commercial routes to Punt. One such expedition took place around 2500 BC, and another around 1500 BC (by Hatshepsut). Both involved long voyages down the Red Sea.  Historically, scholars argued whether these trips were possible.  The biblical Book of Exodus tells the tale of the Israelites' crossing of a body of water, which the Hebrew text calls Yam Suph (). Yam Suph was traditionally identified as the Red Sea. Rabbi Saadia Gaon (882‒942 CE), in his Judeo-Arabic translation of the Pentateuch, identifies the crossing place of the Red Sea as Baḥar al-Qulzum, meaning the Gulf of Suez.  (The story is part of the larger biblical lore about an Exodus of Israelites under Moses). Yam Suph can also been translated as Sea of Reeds.

In the 6th century BC, Darius the Great of Persia sent reconnaissance missions to the Red Sea, improving and extending navigation by locating many hazardous rocks and currents. A canal was built between the Nile and the northern end of the Red Sea at Suez. In the late 4th century BC, Alexander the Great sent Greek naval expeditions down the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. Greek navigators continued to explore and compile data on the Red Sea. Agatharchides collected information about the sea in the 2nd century BC. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea ("Periplus of the Red Sea"), a Greek periplus written by an unknown author around the 1st century AD, contains a detailed description of the Red Sea's ports and sea routes.  The Periplus also describes how Hippalus first discovered the direct route from the Red Sea to India.

The Red Sea was favored for Roman trade with India starting with the reign of Augustus, when the Roman Empire gained control over the Mediterranean, Egypt, and the northern Red Sea. The route had been used by previous states but grew in the volume of traffic under the Romans. From Indian ports goods from China were introduced to the Roman world. Contact between Rome and China depended on the Red Sea, but the route was broken by the Aksumite Empire around the 3rd century AD. 

Middle Ages and modern era

During the Middle Ages, the Red Sea was an important part of the spice trade route. In 1513, trying to secure that channel to Portugal, Afonso de Albuquerque laid siege to Aden  but was forced to retreat. They cruised the Red Sea inside the Bab al-Mandab, as the first European fleet to have sailed these waters.

In 1798, France ordered General Napoleon to invade Egypt and take control of the Red Sea. Although he failed in his mission, the engineer Jean-Baptiste Lepère, who took part in it, revitalised the plan for a canal which had been envisaged during the reign of the Pharaohs. Several canals were built in ancient times from the Nile to the Red Sea along or near the line of the present Sweet Water Canal, but none lasted for long. The Suez Canal was opened in November 1869. At the time, the British, French, and Italians shared the trading posts. The posts were gradually dismantled following the First World War. After the Second World War, the Americans and Soviets exerted their influence whilst the volume of oil tanker traffic intensified. However, the Six Day War culminated in the closure of the Suez Canal from 1967 to 1975. Today, in spite of patrols by the major maritime fleets in the waters of the Red Sea, the Suez Canal has never recovered its supremacy over the Cape route, which is believed to be less vulnerable.

Oceanography

The Red Sea is between arid land, desert and semi-desert. Reef systems are better developed along the Red Sea mainly because of its greater depths and an efficient water circulation pattern. The Red Sea water mass-exchanges its water with the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean via the Gulf of Aden. These physical factors reduce the effect of high salinity caused by evaporation in the north and relatively hot water in the south.

The climate of the Red Sea is the result of two monsoon seasons; a northeasterly monsoon and a southwesterly monsoon. Monsoon winds occur because of differential heating between the land and the sea. Very high surface temperatures and high salinities make this one of the warmest and saltiest bodies of seawater in the world. The average surface water temperature of the Red Sea during the summer is about 26 C in the north and 30 C in the south, with only about 2 °C (3.6 °F) variation during the winter months. The overall average water temperature is 22 C. Temperature and visibility remain good to around 200 m (656 ft). The sea is known for its strong winds and unpredictable local currents.

The rainfall over the Red Sea and its coasts is extremely low, averaging  per year. The rain is mostly short showers, often with thunderstorms and occasionally with dust storms. The scarcity of rainfall and no major source of fresh water to the Red Sea result in excess evaporation as high as 205 cm per year and high salinity with minimal seasonal variation. A recent underwater expedition to the Red Sea offshore from Sudan and Eritrea  found surface water temperatures 28 °C in winter and up to 34 °C in the summer, but despite that extreme heat the coral was healthy with much fish life with very little sign of coral bleaching, with only 9% infected by Thalassomonas loyana, the 'white plague' agent. Favia favus coral there harbours a virus, BA3, which kills T.loyana. 
Plans are afoot to use samples of these corals' apparently heat-adapted commensal algae to salvage bleached coral elsewhere.

Salinity

The Red Sea is one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world, owing to high evaporation. Salinity ranges from between ~36 ‰ in the southern part because of the effect of the Gulf of Aden water and reaches 41 ‰ in the northern part, owing mainly to the Gulf of Suez water and the high evaporation. The average salinity is 40 ‰.  (Average salinity for the world's seawater is ~35 ‰ on the Practical Salinity Scale, or PPS; that translates to 3.5% actual dissolved salts.)

The salinity of the Red Sea is greater than the world average, approximately 4 percent. This is due to several factors:
# High rate of evaporation and very little precipitation.
# Lack of significant rivers or streams draining into the sea.
# Limited connection with the Indian Ocean, which has lower water salinity.

Tidal range

In general tide ranges between  in the north, near the mouth of the Gulf of Suez and  in the south near the Gulf of Aden but it fluctuates between  and  away from the nodal point. The central Red Sea (Jeddah area) is therefore almost tideless, and as such the annual water level changes are more significant. Because of the small tidal range the water during high tide inundates the coastal sabkhas as a thin sheet of water up to a few hundred metres rather than flooding the sabkhas through a network of channels. However, south of Jeddah in the Shoiaba area the water from the lagoon may cover the adjoining sabkhas as far as 3 km, whereas, north of Jeddah in the Al-Kharrar area the sabkhas are covered by a thin sheet of water as far as 2 km. The prevailing north and northeast winds influence the movement of water in the coastal inlets to the adjacent sabkhas, especially during storms. Winter mean sea level is  higher than in summer. Tidal velocities passing through constrictions caused by reefs, sand bars and low islands commonly exceed 1–2 m/s (3–6.5 ft/s). Coral reefs in the Red Sea are near Egypt, Eritrea, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan.

