It was through the ancient Red Sea that the prophet Moses led his people out of Egyptian slavery. Its waters plied the ships of the kings of Greece, Rome and Egypt. It remembers Cleopatra and Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and King Solomon.
The sea stretches from north to south for two thousand kilometers. Its width at its widest point is about 330 kilometers. The Red Sea is located between the Arabian Peninsula and Africa. In the north, it is divided into two gulfs, Suez and Eilat, named after the Israeli international resort of Eilat. The Jordanians call this Gulf of Aqaba, after the city of Aqaba. Eilat and Aqaba are two small cities located on opposite sides of the bay in the northern part of it.
The Gulf of Eilat is very deep. It is located in a geological fault zone. The continuation of this fault in the northern direction is the Arava Valley, the lowest point on the planet - the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, Lake Kinneret.
In the north of the Gulf of Suez is the Suez Canal, which connects the Red and Mediterranean Seas. Sea cargo ships sailing between Asia and Europe save a lot of time and fuel when passing through the Suez Canal. For Egypt, this channel is of great importance and brings considerable income to the treasury. Attempts to build a canal were made by the Egyptian pharaohs and later by Napoleon, but the project was carried out only in the middle of the last century.
Such an important strategic facility has more than once become the cause of international aggravation of the situation and wars.
Today this sea washes the shores of Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel.
Egypt's decision to build another canal between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean was recently announced. The project involves costs of $ 4 billion, which is comparable to the annual income to the treasury from the existing channel. Due to the turbulent situation in Egypt, tourism profits have plummeted and the desire to connect Europe and Asia with another channel is understandable. After all, 10% of all sea traffic passes through the Suez Canal. About 50 ships pass it per day. The ships cover one hundred and ninety kilometers along the canal in approximately 14 hours.
It is interesting that under the Suez Canal there is a road tunnel connecting Africa with the Sinai Peninsula.
Nowadays, most experienced tourists associate the Red Sea with the names of the resort towns of Sharm el-Sheikh, Hurghada, Eilat.
This is one of the warmest and saltiest seas. It provides ideal conditions for coral breeding. The Red Sea has crystal clear water, due to the fact that not a single river flows into it, which means that silt and sand do not get into the sea.
A variety of corals, fish of unusual colors attract tourists and diving enthusiasts from all over the world to the shores of the Red Sea. Corals grow very slowly, on average 1 cm per year. Therefore, the formation of reefs takes more than one century. Dead corals are a skeleton, a base without polyps. Sea urchins hide among the corals during the day and come out of their shelters at sunset.
Water
Most of the Red Sea is located in the tropical zone. High solar activity and lack of precipitation contribute to intensive evaporation of water. The exchange of water at sea occurs only in the Bab el - Mandeb Strait. The Suez Canal, which is only 350 meters wide at the water surface and 50 meters at the bottom, should not be taken into account. Therefore, the salinity of the sea is two times higher than, for example, in the Black Sea. In the Black Sea - 18%, in the Azov - 11%, in the Mediterranean - 38%, and the salinity in the Red Sea is 41%.
With the exchange of water in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, during the year, more water flows in 1000 cubic kilometers than it leaves the Indian Ocean.
Name
There are several versions of the origin of the name of the sea. Among them, historical and poetic ones prevail, mentioning the exodus of Jews from Egypt and the peculiarities of the Hebrew language. However, if you look at the seashore at sunset, the color of the mountains and their reflection in the water have an obvious red tint. Most likely, this circumstance determined the name of the sea.
The coral reef of the Red Sea stretches from Eilat and Aqaba along the shores of Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia for a distance of about 2000 kilometers. Egyptian resorts are widely known precisely because of the abundance of corals, warm climate and clean water. In the very south of the Sinai Peninsula is the famous Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Hurghada is located on the opposite shore at the base of the Suez Bay.
Fish
A quarter of all marine life on planet Earth can be found in the depths of the Red Sea.
Moray eels, warts, tuna, caranx, unicorn fish, triggerfish, white-tip gray shark, hammerhead shark, butterfly fish, snappers, barracudas, turtles, dolphins, parrot fish, lionfish, eels, manta rays inhabit this sea.
