Sea · Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a long, narrow sea between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Its warm, very salty water is home to colourful coral reefs and more than 1 200 kinds of fish.
Picture credit: Serhio Magpie (CC BY 4.0) · Romazur (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Bernard Gagnon (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Red Sea?
Part of: Indian Ocean.
Countries on its coasts: Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan.
The story behind it
The Red Sea is about 2 250 km long but only about 355 km wide at its widest point. It formed when the Arabian Peninsula began to split away from Africa, and the two sides are still slowly drifting apart, so the sea keeps getting wider. No big rivers flow into it, and the hot sun makes a lot of water evaporate. That is why it is one of the saltiest seas in the world. In summer the water at the surface is about 26 °C in the north and 30 °C in the south. Coral reefs line about 2 000 km of its coasts, where fish, 44 kinds of sharks and many other animals live. In the south, a strait called Bab-el-Mandeb leads to the Indian Ocean. In the north, the Suez Canal connects it to the Mediterranean, so it is one of the busiest shipping routes in the world.
Find it on the globe
Red Sea is there as a name written across its water — tap the water and its card opens. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.
Questions children ask
How big is the Red Sea?
The Red Sea covers about 438 000 km² and is about 2 250 km long. Its deepest point, in the Suakin Trough, is about 3 040 m deep, although some measurements give a little less.
Why is it called the Red Sea?
Nobody knows for sure. One idea is that tiny red algae sometimes bloom near the surface, and another is that old peoples used colours to name directions, with red standing for the south.
Why is the Red Sea so salty?
It is very hot, so a lot of water evaporates, and almost no rivers bring in fresh water. The salt stays behind, especially in the north.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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