Current

In the Red Sea detailed current data is lacking, partially because they are weak and variable both spatially and temporally. Temporal and spatial currents variation is as low as  and are governed all by wind. During the summer, NW winds drive surface water south for about four months at a velocity of 15–20 cm/s (6–8 in/s), whereas in winter the flow is reversed resulting in the inflow of water from the Gulf of Aden into the Red Sea. The net value of the latter predominates, resulting in an overall drift to the north end of the Red Sea. Generally, the velocity of the tidal current is between 50–60 cm/s (20–23.6 in/s) with a maximum of 1 m/s at the mouth of the al-Kharrar Lagoon. However, the range of the north-northeast current along the Saudi coast is 8–29 cm/s (3–11.4 in/s).

Wind regime

The north part of the Red Sea is dominated by persistent north-west winds, with speeds ranging between 7 km/h and 12 km/h. The rest of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden are subjected to regular and seasonally reversible winds. The wind regime is characterized by seasonal and regional variations in speed and direction with average speed generally increasing northward.

Wind is the driving force in the Red Sea to transport material as suspension or as bedload. Wind-induced currents play an important role in the Red Sea in resuspending bottom sediments and transferring materials from sites of dumping to sites of burial in quiescent environment of deposition. Wind-generated current measurement is therefore important in order to determine the sediment dispersal pattern and its role in the erosion and accretion of the coastal rock exposure and the submerged coral beds.

Geology

The Red Sea was formed by the Arabian peninsula being split from the Horn of Africa by movement of the Red Sea Rift. This split started in the Eocene and accelerated during the Oligocene. The sea is still widening, and it is considered that it will become an ocean in time (as proposed in the model of John Tuzo Wilson). In 1949, a deep water survey reported anomalously hot brines in the central portion of the Red Sea. Later work in the 1960s confirmed the presence of hot, 60 °C (140 °F), saline brines and associated metalliferous muds. The hot solutions were emanating from an active subseafloor rift. The high salinity of the waters was not hospitable to living organisms. 

Sometime during the Tertiary period, the Bab el Mandeb closed and the Red Sea evaporated to an empty hot dry salt-floored sink. Effects causing this would have been:
*A "race" between the Red Sea widening and Perim Island erupting filling the Bab el Mandeb with lava.
*The lowering of world sea level during the Ice Ages because of much water being locked up in the ice caps.

A number of volcanic islands rise from the center of the sea. Most are dormant. However, in 2007, Jabal al-Tair island in the Bab el Mandeb strait erupted violently. Two new islands were formed in 2011 and 2013 in the Zubair Archipelago, a small chain of islands owned by Yemen. The first island named Sholan Island emerged in an eruption in December 2011, the second island named Jadid emerged in September 2013.   

Mineral resources

In terms of mineral resources the major constituents of the Red Sea sediments are as follows:
*Biogenic constituents:
Nanofossils, foraminifera, pteropods, siliceous fossils
*Volcanogenic constituents:
Tuffites, volcanic ash, montmorillonite, cristobalite, zeolites
*Terrigenous constituents:
Quartz, feldspars, rock fragments, mica, heavy minerals, clay minerals
*Authigenic minerals:
Sulfide minerals, aragonite, Mg-calcite, protodolomite, dolomite, quartz, chalcedony.
*Evaporite minerals:
Magnesite, gypsum, anhydrite, halite, polyhalite
*Brine precipitate:
Fe-montmorillonite, goethite, hematite, siderite, rhodochrosite, pyrite, sphalerite, anhydrite.

Living resources

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. 

The rich diversity is in part due to the 2000 km of coral reef extending along its coastline; these fringing reefs are 5000–7000 years old and are largely formed of stony acropora and porites corals. The reefs form platforms and sometimes lagoons along the coast and occasional other features such as cylinders (such as the Blue Hole (Red Sea) at Dahab). These coastal reefs are also visited by pelagic species of Red Sea fish, including some of the 44 species of shark.

The Red Sea also contains many offshore reefs including several true atolls.  Many of the unusual offshore reef formations defy classic (i.e., Darwinian) coral reef classification schemes, and are generally attributed to the high levels of tectonic activity that characterize the area.

The special biodiversity of the area is recognized by the Egyptian government, who set up the Ras Mohammed National Park in 1983. The rules and regulations governing this area protect local marine life, which has become a major draw for diving enthusiasts.

Divers and snorkellers should be aware that although most Red Sea species are innocuous, a few are hazardous to humans: see Red Sea species hazardous to humans. 

Other marine habitats include sea grass beds, salt pans, mangroves and salt marshes.

Desalination plants 

There is extensive demand for desalinated water to meet the needs of the population and the industries along the Red Sea.

There are at least 18 desalination plants along the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia which discharge warm brine and treatment chemicals (chlorine and anti-scalants) that bleach and kill corals and cause diseases to the fish. This is only localized, but it may intensify with time and  profoundly impact the fishing industry. 

The water from the Red Sea is also used by oil refineries and cement factories for cooling. Used water drained back into the coastal zones may harm the nearshore environment of the Red Sea.

Security

The Red Sea is part of the sea roads between Europe, the Persian Gulf and East Asia, and as such has heavy shipping traffic. Government-related bodies with responsibility to police the Red Sea area include the Port Said Port Authority, Suez Canal Authority and Red Sea Ports Authority of Egypt, Jordan Maritime Authority, Israel Port Authority, Saudi Ports Authority and Sea Ports Corporation of Sudan.