Red Sea in Egypt
The most popular activity among divers is “safari” - going out to sea on a small boat or boat for one or several days to famous underwater attractions. And there are many of them.
The most famous and infamous of these is the Blue Hole. A popular and extreme destination for many inexperienced and arrogant divers, it became the final dive site.
The Blue Hole in Dahab is a vertical sinkhole surrounded by coral, 130 meters deep. At a depth of 50 meters, it communicates with the sea.
Video
However, Blue Hole is far from the only thing that attracts underwater sports enthusiasts in Egypt.
The choice is wide: Jackson Reef off Tira Island, Yolanda Reef and Shark Reef at Cape Muhammad, Reef Kerles, Reef Elfinston, Reef Dedelus (Abu el-Qizan), Reef Abu Nohas, Reef Woodhouse, Reef Thomas, Reef Gordon, Reef Lagoon, Cape Katie, Cape Um Sid, Cape Nazrani, Turtle Bay, Naama Bay, Tower, Near Garden, Middle Garden, Fan Garden, White Knight, Brothers Islands (El - Akawain).
Depending on your preparation, you can choose a dive site, the difficulty of which will match the experience. For example, diving at Jackson Reef is not considered difficult or hazardous. For the more experienced - Woodhouse Reef, Thomas Reef with strong underwater currents.
Of course, the ships “Thistlegorm”, “Dunraven”, dry cargo ship “GhiannisD” and sailboat “Carnetic” sunk in the Red Sea also do not remain without attention of diving fans.
The British naval dry cargo ship "Thistlegorm" was sunk by German bombers in the fall of 1941. Near it, at a depth of about 30 meters, lies a steam locomotive, carriages, motorcycles ... For the first time, the ship was discovered by Jacques Yves Cousteau.
Legendary diving pioneer Cousteau has been exploring the Red Sea for over ten years. The world first learned about the indescribable beauty of the Red Sea thanks to the books and underwater photography of Jacques Cousteau. His film In a World of Silence won the Palme d'Or in Cannes.
The underwater world is no less bright and fantastic in the Gulf of Eilat, where the depth reaches 1200 meters and the water is always calm.
Eilat
In Eilat, a coral reef comes close to the western shore of the bay.
On the beach of the Princess Hotel, near the Egyptian Taba, you can admire corals and fish from the bridges, as they say, without getting your feet wet. The water is so clean that you can clearly see the bottom at a depth of several meters. Moray eels, rays, sharks, dolphins, crabs, starfish inhabit the waters of the Red Sea.
Corals in the Red Sea on the western beaches of Eilat begin almost at the very coast. Therefore, you can enter the water only in specially designated places.
A mask and snorkel are enough to swim among the corals and their inhabitants. Often among the heap of reef corals you can find a threatening moray eel. It is absolutely safe to be in the water if you do not touch anything. Sharks prefer to live in the more southerly waters of the Red Sea, off the coast of Sudan. Coming to your vacation in Eilat, be sure to visit the Underwater Observatory and see for yourself the riot of colors and the endless variety of shapes and colors of the underwater world of the Red Sea.
The Red Sea is a relatively young sea. It appeared as a result of the East African rift about forty million years ago. In modern times, the Red Sea is famous for its fashionable resorts and a variety of unique flora and fauna.
