Red Sea

The Red Sea (Arabic البحر الأحمر al -Bahr al - ahmar; الخليج العربي Arab Arabian Gulf; Hebrew ' ים סוף Yam Suf; Tigrinya ቀይሕ ባሕሪ QeyH Bahri, Latin: Mare Erythraeum, Greek: Ἐρυθρὰ θάλασσα (translated Erythraeisches sea, known in Roman times under this name ) ) is a narrow, 2240 km long, up to 2604 m deep sea bordering the Indian Ocean between northeast Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The volume of the sea is 200,000 km ³, the surface is about 438,000 km ² with an average water depth of 538 m.

Position, structure and adjacent states

To the Red Sea include:

• Gulf of Suez ( north- western part): connection through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, adjoining State: Egypt
• Gulf of Aqaba ( Northeast ), adjacent countries: Israel ( Eilat ), Jordan ( Aqaba city ), Saudi Arabia, Egypt
• Bab al - Mandab: Strait in the south to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, bordering countries: Eritrea, Djibouti, Yemen

Bordering further state: Sudan

Geology

The Red Sea marks a geologically active spreading zone with intumescent magma (similar to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge ) and thereby causes the drifting apart of the African and the Arabian Plate for 130 million years. The formation of a sink made ​​clear to " only " 38 million years ago in the Oligocene, continues in the Rift Valley and is in many millions of years lead to a new ocean. Currently, the sea every year width in the north to 0.8 cm, in the South by 1.6 cm. After repeated isolation from the Indian Ocean, transient connection with the Mediterranean and even drying of the Red Sea reached its present condition until about 5000 years ago.

( " Gate of Tears " in Arabic ) to only 29 km and is connected to the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean to one, or more precisely to the Gulf of Aden, the wide sea narrows otherwise to 360 km at Bab al - Mandab part of the Indian Ocean is. In addition, this is due to narrowness of the sea floor is just 130 meters below the water level. This threshold hinders water exchange enormously, with the result that the Red Sea an unusually high salt content of 4.2 %, that is 42 g / l (normal ~ 3.5% in the North Sea near Sylt 3.0% to 3.2%) and relatively few nutrients has. This leads in turn to reduced growth of plankton, which is appreciated because of the often excellent visibility divers, also because of more than 2000 km coral reefs. In addition to coral gardens and walls draw some famous wrecks in the underwater friends. From occasional water inflows apart by wadis it is the only sea in the open no rivers. This also explains the good underwater visibility, since there are few suspended solids in the water.

On the threshold at Bab al - Mandab rises 16 ° C on cool deep water from the Gulf of Aden, which is a biological barrier for some species. This is an explanation of why there are no sea snakes in the entire Red Sea.

Even in ancient times there were various canal projects that connected the Mediterranean with the Red Sea. Completed in the 19th century Suez Canal is the current artificial link between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. See also: Lessepssche migration.

Naming

The name comes from the traditional system of designation of the compass by colors. For the first time the name is attested at the time of the Achaemenid: For those Iranian people of the sea was in the south, which was symbolized by the color red. So meant red sea " South Seas " (and similarly the Black Sea " North Sea "). Herodotus called this sea in connection with the sewer of Necho II and the "Arab Gulf ": For the later channel expansion, by the Isthmus in Ismailia resulted in several turns until the end of the narrow sea strip at Sue's in the "Arab bosom ," admitted he as distance 1000 stadia, and added, " that the Arab bosom that is what is also called the Red Sea ."

Strabo gives a lecture in his Geographica the views of Agatharchides to this name:

• Red soil on the east side of the sea
• Mountains on the west side are burned red by the sun
• Red color of the sea by the rising sun
• Naming by Erythras, son of Perseus
• Porphyry dust which is washed into the sea

Occasionally, the blue-green alga Trichodesmium erythraeum is used with its reddish -orange chlorophyll variant name Explanation: During intermittent algal blooms they can form all the carpets on the water surface. In Travel manuals frequently over the red hue of the sea and mountain ranges is told at sunrise.

Also possible that the name "Red Sea" of a translation from ancient Greek stems. The ancient Greeks referred to the areas south of Upper Egypt " Erythraia " ( erythros = AltGr. Red), probably because of the red color of the local earth and there frequently occurring red sandstone. The Erythräa offshore sea was therefore called the " Erythraean Sea", a name which was later extended to today's " Red Sea ". The Romans translated the name literally means " erythros " with "red". Today Eritrea is named after the Italian spelling of the word.

Another explanation goes back to the people of the Himyarites that prevailed in ancient times in the south- Arab region. Himyar is due to the word " chumr " which can be translated as " red" or " the Reds ". Accordingly, it was from the "Sea of ​​Himyarites " the "Sea of ​​Red ". Over time, this became " The Red Sea ".

In the early 16th century it was common practice to color the Red Sea on charts red.