Facts and figures 

* Length:  ~2250 km - 79% of the eastern Red Sea with numerous coastal inlets
* Maximum Width:  ~ 306–355 km (190–220 mi)– Massawa (Eritrea)
* Minimum Width:   ~ 26–29 km (16–18 mi)- Bab el Mandeb Strait (Yemen)
* Average Width:  ~ 280 km
* Average Depth:  ~ 490 m
* Maximum Depth:  ~2211 m
* Surface Area: 438-450 x 102 km2 (16,900–17,400 sq mi)
* Volume: 215–251 x 103 km3 (51,600–60,200 cu mi)

* Approximately 40% of the Red Sea is quite shallow (under 100 m/330 ft), and about 25% is under 50 m deep.
* About 15% of the Red Sea is over 1000 m depth that forms the deep axial trough.
* Shelf breaks are marked by coral reefs
* Continental slope has an irregular profile (series of steps down to  ~500 m)
* Centre of Red Sea has a narrow trough (~ 1000 m; some deeps may exceed 2500 m)

Tourism

The sea is known for its spectacular recreational diving sites, such as Ras Mohammed, SS Thistlegorm (shipwreck), Elphinstone Reef, The Brothers, Daedalus Reef, St.John's Reef, Rocky Island in Egypt[http://www.dive-the-world.com/diving-sites-red-sea.php Scuba Diving in Egypt - The Red Sea: Holidays in Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada, The Brothers, Daedalus Reef and St. John's - Liveaboard and Day Trips] and less known sites in Sudan such as Sanganeb, Abington, Angarosh and Shaab Rumi.

The Red Sea became a sought-after diving destination after the expeditions of Hans Hass in the 1950s, and later by Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Popular tourist resorts include El Gouna, Hurghada, Safaga, Marsa Alam, on the west shore of the Red Sea, and Sharm-el-Sheikh, Dahab, and Taba on the Egyptian side of Sinaï, as well as Aqaba in Jordan and Eilat in Israel in an area known as the Red Sea Riviera.

The popular tourist beach of Sharm el-Sheikh was closed to all swimming in December 2010 due to several serious shark attacks, including a fatality. As of December 2010, scientists are investigating the attacks and have identified, but not verified, several possible causes including over-fishing which causes large sharks to hunt closer to shore, tourist boat operators who chum offshore for shark-photo opportunities, and reports of ships throwing dead livestock overboard. The sea's narrowness, significant depth, and sharp drop-offs, all combine to form a geography where large deep-water sharks can roam in hundreds of meters of water, yet be within a hundred meters of swimming areas.

Bordering countries

The Red Sea may be geographically divided into three sections: the Red Sea proper, and in the north, the Gulf of Aqaba and the Gulf of Suez. The six countries bordering the Red Sea proper are:

* Eastern shore:
** 
** 
* Western shore:
** 
** 
** 
** 

The Gulf of Suez is entirely bordered by Egypt. The Gulf of Aqaba borders Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

In addition to the standard geographical definition of the six countries bordering the Red Sea cited above, areas such as Somalia are sometimes also described as Red Sea territories. This is primarily due to their proximity to and geological similarities with the nations facing the Red Sea and/or political ties with said areas.  

Towns and cities

Towns and cities on the Red Sea coast (including the coasts of the Gulfs of Aqaba and Suez) include:

*  Al Hudaydah (الحديدة)
*  Al Lith (الليِّث)
*  Al Qunfudhah (القنفذة)
*  Al-Qusair (القصير)
*  Al Wajh (الوجه)
*  Aqaba (العقبة)
*  Asseb (ዓሳብ)
*  Dahab (دهب)
*  Duba (ضباء)
*  Eilat (אילת ، ايلات)
*  El Gouna (الجونة)

*  El Suweis (السويس)
* / Hala'ib (حلايب) (disputed)
*  Haql (حقل)
*  Hirgigo (ሕርጊጎ)
*  Hurghada (الغردقة)
*  Jeddah (جدة)
*  Jazan (جازان)
*  Marsa Alam (مرسى علم)
*  Massawa (ምጽዋ)
*  Moulhoule (Moulhoulé ،مول هولة ) 
 
*  Nuweiba (نويبع)
*  Port Safaga (ميناء سفاجا)
*  Port Sudan  (بورت سودان)
*  Rabigh (رابغ)
*  Sharm el Sheikh (شرم الشيخ)
*  Soma Bay (سوما باي)
*  Suakin (سواكن)
*  Taba (طابا)
*  Thuwal (ثول)
*  Yanbu (ينبع) The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering  (approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface).  It is bounded by Asia on the north, on the west by Africa, on the east by Australia, and on the south by the Southern Ocean or, depending on definition, by Antarctica.  It is named after the country of India.  The Indian Ocean is known as Ratnākara (), "the mine of gems" in ancient Sanskrit literature, and as Hind Mahāsāgar (), "the great Indian sea", in Hindi.

Geography

The borders of the Indian Ocean, as delineated by the International Hydrographic Organization in 1953 included the Southern Ocean but not the marginal seas along the northern rim, but in 2000 the IHO delimited the Southern Ocean separately, which removed waters south of 60°S from the Indian Ocean, but included the northern marginal seas.   Meridionally, the Indian Ocean is delimited from the Atlantic Ocean by the 20° east meridian, running south from Cape Agulhas, and from the Pacific Ocean by the meridian of 146°55'E, running south from the southernmost point of Tasmania. The northernmost extent of the Indian Ocean is approximately 30° north in the Persian Gulf.

The ocean covers , including the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf but excluding the Southern Ocean, or 19.5% world's oceans; its volume is  or 19.8% of oceans volume; it has an average depth of  and a maximum depth of . 

The ocean's continental shelves are narrow, averaging 200 km in width. An exception is found off Australia's western coast, where the shelf width exceeds 1000 km. The average depth of the ocean is . Its deepest point is Diamantina Deep in Diamantina Trench, at  deep; also sometimes considered is Sunda Trench, at a depth of .  North of 50° south latitude, 86% of the main basin is covered by pelagic sediments, of which more than half is globigerina ooze. The remaining 14% is layered with terrigenous sediments. Glacial outwash dominates the extreme southern latitudes.