Geographical position. The Red Sea or Arabian Gulf is an inland sea that separates Africa and the Arabian Peninsula of Eurasia and is part of the Indian Ocean. In the north, the Red Sea connects with the Mediterranean through the ancient, artificially created Suez Canal. In the south, the Red Sea borders the Arabian Sea through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Eight states are located on the shores of the Red Sea: Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan and Yemen have access to the sea on the Arabian Peninsula, and Egypt, Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea on the African continent. Relief and water. The sea got its name from the color of the bottom of the coast and the color of the water produced by microscopic algae and zoophytes (polyps, jellyfish, etc.). Not a single river flows into the Red Sea, so the sea water is very warm and crystal clear. In winter, the temperature does not drop below +18 ° С, and in summer it rises to +27 ° С. Due to the strong evaporation of warm water, the Red Sea is considered one of the saltiest water sources in the world - 38-40 grams of salt per liter. At the bottom of the sea there is a series of depressions filled with brines of different temperature and salinity. Outwardly, brines are similar to muddy soil or swirling fog, do not merge with the surrounding water and each year increase their temperature by 0.3-0.7 ° C, which indicates the heating of the depressions by the internal heat of the Earth. The chemical composition of such brines includes many metals, including precious ones. Flora and fauna. The unique picture of the underwater world of the Red Sea attracts tourists from all countries. Despite its salinity and high temperature, the richest underwater world of the Northern Hemisphere surprises with its inhabitants: clown fish, napoleon fish, moray eels, various types of corals, etc. Recently, the harmful effects of garbage emissions from tourists and local species of marine animals and fish, coral reefs. Transport and economic opportunities. The Red Sea is an important trade route between Europe and Asian countries. Its advantage over the old route, which runs through the entire coast of Africa, is 8000 kilometers. Thousands of cargo ships, tankers and passenger ships pass through the waters of the Red Sea every year. Despite all modern security methods, piracy still flourishes in the waters of the Red Sea. Armed groups from Somalia seize ships for ransom.
Legend has it that the waters of the Red Sea parted for the passage of the prophet Moses and his people from Egypt to Israel. Modernity keeps in the depths of the Red Sea not only Biblical memories, but also the sunken ships of the Second World War, which tourists can admire while studying the local underwater flora and fauna.
Where is Egypt on the world map? The Arab Republic of Egypt is a state located in North Africa on the Sinai Peninsula in Asia. That is why Egypt is called the country of two continents. From the north-east, the country borders with Israel and the Gaza Strip, from the south with Sudan, and from the west with Libya. The eastern part of the country borders on Palestine, and also has a sea border with Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
You can get to Egypt both by land transport and by plane, although, basically, many are interested in the time of the flight with transfers to Egypt, since they travel with children.
On a detailed map of the Red Sea coast, we can see that its waters wash the eastern part of the country, the north is washed by the Mediterranean Sea. And both seas are connected by an artificial Suez Canal, which opens the shortest route from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean. One of the greatest rivers in the world, the Nile, flows across the country from south to north.
On our website you can find a detailed map of Egypt - resorts and cities in Russian. Since tourism is one of the main directions of the country's economy, therefore, the most popular resort complexes are such as Luxor, Sharm El - Sheikh, Hurghada. Also on the map of Egypt you will find many monuments of the ancient Egyptian, Coptic, medieval civilization. The most visited are the Pyramids of Giza, the Valley of Kings and Queens, temples of the pharaohs, monuments of the medieval era in Islamic and Old Cairo.
Before you understand where the Red Sea is located on the map, it will be interesting to know about the factors under the influence of which factors it was formed. It should be noted that now it is the main "transport artery" in Israel, along which hundreds of ships move. But it might not have come to this, if not for the constantly developing engineering.
How it all began?
Red sea
The Red Sea is considered a very young sea because its history is only 30-40 million years old. The emergence of this body of water is directly related to the displacement of continental plates, namely African and Arabian. After that, a free space appeared, which over time began to fill with ocean waters.
History has it that the Phoenicians used the Red Sea in ancient times. Then they were known as skilled seafarers and traders, and this site provided them with access to the Indian Ocean. They used it to reach the shores of India, which was one of the main trade partners. Over time, when it became known about the existence of a cape located in southern Africa, the path from Europe to India shifted slightly. At the same time, a large body of water began to be used to a greater extent for internal transport links between different parts of its coast.
Later, in order to optimize relations between France and Egypt, it was decided to build the Suez Canal, but on the contrary, it quarreled the countries belonging to Europe and the Red Sea basin. Even the Arab-Israeli war broke out, which lasted from 1967 to 1973. The full functioning of the canal began only in 1975.
Interesting! This sea on the map looks like a tunnel connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean. Considering that it is the main channel for transporting goods between countries such as Africa, Asia and Europe, ships are not uncommon on it.
