Gebel Katarina, the very best mountain in Egypt, rises to a formidable 2624 meters tall – and nevertheless, the depths of the sea may swallow it whole. Known as Bahr al-Ahmar in Arabic, the sea has tantalized travelers for years with its spectacular marine environment; it is home to vibrant corals, made aquatic life, and encircled by coast beaches with shady palms.
Geologically, it began to develop once the plates of the peninsula and geographical area shifted aloof from one another and eventually slang apart, around 20-30 million years past.
However, the sea itself may be a comparatively recent gap, creating it one in every of the youngest oceanic zones on earth. The waters sea flow through the slender Bab-el-Mandeb strait, and therefore the Gulf of the port within south attaches to the ocean. Within the north, the sea splits into 2 – turning into the Gulf of metropolis within the east, and Gulf of urban center to the west, wherever it trickles through the artificial ship canal to barely be a part of the sea.
Construction of the ship canal was complete in 1869, and this linking of the two seas created Egypt a strategic crossroads. In 1882, British troops occupied the county, and Egypt was a lot of or less a British colony till 1922, once it resumed its independence. There are unit 9 countries that surround the sea, and therefore the waters give recreation facilities and support a necessary fishing trade for all.
Unfortunately, the coastal surroundings are fragile, and therefore, the bounds and near-shore waters area unit harassed by trade and native populations.
Area: 438,000 km²
Mean Depth: 490 m
Water Volume: 233,000 km3 (56,000 cu mi)
Max Depth: 3,040 m (9,970 ft)
Length:190 Km
Red Sea Climate
The sea is between arid land, desert, and semi-desert. The expected surface water temperature of the sea throughout the summer is concerning twenty-six °C (79 °F) within the north and thirty °C (86 °F) within the south, with solely concerning a pair of °C (3.6 °F) variation throughout the winter months. The average water temperature is twenty-two °C (72 °F).
Weather
The weather around the sea tends to follow the overall pattern expected throughout the year, experiencing colder weather in winter and hotter temperatures throughout summer. However, there tends to be every week at the start of Jan wherever the weather condition breaks, usually followed by every week of storms. The top of Gregorian calendar month conjointly sees a comparatively rough week, tho’ most of the time, the weather is pleasant and calm.
Underwater visibility
In general, visibility tends to be higher in winter than in summer, tho’, in fact, this cannot be a strict rule. The waves will push silt into the reefs, limiting visibility to fifteen meters. However, this low visibility will usually mean additional action for snorkellers – floating organism attracts little fish to the open waters, whereas these are afraid by even larger fish. Therefore, whether or not they decide to go in low or high visibility, they are guaranteed to encounter marine life.
Tidal range
The vary and strength of the tides depend on wherever they are and, therefore, the season. Within the north, close to the Gulf metropolis, the tide will hit 0.6 meters, whereas close to the city’s Gulf. It will be as high as 0.9 m within the south. The central space of the sea (around Jeddah) is essentially tide-less; tho’ the wind will impact this reckoning on its intensity. Winter brings slightly higher water levels, at 0.5 meters on top of those in summer.
The velocity of the tide becomes additional intense once targeted around low islands, reefs, and sand bars – the constriction of the house means that rate will exceed 1-2 meters per second; tho’ usually will be able to expect a calmer current of 50-60cm per second.
Low tide at Shaab El Erg
On occasion, the tide will subside to any place will have the option to spot reefs on top of the water level. Sometimes, the tide will get so high that seashores will flood.
Living Resources
The rich assortment of the ocean is probably the best resource. With some of the premier terrific marine and waterfront conditions, it is home to bewildering fauna and verdure – from unlimited sorts of fish to dazzling coral reefs that twist in and around mangroves, seagrass beds, saltpans, and salt lowlands.
In 2009, the Egyptian ocean had pronounced a ‘no-get zone,’ defensive the assortment of the reef and restricting fishing boats from the world.
Salinity
Remarkably, the ocean|Red Sea|sea} is the most saline open sea within the world and the salinity of the water rates at rough thirty-eighth. The degree ar thus high thanks to the circulation of water and therefore the evaporation and wind patterns.
The water itself is relied on by several native populations and industries on the shores of the ocean, and there are many desalinization plants to produce clean water. However, these usually unleash chemicals like chemical elements into the water, bleaching coral and eating up marine life. Oil refineries and alternative factories additionally use the water for cooling, which, once drained back to the ocean, might cause hurt in coastal zones.
Red Sea Sediments:
Another distinctive feature of the sea is that no watercourse flows into it. Thus sediment makes its thanks to the ocean by rain and wind, or wadis, valleys with seasonal streams. The coastal sediment consists of tiny coral fragments, mollusks, and alga, varying from fine sediments to sand and gravel sizes.