The major choke points include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, the Lombok Strait, the Strait of Malacca and the Palk Strait. Seas include the Gulf of Aden, Andaman Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Great Australian Bight, Laccadive Sea, Gulf of Mannar, Mozambique Channel, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, Red Sea and other tributary water bodies. The Indian Ocean is artificially connected to the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal, which is accessible via the Red Sea.

Marginal seas

Marginal seas, gulfs, bays and straits of the Indian Ocean include:

* Andaman Sea
* Arabian Sea
* Bay of Bengal
* Great Australian Bight
* Gulf of Mannar
* Gulf of Aden
* Gulf of Carpentaria

* Gulf of Kutch
* Gulf of Khambat
* Gulf of Oman
* Indonesian Seaway (including the Malacca, Sunda and Torres Straits)
* Laccadive Sea
* Mozambique Channel

* Palk Strait connecting Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal
* Persian Gulf
* Red Sea
* Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb connecting Arabian Sea

Climate

The climate north of the equator is affected by a monsoon climate. Strong north-east winds blow from October until April; from May until October south and west winds prevail. In the Arabian Sea the violent Monsoon brings rain to the Indian subcontinent. In the southern hemisphere, the winds are generally milder, but summer storms near Mauritius can be severe. When the monsoon winds change, cyclones sometimes strike the shores of the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. The Indian Ocean is the warmest ocean in the world.

Oceanography

Among the few large rivers flowing into the Indian Ocean are the Zambezi, Shatt al-Arab, Indus, Godavari, Krishna,  Narmada, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Jubba and Irrawaddy River. The ocean's currents are mainly controlled by the monsoon. Two large gyres, one in the northern hemisphere flowing clockwise and one south of the equator moving anticlockwise (including the Agulhas Current and Agulhas Return Current), constitute the dominant flow pattern. During the winter monsoon, however, currents in the north are reversed.

Deep water circulation is controlled primarily by inflows from the Atlantic Ocean, the Red Sea, and Antarctic currents. North of 20° south latitude the minimum surface temperature is 22 C, exceeding 28 C to the east. Southward of 40° south latitude, temperatures drop quickly.

Precipitation and evaporation leads to salinity variation in all oceans, and in the Indian Ocean salinity variations are driven by: (1) river inflow mainly from the Bay of Bengal, (2) fresher water from the Indonesian Throughflow; and (3) saltier water from the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. 
Surface water salinity ranges from 32 to 37 parts per 1000, the highest occurring in the Arabian Sea and in a belt between southern Africa and south-western Australia. Pack ice and icebergs are found throughout the year south of about 65° south latitude. The average northern limit of icebergs is 45° south latitude.

Geology

As the youngest of the major oceans,  the Indian Ocean has active spreading ridges that are part of the worldwide system of mid-ocean ridges.  In the Indian Ocean these spreading ridges meet at the Rodrigues Triple Point with the Central Indian Ridge, including the Carlsberg Ridge, separating the African Plate from the Indian Plate; the Southwest Indian Ridge separating the African Plate form the Antarctic Plate; and the Southeast Indian Ridge separating the Australian Plate from the Antarctic Plate.The Central Ridge runs north on the in-between across of the Arabian Peninsula and Africa into the Mediterranean Sea.    

A series of ridges and seamount chains produced by hotspots pass over the Indian Ocean.  The Réunion hotspot (active 70-40 Ma) connects Réunion and the Mascarene Plateau to the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge and the Deccan Traps in north-western India; the Kerguelen hotspot (100-35 Ma) connects the Kerguelen Islands and Kerguelen Plateau to the Ninety East Ridge and the Rajmahal Traps in north-eastern India; the Marion hotspot (100-70 Ma) possibly connects Prince Edward Islands to the Eighty Five East Ridge.   It should be noted that these hotspot tracks have been broken by the still active spreading ridges mentioned above.

Marine life

Among the tropical oceans, the western Indian Ocean hosts one of the largest concentration of phytoplankton blooms in summer, due to the strong monsoon winds. The monsoonal wind forcing leads to a strong coastal and open ocean upwelling, which introduces nutrients into the upper zones where sufficient light is available for photosynthesis and phytoplankton production. These phytoplankton blooms support the marine ecosystem, as the base of the marine food web, and eventually the larger fish species. The Indian Ocean accounts for the second largest share of the most economically valuable tuna catch.  Its fish are of great and growing importance to the bordering countries for domestic consumption and export. Fishing fleets from Russia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian Ocean, mainly for shrimp and tuna. 

Research indicates that increasing ocean temperatures are taking a toll on the marine ecosystem. A study on the phytoplankton changes in the Indian Ocean indicates a decline of up to 20% in the marine phytoplankton in the Indian Ocean, during the past six decades.  The tuna catch rates have also declined abruptly during the past half century, mostly due to increased industrial fisheries, with the ocean warming adding further stress to the fish species.

Endangered marine species include the dugong, seals, turtles, and whales.

An Indian Ocean garbage patch was discovered in 2010 covering at least .  Riding the southern Indian Ocean Gyre, this vortex of plastic garbage constantly circulates the ocean from Australia to Africa, down the Mozambique Channel, and back to Australia in a period of six years, except for debris that get indefinitely stuck in the centre of the gyre.

History

First settlements

The history of the Indian Ocean is marked by maritime trade; cultural and commercial exchange probably date back at least seven thousand years.   During this period, independent, short-distance oversea communications along its littoral margins have evolved into an all-embracing network.  The début of this network was not the achievement of a centralised or advanced civilisation but of local and regional exchange in the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and Arabian Sea.  Sherds of Ubaid (2500-500 BCE) pottery have been found in the western Gulf at Dilmun, present-day Bahrain; traces of exchange between this trading centre and Mesopotamia.  Sumerian traded grain, pottery, and bitumen (used for reed boats) for copper, stone, timber, tin, dates, onions, and pearls. 
Coast-bound vessels transported goods between the Harappa civilisation (2600–1900 BCE) in India (modern-day Pakistan and Gujarat in India) and the Persian Gulf and Egypt.

Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, an Alexandrian guide to the world beyond the Red Sea — including Africa and India — from the first century CE, not only gives insights into trade in the region but also shows that Roman and Greek sailors had already gained knowledge about the monsoon winds.  The contemporaneous settlement of Madagascar by Indonesian sailors shows that the littoral margins of the Indian Ocean were being both well-populated and regularly traversed at least by this time.  Albeit the monsoon must have been common knowledge in the Indian Ocean for centuries.

The world's earliest civilizations in Mesopotamia (beginning with Sumer), ancient Egypt, and the Indian subcontinent (beginning with the Indus Valley civilization), which began along the valleys of the Tigris-Euphrates, Nile and Indus rivers respectively, all developed around the Indian Ocean. Civilizations soon arose in Persia (beginning with Elam) and later in Southeast Asia (beginning with Funan).

During Egypt's first dynasty (c. 3000 BC), sailors were sent out onto its waters, journeying to Punt, thought to be part of present-day Somalia. Returning ships brought gold and myrrh. The earliest known maritime trade between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley (c. 2500 BC) was conducted along the Indian Ocean. Phoenicians of the late 3rd millennium BC may have entered the area, but no settlements resulted.

The Indian Ocean's relatively calmer waters opened the areas bordering it to trade earlier than the Atlantic or Pacific oceans. The powerful monsoons also meant ships could easily sail west early in the season, then wait a few months and return eastwards. This allowed ancient Indonesian peoples to cross the Indian Ocean to settle in Madagascar around 2000 BP. 

Era of discovery

In the 2nd or 1st century BC, Eudoxus of Cyzicus was the first Greek to cross the Indian Ocean.  The probably fictitious sailor Hippalus is said to have discovered the direct route from Arabia to India around this time.   During the 1st and 2nd centuries AD intensive trade relations developed between Roman Egypt and the Tamil kingdoms of the Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas in Southern India. Like the Indonesian peoples above, the western sailors used the monsoon to cross the ocean. The unknown author of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea describes this route, as well as the commodities that were traded along various commercial ports on the coasts of the Horn of Africa and India circa 1 AD. Among these trading settlements were Mosylon and Opone on the Red Sea littoral.

Unlike the Pacific Ocean where the civilization of the Polynesians reached most of the far flung islands and atolls and populated them, almost all the islands, archipelagos and atolls of the Indian Ocean were uninhabited until colonial times. Although there were numerous ancient civilizations in the coastal states of Asia and parts of Africa, the Maldives were the only island group in the Central Indian Ocean region where an ancient civilization flourished.  Maldivian ships used the Indian Monsoon Current to travel to the nearby coasts. 

From 1405 to 1433, Admiral Zheng He led large fleets of the Ming Dynasty on several treasure voyages through the Indian Ocean, ultimately reaching the coastal countries of East Africa. 

In 1497, Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope and became the first European to sail to India and later the Far East. The European ships, armed with heavy cannon, quickly dominated trade. Portugal achieved pre-eminence by setting up forts at the important straits and ports. Their hegemony along the coasts of Africa and Asia lasted until the mid 17th century. Later, the Portuguese were challenged by other European powers. The Dutch East India Company (1602–1798) sought control of trade with the East across the Indian Ocean. France and Britain established trade companies for the area. From 1565, Spain established a major trading operation with the Manila Galleons in the Philippines and the Pacific. Spanish trading ships purposely avoided the Indian Ocean, following the Treaty of Tordesillas with Portugal. By 1815, Britain became the principal power in the Indian Ocean.

Industrial era

The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 revived European interest in the East, but no nation was successful in establishing trade dominance. Since World War II the United Kingdom was forced to withdraw from the area, to be replaced by India, the USSR, and the United States. The last two tried to establish hegemony by negotiating for naval base sites. Developing countries bordering the ocean, however, seek to have it made a "zone of peace" so that they may use its shipping lanes freely. The United Kingdom and United States maintain a military base on Diego Garcia atoll in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

Contemporary era 

On 26 December 2004, the countries surrounding the Indian Ocean were hit by a tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. The waves resulted in more than 226,000 deaths and over 1 million people were left homeless.

In the late 2000s, the ocean evolved into a hub of pirate activity. By 2013, attacks off the Horn region's coast had steadily declined due to active private security and international navy patrols, especially by the Indian Navy. 

Trade

The Indian Ocean provides major sea routes connecting the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and the Americas. It carries a particularly heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum products from the oil fields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are being tapped in the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and Western Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil production comes from the Indian Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy minerals, and offshore placer deposits are actively exploited by bordering countries, particularly India, Pakistan, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

Major ports and harbours

The Port of Singapore is the busiest port in the Indian Ocean, located in the Strait of Malacca where it meets the Pacific. Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Kochi, Mormugao Port, Mundra, Panambur, Hazira, Port Blair, Alang, Visakhapatnam, Paradip, Ennore, Tuticorin and Nagapattinam are the other major ports in India. South Asian ports include Chittagong in Bangladesh, Colombo, Hambantota and Galle in Sri Lanka, and ports of Karachi, Sindh province and Gwadar, Balochistan province in Pakistan. Aden is a major port in Yemen and controls ships entering the Red Sea. Major African ports on the shores of the Indian Ocean include: Mombasa (Kenya), Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar (Tanzania), Durban, East London, Richard's Bay (South Africa), Beira (Mozambique), and Port Louis (Mauritius). Zanzibar is especially famous for its spice export. Other major ports in the Indian Ocean include Muscat (Oman), Yangon (Burma), Jakarta, Medan (Indonesia), Fremantle (port servicing Perth, Australia) and Dubai (UAE).

Chinese companies have made investments in several Indian Ocean ports, including Gwadar, Hambantota, Colombo and Sonadia.  This has sparked a debate about the strategic implications of these investments. 

