Depth of the Red Sea, underwater world, countries, coordinates. Why the Red Sea is called the Red Sea

The warmest, the most affectionate, the most salty, the most beautiful - this is it, the Red Sea, a favorite place for beach-dancers, divers and tourists. The depth of the Red Sea hides a lot of unusual beauty, and each of the surrounding ancient countries is shrouded in a halo of mystery.

Characteristic

The Red Sea on the map looks like a narrow slit between Africa and Eurasia. The length of the reservoir is 2350 km, and the width is only 350 km. The total area is 450 thousand km ² . Coordinates: 21 ° 08'45 "sec. W. 38 ° 06'02 "in. Etc. Since the sea is surrounded by land almost from all sides, it refers to the inner seas of the Indian Ocean. Most of the reservoir is in the tropical belt. The Red Sea connects with the Indian Ocean through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait of the Arabian Sea. The artificially created Suez Canal allows ships to pass from the Mediterranean Sea to Krasnoye and further to the Indian Ocean, without skirting the entire African continent.

The depth of the Red Sea is maximum expressed by the figure 2211 (although in some sources the figures range from 2,200 to 3,020 m), the average is considered to be a depth of 490 m.

This is the Indian Sea basin "young". He is only 25 million years old. It was formed because of the fault of the tectonic continental plates, which are now slowly but surely moving away from each other. The zone of the Red Sea and its shores is a seismically active region. In the cracks that result from the movement of plates, magma is immediately poured in, which quickly cools. Studies show that the temperature of the water in the Red Sea in some depressions reaches 62 ° C. There is another distinctive feature: the greater the depth, the warmer the water, and not vice versa, as in all other seas.

The coastal line is not distinguished by special convolutions and deep bays, the banks are almost parallel to each other. Shallowing at the shore does not exceed a depth of 200 m, then the bottom of the Red Sea forms a deep-sea cavity - up to 1000 m. Approximately in the middle is the deepest part, where the maximum data is recorded.

Why is the Red Sea called Red?

A single definite version of the name of this tropical sea does not exist. One legend says that the ancient peoples endowed the parties with the names of colors: north - black, east - white, south - red. It turns out that the Red Sea is the southern sea.

Opponents of this version argue that the Red is still the color of water that gives the sea special brown algae during flowering.

There is one more answer to the question of why the Red Sea is called the Red Sea. Desert, stretched along its banks, the ancient Egyptians called the Red Land. This color gives it the local sand with stones. At certain times, the display of the desert in the water makes it exquisitely coral.

No one can with certainty approve the correctness of this or that interpretation, there are no documentary records about this. But is it really important? You can think of something yourself. For example, red means beautiful and warm. After all, this is so. The Red Sea is the warmest of all the terrestrial seas, the average annual temperature of its water is 22 ^o C.

Features of "red" water

Another use of the epithet "most" for the Red Sea. It is the most saline pond of the World Ocean (after the Dead Sea). This situation, when evaporation of water occurs much faster than its filling, leads to the fact that the salinity of water in the Red Sea is approximately 4 times higher than the average throughout the world and is 41 g per liter of water. For comparison: the Black Sea contains 18 liters in 1 liter, and the White Sea - 5. The expedition to study the features of sea water has been found places where the Red Sea had a salt concentration of 200 g / l!

Another reservoir is distinguished by the fact that its water is not replenished by any freshwater river from land. Usually, along with continental water, many different impurities enter the sea. Deprived of this privilege, the Red Sea remains the purest and most transparent.

Healing properties

Already one thing is that the change of places and the excitement of exotic beauties raise the mood and, accordingly, the vitality, is an important reason for traveling to the unknown countries. In addition to purely psychological discharge, the water of the Red Sea, like sea air, has a whole bouquet of medicinal properties. A very large concentration of salt is famous for the Dead Sea, but it is "dead", in contrast to the Red Sea "alive", but also very salty, as already mentioned. The high concentration of various salts possesses strong wound healing and antibacterial properties.