Biodiversity

Predominant are fringing reefs just a few dozen to hundreds of meters off the coast or island nearby. In a few flat spots to patch reefs collect, how in the northeast of Hurghada, Safaga before, south of Ras Ghalib ( Marsa Ghalib also, Port Ghalib ) - such as the Elphinstone Reef - and south of Marsa Alam. In addition, there are three Riffgruppen far from the coast, surrounded by deep water: north-east of Al- Quseir (also El Quseir ) and the Brother Islands (Al- Akhawein ), southeast of Marsa Alam, the Daedalus Reef (Abu el- Kizan ) on the border with Sudan, at the height of Al Shalaten, St. John's island ( Geziret Zabargad ) and Rocky Iceland.

Due to the topographical distribution barriers and specific ecological situation with widely varying conditions, a playground of evolution developed and many species are endemic. But there are also almost all kinds from across the Indo-Pacific, although the faunal composition differs unusually strong. One can find turtles, rare the oceanic whitetip sharks, white tip reef shark, gray reef shark and manta ray. The rare whale sharks usually come only in relatively small specimens of max. 5-6 m before that barely countable population of the fork -tailed manatee seems to be about to collapse. You should remember in the enumeration of Napoleon wrasse, bump head parrot fish (both are sometimes confused ), PhD, Kaiser, lionfish, ball and porcupine fish, blue spotted stingrays, octopus and many more. Moray eels, some extremely large specimens, see especially the end of August to early September (presumably the spawning season ), unusually, even during the day then meander in free water. What is striking is the overall lower species diversity than in tropical areas. Frequently encountered in boating, in rare cases, luck while snorkeling and diving in the bottlenose dolphin and spinner dolphin.

The diversity of birds is naturally very low, except for some culture followers. Nevertheless, some interesting ornithological representatives find. This allows Palm ( Streptopelia senegalensis, Eng. Laughing Dove ) and collared doves ( Streptopelia decaocto, Eng. Collared Dove ), the Great Caspian tern (Sterna caspia, Eng. Caspian Tern ) and the Sooty Tern (Sterna fuscata, Eng. Sooty Tern ). seen The coastal Heron ( Egretta gularis, Eng. Western Reef Heron, up to 55 cm) presented in a black, a white and a mixed version, also are beach runner (English sandpiper ) and Sparrowhawk ( Accipiter nisus, Eng. Sparrowhawk ) to watch. Especially in the northern part of the Red Sea may also rare kingfishers ( alcedinidae, Eng. Kingfisher ) on the seashore are sighted in the overthrow of fish, while the African Black Stork ( Ciconia nigra, Eng. Black Stork ) can be seen more in the southern part. A special feature is the endemic Weißaugenmöwe. With luck are osprey (Pandion haliaetus, to 50 cm; sometimes shakes like a buzzard over the reef ) with striking white bottom while hunting on the reef observed. Who to mid-October bored in this area early, can observe the flight of countless migratory birds to the south - a breathtaking spectacle. Overnight, then often all the trees around occupied. Back it goes again mid to end of March.

Environmental damage

Have advantages Hurghada to one of mass tourism, which rapidly spreads to the south, on the other hand the introduction of untreated sewage, wild anchors and coral bleaching coral many irreversibly damaged or completely destroyed. It is assumed that the destruction will progress rapidly even in the southernmost parts, on the border with Sudan. Exemplary mass liveaboards have here a significant proportion. The illegal fishing in protected coral reefs is common, even meat of sea cows and sharks is occasionally offered in Hurghada. So there have been dozens of oceanic whitetip sharks at Elphinstone few years ago, while here now more than two or three are seen in other places any more. The population of dugongs seems to be about to collapse.

The HEPCA (Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association) is a non-governmental organization, founded in 1992, the protection of the Egyptian sea part with all the animals over and adopted under water. These include, inter alia, the installation of over 1,000 mooring buoys to prevent damage caused by wild anchors ( see links. )

At the Dolphin House is the restriction of the boats and the establishment of protected areas has some causes.

Some dive company on site demand, the number of dive boats to limit the same anchorage in order to reduce the disturbance of ancestral animals by divers and avoid that coral blocks are torn by several inter- moored ships at sea.

19 June 2010 it was announced that due to a leak at an oil platform near Hurghada a previously undetermined amount of oil has leaked ( official bodies speak of 20-40 barrels, environmentalists expect a far higher dirt off), which, according to the responsible oil company the coastal area has polluted over a length of 160 km. A according to official figures approximately 20 -mile-long oil slick drives in front of Hurghada coast. According to the environmental organization HEPCA the leak was temporarily closed and there is now back from oil. In addition to various tourist beaches ( 90% already cleaned) are also 5 large coral reefs, as well as two untapped islands harboring a nature reserve, affected and partially damaged. On 25 June 2010 verlautbarte the Egyptian Petroleum Ministry that the oil slick was probably not caused by a leak at an oil rig, but by an oil tanker that lost in the purification on the high seas oil residues.