Bordering countries and territories

Small islands dot the continental rims. Island nations within the ocean are Madagascar (the world's fourth largest island), Bahrain, Comoros, Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles and Sri Lanka. The archipelago of Indonesia and the island nation of East Timor border the ocean on the east.

Heading roughly clockwise, the states and territories (in italics) with a coastline on the Indian Ocean (including the Red Sea and Persian Gulf) are:

; Africa

*
*
*
*' (FRA)
* (Mayotte and Réunion)
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

; Asia

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*' (UK)
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*' (AUS)
*

; Australasia
* Ashmore and Cartier Islands (AUS)
*
*

; Southern Indian Ocean
* Heard Island and McDonald Islands (AUS)
*' (FRA)
*  Prince Edward Islands (RSA) The Persian Gulf () is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. An extension of the Indian Ocean (Gulf of Oman) through the Strait of Hormuz, it lies between Iran to the northeast and the Arabian Peninsula to the southwest.  The Shatt al-Arab river delta forms the northwest shoreline.

The Persian Gulf was a battlefield of the 1980–1988 Iran–Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers. It is the namesake of the 1991 Gulf War, the largely air- and land-based conflict that followed Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

The gulf has many fishing grounds, extensive coral reefs, and abundant pearl oysters, but its ecology has been damaged by industrialization and oil spills.

The body of water is historically and internationally known as the "Persian Gulf".    Some Arab governments refer to it as the "Arabian Gulf" or "The Gulf",  but neither term is recognized internationally. The name "Gulf of Iran (Persian Gulf)" is used by the International Hydrographic Organization. 

The Persian Gulf is geologically very young, formed around 15,000 years ago. 

Geography

This inland sea of some 251000 km² is connected to the Gulf of Oman in the east by the Strait of Hormuz; and its western end is marked by the major river delta of the Shatt al-Arab, which carries the waters of the Euphrates and the Tigris. Its length is 989 km, with Iran covering most of the northern coast and Saudi Arabia most of the southern coast. The Persian Gulf is about 56 km wide at its narrowest, in the Strait of Hormuz. The waters are overall very shallow, with a maximum depth of 90 m and an average depth of 50 m.

Countries with a coastline on the Persian Gulf are (clockwise, from the north): Iran, Oman (exclave of Musandam), United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar on a peninsula off the Saudi coast, Bahrain on an island, Kuwait, and Iraq in the northwest. Various small islands also lie within the Persian Gulf, some of which are the subject of territorial disputes between the states of the region.

Extent

The International Hydrographic Organization defines the Persian Gulf's southern limit as "The Northwestern limit of Gulf of Oman". This limit is defined as "A line joining Ràs Limah (25°57'N) on the coast of Arabia and Ràs al Kuh (25°48'N) on the coast of Iran (Persia)".

Oil and gas

The Persian Gulf and its coastal areas are the world's largest single source of crude oil, and related industries dominate the region. Safaniya Oil Field, the world's largest offshore oilfield, is located in the Persian Gulf. Large gas finds have also been made, with Qatar and Iran sharing a giant field across the territorial median line (North Field in the Qatari sector; South Pars Field in the Iranian sector). Using this gas, Qatar has built up a substantial liquefied natural gas (LNG) and petrochemical industry.

In 2002, the Persian Gulf nations of Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, produced about 25% of the world's oil, held nearly two-thirds of the world's crude oil reserves, and about 35% of the world natural gas reserves.   The oil-rich countries (excluding Iraq) that have a coastline on the Persian Gulf are referred to as the Persian Gulf States. Iraq's egress to the gulf is narrow and easily blockaded consisting of the marshy river delta of the Shatt al-Arab, which carries the waters of the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers, where the east bank is held by Iran.

Etymology

In 550 BC, the Achaemenid Empire established the first Persian Empire in Pars (Persis, or modern Fars) in the southwestern region of the Iranian plateau. Consequently, in the Greek sources, the body of water that bordered this province came to be known as the Persian Gulf. 

Considering the historical background of the name Persian Gulf, Sir Arnold Wilson mentions in a book, published in 1928 that "no water channel has been so significant as Persian Gulf to the geologists, archaeologists, geographers, merchants, politicians, excursionists, and scholars whether in past or in present. This water channel which separates the Iran Plateau from the Arabia Plate, has enjoyed an Iranian Identity since at least 2200 years ago."

During the years 550 to 330 BC, coinciding with the sovereignty of the first Persian Empire over the Middle East area, especially the whole part of the Persian Gulf and some parts of the Arabian Peninsula, the name of "Pars Sea" is widely found in the compiled written texts.

In the travel account of Pythagoras, several chapters are related to description of his travels accompanied by Darius the Great, to Susa and Persepolis, and the area is described. From among the writings of others in the same period, there is the inscription and engraving of Darius the great, installed at junction of waters of Red Sea (also called "Arabian Gulf" or "Ahmar Sea") and the Nile river and the Rome river (current Mediterranean) which belongs to the 5th century BC where, Darius the Great, the king of the Achaemenid Empire has named the Persian Gulf Water Channel: Pars Sea (Persian Sea).

Before being given the present name, the Persian Gulf was called many different names. The classical Greek writers, like Herodotus, called it 'the Red Sea'. In Babylonian texts it was known as 'the sea above Akkad'.

Naming dispute

The name of the gulf, historically and internationally known as the Persian Gulf after the land of Persia (Iran), has been disputed by some Arab countries since the 1960s.  Rivalry between Iran and some Arab states, along with the emergence of pan-Arabism and Arab nationalism, has seen the name Arabian Gulf become predominant in most Arab countries.   Names beyond these two have also been applied to or proposed for this body of water.