More detailed and scientific information
Despite the worldwide fame of one of the saltiest in Israel, not everyone knows exactly where the Red Sea is. And it is located between the continent of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. More precisely, it is a deep and narrow space, framed by steep and sheer slopes. Evaluating the Red Sea on the world map, it is noticeable that its length is several times greater than its width, namely 7 times.
On the southern side, the oceanic section, due to the presence of the Bab el-Mandeb Gulf, connects with the Aden Bay, and also opens access to the Indian Ocean. In the northern part it borders the Mediterranean Sea and the Suez Canal. The shores of the Red Sea are characterized by flat and sandy shores; rocky surfaces are very rare. Vegetation on them is scarce. Where the Red Sea is on the map, there are many small islands. The largest land areas are mainly located in the southern part. For example, in the middle of the Bab-el-Mandebsky Strait, an island with the name Perim rises, it is he who divides it into 2 parts.
Interesting! In the relief of the Red Sea, the shelf is clearly visible, its width increases in the direction from north to south, starting from 10 to 100 km. Upon reaching the 100-meter depth, a pronounced ledge of the continental slope begins.
Speaking about where and in which country the Red Sea is located, it is worth highlighting the following autonomous states:
- the Republic of Djibouti, located in East Africa;
- the state of Egypt, located in North Africa;
- Israel - located in the South-Western part of Asia;
- the Republic of Yemen - the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula;
- kingdom of Saudi Arabia - located on the Arabian Peninsula;
- East African states of Sudan and Eritrea.
The location of the depression in the continental-tropical climate zone explains the high temperature indices and significant seasonal variability. All this is a reflection of the thermal influence of the continents.
Flora, fauna and water
Colorful coral reefs of the red sea
Sea waters are characterized by a high salt concentration, which is explained by the scanty amount of precipitation and intense evaporation under such conditions. The salinity of the Red Sea is 41%. If you want to quickly find where the Red Sea is on the world map, focus on the tropical belt.
It is no exaggeration to say that the described part of the ocean is just a paradise for people such as:
- divers;
- anglers;
- underwater hunters.
A fascinating world opens up at the very shore, as soon as you put on a mask and dive under the water. First of all, it affects a huge number of corals of different colors, sea urchins, sponges and fish. At first glance, it may seem that in the brightness of color and unusual forms, local inhabitants compete with each other. Due to the ideal conditions created by nature itself, hundreds of species of flora and fauna are able to live and reproduce in the Red Sea. Even endemics (especially rare species, genera and families of plants / fish) can be found here.
Attention! To date, scientists have managed, exploring the seabed, to describe one and a half thousand invertebrates, no less species of fish, as well as about 300 species of corals that form huge and beautiful reefs.
Many people simply dream of seeing amazing landscapes with their own eyes, appreciating the beauty of underwater life. It is worth noting that modern ichthyologists believe that today only about 60% of the inhabitants of the Red Sea are open. It is difficult to explore the sea 100%, because in some places the depth reaches 3 km. Moreover, new questions are constantly appearing, to which scientists have not yet received answers. For example, why certain types of fish (30%) that live in one part of the sea cannot survive in another part.
Do not forget that in addition to its beauty, the sea space is fraught with many dangers. The most important are corals, sponges and jellyfish, which are strictly prohibited to touch. Injections from sea urchins and poisonous snake bites also leave burns. All this is fraught not only with allergic reactions and large blood loss, but also with death.
Visitors and vacationers looking at the Red Sea and its map will find many of the best vacation spots on its shores.
Several countries are located in this part of the planet, whose resorts are ready to meet travelers for almost a whole year, since the climate, weather, air and water temperatures are conducive to this. What does the Red Sea map have to offer? First of all, these are the resorts of Egypt, located along its two shores: on the mainland and on the Sinai (Arabian) Peninsula.
Red sea beach holiday map: mainland Egypt
The famous resorts of Egypt are located on the mainland (Africa). Hurghada is suitable primarily for families and families with children. Elguna (El Gouna) resort is very popular with romantics, couples in love, artists, musicians, ideal for wedding tours, and it is also called the "Venice" of Egypt. It is also quite quiet, but luxurious and expensive resort.
