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Red Sea - World Wonders |
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 The Red Sea is an inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb 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 eco-region.
Occupying a part of the Great Rift Valley, the Red Sea has a surface area of about 174,000 square miles (450,000 km²): being roughly 1,200 miles (1,900 km) long and, at its widest point, over 190 miles (300 km) wide. It has a maximum depth of 8,200 feet (2,500 m) in the central median trench and an average depth of 1,640 feet (500 m), 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 most northern tropical sea.
The Red Sea is one of the most saline water bodies in the world, due to the effects of the water circulation pattern, resulting from evaporation and wind stress. Salinity ranges between 3.6 and 3.8 %.
Living Resources
The Red Sea is a rich and diverse ecosystem. More than 1100 species of fish have been recorded in the red sea, and around 10% of these are found nowhere else. This also includes around 75 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 at Dahab). These coastal reefs are also visited by pelagic species of red sea fish, including some of the 44 species of shark.
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 area protect local wildlife, which has become a major draw for tourists, in particular for diving enthusiasts.
Divers and snorkellers should be aware that although most Red Sea species are innocuous, a few are hazardous to humans.
Other marine habitats include sea grass beds, salt pans, mangroves and salt marshes.
Mineral Resources
In terms of mineral resources the major constituents of the Red Sea sediments are as follows:- Biogenic constituents: Nannofossils, 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.
Desalination Plants
The Red Sea water is an essential asset. There is extensive demand of desalinated water to meet the requirement 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 may cause bleaching and mortality of corals and diseases to the fish stocks. Although this is only a localized phenomenon, it may intensify with time and have a profound impact on the fishing industry.
The water from the Red Sea is also utilized by oil refineries and cement factories for cooling purposes. Used water drained back into the coastal zones may cause harm to the
near shore environment of the Red Sea.
Tourism
The sea is known for its spectacular dive sites such as Ras Mohammed, SS Thistlegorm (ship wreck), Elphinstone, The Brothers and Rocky Island in Egypt, Dolphin Reef in Eilat, Israel and less known sites in Sudan such as Sanganeb, Abington, Angarosh and Shaab Rumi.
The Red Sea was "discovered" as a diving destination by Hans Hass in the 1950s, and later by Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Popular tourist resorts include Sharm-El-Sheikh and Hurghada (and recently Marsa Alam) and Dahab in Egypt, as well as Eilat, Israel in an area known as the Red Sea Riviera.
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