History

Ancient history

The world's oldest known civilization (Sumer) developed along the Persian Gulf and southern Mesopotamia. The shallow basin that now underlies the Gulf was an extensive region of river valley and wetlands during the transition between the end of the Last Glacial Maximum and the start of the Holocene, which, according to University of Birmingham archaeologist Jeffrey Rose, served as an environmental refuge for early humans during periodic hyperarid climate oscillations, laying the foundations for the legend of Dilmun 
For most of the early history of the settlements in the Persian Gulf, the southern shores were ruled by a series of nomadic tribes. During the end of the fourth millennium BC, the southern part of the Persian Gulf was dominated by the Dilmun civilization. For a long time the most important settlement on the southern coast of the Persian Gulf was Gerrha. In the 2nd century the Lakhum tribe, who lived in what is now Yemen, migrated north and founded the Lakhmid Kingdom along the southern coast. Occasional ancient battles took place along the Persian Gulf coastlines, between the Sassanid Persian empire and the Lakhmid Kingdom, the most prominent of which was the invasion led by Shapur II against the Lakhmids, leading to Lakhmids' defeat, and advancement into Arabia, along the southern shore lines.  During the 7th century the Sassanid Persian empire conquered the whole of the Persian Gulf, including southern and northern shores.

Between 625 BC and 226 AD, the northern side was dominated by a succession of Persian empires including the Median, Achaemenid, Seleucid and Parthian empires. Under the leadership of the Achaemenid king Darius the Great (Darius I), Persian ships found their way to the Persian Gulf. Persian naval forces laid the foundation for a strong Persian maritime presence in Persian Gulf, that started with Darius I and existed until the arrival of the British East India Company, and the Royal Navy by mid-19th century AD. Persians were not only stationed on islands of the Persian Gulf, but also had ships often of 100 to 200 capacity patrolling empire's various rivers including Shatt-al-Arab, Tigris, and the Nile in the west, as well as Sind waterway, in India.

The Achaemenid high naval command had established major naval bases located along Shatt al-Arab river, Bahrain, Oman, and Yemen. The Persian fleet would soon not only be used for peacekeeping purposes along the Shatt al-Arab but would also open the door to trade with India via Persian Gulf. 

Following the fall of Achaemenid Empire, and after the fall of the Parthian Empire, the Sassanid empire ruled the northern half and at times the southern half of the Persian Gulf. The Persian Gulf, along with the Silk Road, were important trade routes in the Sassanid empire. Many of the trading ports of the Persian empires were located in or around Persian Gulf. Siraf, an ancient Sassanid port that was located on the northern shore of the gulf, located in what is now the Iranian province of Bushehr, is an example of such commercial port. Siraf, was also significant in that it had a flourishing commercial trade with China by the 4th century, having first established connection with the far east in 185 AD. 

Colonial era

Portuguese expansion into the Indian Ocean in the early 16th century following Vasco da Gama's voyages of exploration saw them battle the Ottomans up the coast of the Persian Gulf. In 1521, a Portuguese force led by commander Antonio Correia invaded Bahrain to take control of the wealth created by its pearl industry. On April 29, 1602, Shāh Abbās, the Persian emperor of the Safavid Persian Empire expelled the Portuguese from Bahrain,  and that date is commemorated as National Persian Gulf day in Iran.  With the support of the British fleet, in 1622 'Abbās took the island of Hormuz from the Portuguese; much of the trade was diverted to the town of Bandar 'Abbās, which he had taken from the Portuguese in 1615 and had named after himself. The Persian Gulf was therefore opened by Persians to a flourishing commerce with the Portuguese, Dutch, French, Spanish and the British merchants, who were granted particular privileges.
The Ottoman Empire reasserted itself into Eastern Arabia in 1871.  Under military and political pressure from the governor of the Ottoman Vilayet of Baghdad, Midhat Pasha, the ruling Al Thani tribe submitted peacefully to Ottoman rule.  The Ottomans were forced to withdraw from the area with the start of World War I and the need for troops in various other frontiers.

In World War II, the Western Allies used Iran as a conduit to transport military and industrial supply to Russia (USSR), through a pathway known historically as the "Persian Corridor". This path would utilize the Trans-Iranian Railway, but in order for the supply to be transported to Iran, Britain utilized the Persian Gulf as the entry point for the supply chain.  Persian Gulf therefore became a critical maritime path through which the Allies transported equipment, to Russia against the Nazi invasion. 

From 1763 until 1971, the British Empire maintained varying degrees of political control over some of the Persian Gulf states, including the United Arab Emirates (originally called the Trucial States)   and at various times Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar through the British Residency of the Persian Gulf.

The United Kingdom maintains a high profile in the region to date; in 2006 alone, over 1 million British nationals visited Dubai.   In 2014, the UK announced it will establish its first permanent military base in the Persian Gulf since it withdrew from East of Suez in 1971.   

Islands

The Persian Gulf is home to many small islands. Bahrain, an island in the Persian Gulf, is itself a Persian Gulf Arab state. Geographically the biggest island in the Persian Gulf is Qeshm island located in the Strait of Hormuz and belonging to Iran. Other significant islands in the Persian Gulf include Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Kish administered by Iran, Bubiyan administered by Kuwait, Tarout administered by Saudi Arabia, and Dalma administered by UAE. In recent years, there has also been addition of artificial islands, often created by Arab states such as UAE for commercial reasons or as tourist resorts. Although very small, these artificial islands have had a negative impact on the mangrove habitats upon which they are built, often causing unpredictable environmental issues. Persian Gulf islands are often also historically significant, having been used in the past by colonial powers such as the Portuguese and the British in their trade or as acquisitions for their empires. 

Cities and population

Eight nations have coasts along the Persian Gulf: Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The gulf's strategic location has made it an ideal place for human development over time. Today, many major cities of the Middle East are located in this region.

Major cities image gallery

Wildlife

The wildlife of the Persian Gulf is diverse, and entirely unique due to the gulf's geographic distribution and its isolation from the international waters only breached by the narrow Strait of Hormuz. The Persian Gulf has hosted some of the most magnificent marine fauna and flora, some of which are near extinction or at serious environmental risk. From corals, to dugongs, Persian Gulf is a diverse cradle for many species who depend on each other for survival.

Flora

A great example of this symbiosis are the mangroves in the gulf, which require tidal flow and a combination of fresh and salt water for growth, and act as nurseries for many crabs, small fish, and insects; these fish and insects are the source of food for many of the marine birds that feed on them. Mangroves are a diverse group of shrubs and trees belonging to the genus Avicennia or Rhizophora that flourish in the salt water shallows of the gulf, and are the most important habitats for small crustaceans that dwell in them. They are as crucial an indicator of biological health on the surface of the water, as the corals are to biological health of the gulf in deeper waters. Mangroves' ability to survive the salt water through intricate molecular mechanisms, their unique reproductive cycle, and their ability to grow in the most oxygen-deprived waters have allowed them extensive growth in hostile areas of the gulf.   Unfortunately, however, with the advent of artificial island development, most of their habitat is destroyed, or occupied by man-made structures. This has had a negative impact on the crustaceans that rely on the mangrove, and in turn on the species that feed on them.

Fauna

Along the mediterranean regions of the Arabian Sea, including the Arabian Gulf, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Kutch, the Gulf of Suez, the Gulf of Aqaba, the Gulf of Aden, and the Gulf of Oman, dolphins and finless porpoises are the most common marine mammals in the waters, while larger whales and orcas are rarer today.  Historically, whales had been abundant in the gulf before commercial hunts wiped them out.   Whales were reduced even further by illegal mass hunts by the Soviet Union and Japan in the 1960s and 70s.  Alongside Bryde's whales, the most common and possible resident and still can be seen in deeper marginal seas such as Gulf of Aden,  Israel coasts,https://www.cbd.int/doc/meetings/mar/ebsaws-2015-02/other/ebsaws-2015-02-gobi-submission9-en.pdf and in Strait of Hormuz.  Other species such as the critically endangered Arabian humpback whale (historically common in Gulf of Aden,  and sighting records increased in Red Sea since in 2006 including in Gulf of Aqaba), omura's whale,  minke whale, and orca also swim into the gulf, while many other large species such as blue whale,  sei,  and sperm whales were once migrants into the Gulf of Oman and off the coasts in deeper waters,  and still migrate in Red Sea,  but mainly in deeper waters of outer seas.

One of the more unusual marine mammals living in the Persian Gulf is the Dugong dugon, commonly referred to as the dugong. Called "sea cows" for their grazing habits, their mild manner and resemblance to the livestock, dugongs have a life expectancy similar to that of humans and can reach lengths of up to 3 meters. These gentle mammals feed on the sea grass and genetically resemble the land mammals more than the dolphins and the whales. Despite the simplicity of their grass diet, new developments along the Persian Gulf coastline, particularly artificial island development in Arab states, pollution particularly by oil spills caused during the "Persian Gulf war" and also due to occasional oil spills, and uncontrolled hunting has had a negative impact on the survival of the dugongs. After Australian waters with some 80,000 dugong inhabitants, the waters off Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, and Saudi Arabia have some 7,500 dugongs remaining, making the Persian Gulf the second most important habitat for the species. Dugong's current number is dwindling and it is not clear how many are currently alive or what their reproductive trend is.  Unfortunately, ambitious and uncalculated construction schemes, political unrest and an ever present international conflict, and presence of the most lucrative world supply of oil, along with lack of cooperation between Arab states and Iran, has had a negative impact on the survival of many marine species, including dugongs.

The Persian Gulf is also home to many migratory and local birds. There is great variation in color, size, and type of the bird species that call the gulf home. One bird in particular, the kalbaensis, a sub-species of the kingfishers is at the brink of extinction due to real state development by cities such as Dubai and countries such as Oman. Estimates from 2006 showed that only three viable nesting sites were available for this ancient bird, one located 80 mi from Dubai, and two smaller sites in Oman, all of which are in the process of becoming real estate developments. Such expansion would prove devastating and could cause this species to become extinct. Unfortunately for the kingfisher, a U.N. plan to protect the mangroves as a biological reserve was blatantly ignored by the emirate of Sharjah, which allowed the dredging of a channel that bisects the wetland and construction of an adjacent concrete walkway. Environmental watchdogs in Arabia are few, and those that do advocate the wildlife are often silenced or ignored by developers of real estate, most of whom have royal family connections and huge energy profits to invest. The end result has been sacrifice of a beautiful yet delicate ecology that has been in harmony for hundreds of years, for structures that are erected only a few years, yet will have a lasting detrimental effect.

Almost no species in the Persian Gulf is spared from the real estate development of UAE and Oman, including the hawksbill turtle, the flamingo, and the booted warblers, mainly due to destruction of the mangrove habitats to make way for towers, hotels, and luxury resorts.  Even dolphins that frequent the gulf in northern waters, around Iran are at serious risk. Recent statistics and observations show that dolphins are at danger of entrapment in purse seine fishing nets and exposure to chemical pollutants; perhaps the most alarming sign is the "mass suicides" committed by dolphins off Iran's Hormozgan province, which are not well understood, but are suspected to be linked with a deteriorating marine environment from water pollution from oil, sewage, and industrial run offs.  

The Persian Gulf is also home to over 700 species of fish, most of which are native to the gulf. Of these 700 species, more than 80% are coral reef associated, and directly or indirectly depend on the coral reef for their survival. Overall, the wild life of the Persian Gulf is endangered from both global factors, and regional, local negligence. Most pollution is from ships; land generated pollution counts as the second most common source of pollution,  ranging from mercury, to acidic or basic toxins.

Coral is another important inhabitant of the Persian Gulf waters. Corals are vital ecosystems that support multitude of marine species, and whose health directly reflects the health of the gulf. Recent years have seen a drastic decline in the coral population in the gulf, partially owing to global warming but majorly due to irresponsible dumping by Arab states like the UAE and Bahrain. Construction garbage such as tires, cement, and chemical by products have found their way to the Persian Gulf in recent years. Aside from direct damage to the coral, the construction waste creates "traps" for marine life in which they are trapped and die. The end result has been a dwindling population of the coral, and as a result a decrease in number of species that rely on the corals for their survival.

Gallery
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