In addition to salts, the sea water of the sea contains a number of minerals, the composition of which is able to cure some forms of female infertility. The saturation of water and air with bromine cures diseases of the respiratory system, in combination with warm and dry air can completely cure chronic rhinitis. The positive effect of the Red Sea is experienced by people suffering from diseases of the joints, spine, cardiovascular diseases, having problematic skin. But vegeto-vascular dystonia from heat and dryness can give an aggravation. This is not a contraindication, just sunny and sea baths need to alternate with rest in a cool place.

Undersea world

What else can the countries of the Red Sea boast of (Egypt, Sudan, Djibouti, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Israel and Jordan) is so because their sea is the most beautiful. More precisely, its underwater world. Unlike the Dead Sea, whose strong concentration of salt killed all life, Red's life boils and bubbles. If the terrestrial landscape around the coasts is rather dull and monotonous, then the situation under the water is strikingly bright with bright colors and saturation. This is how to compare the gray, inconspicuous little towns with the bright Brazilian festival.

"Fish soup" - so often referred to as the underwater world of the Red Sea because of the many varieties of its inhabitants. The constantly warm temperature, abundance of food led to the fact that there live 1200 names of fish, 100 of which are not found anywhere else in the world. Tropical inhabitants of the most varied sizes are dressed in bright "clothes", as if they understand that it is necessary to attract tourists. In fact, this is due to the fact that the multicolored bright color allows you to mask among the same bright and multicolor corals. All this palette of coral reefs and fish attracts year-round lovers of scuba diving.

Dolphins, killer whales, sharks and sea turtles also live in the southern sea.

Traveling under water

The shores of the Red Sea are attracted every year by crowds of tourists, whose main entertainment is excursions under the water. After the stories about the fantastic pictures of the fish kingdom by divers, even those who did not think to dive under the water seriously become here. However, you can observe the underwater world of the Red Sea in various ways:

• Diving - diving under water with scuba gear and special equipment. To avoid unpleasant and dangerous situations for this entertainment you need to go through special training and get a certificate. At the resorts are now practicing for beginners to dive together with the instructor, under his supervision.
• Snorkeling is a shallow dive. All you need is a mask, fins and a pipe. Transparent water allows you to observe the underwater fauna, as much as you like.
• Bathyscaphe - if it is absolutely scary or impermissible to dive into the sea depths, you can look at the beauty of their inhabitants through the glass bottom of a special pleasure craft.

The beautiful is dangerous

The depth of the Red Sea not only amazes with beauty, sometimes, if you do not follow the elementary rules, a walk can be dangerous. What unpleasant things can you find here?

• Sharks. More are found in places where the Red Sea is washing the shores of the Sudan. Near the popular Egyptian resorts are rare, but still the rules of behavior with them you need to know. First of all, it is recommended not to swim far, having on the body uninhabited bleeding wounds: the blood of a shark senses after a kilometer.
• Barracudas, moray eels hide in reefs. Lethally they are not dangerous, but they can seriously bite the fish by taking the swimmer for the fish.
• Poisonous inhabitants - sea snakes, wart, lionfish, sea urchins, stingrays, some kinds of jellyfish and sea stars - emit dangerous poisons for humans, some of them cause mild indisposition, and some are deadly. After receiving any injection under the water, immediately consult a doctor.

Coastal climate

The countries of the Red Sea are among the hottest on the planet, almost all of them are in a tropical desert climate. The Mediterranean climate in the north of the region is a little easier.

• Temperature regime. The hottest period is July and August, the daytime temperatures reach 38-43 ° C, and at the most 50 ° C. The coldest period is winter with temperatures of 25-30 ° C during the day and at least 18 ° C at night.
• Wind. Winter temperatures comfortable for Europeans spoil the strong and long winds. In the spring of fifty days in a row, a desert hot hamsin can blow.
• Precipitation. Rare short showers bring the sea only 8 cm of rain per year, and the hot tropical sun evaporates 205 cm. The level of the Red Sea is supported by the waters of the Indian Ocean.

Briefly about countries

The Red Sea on the map looks like an ordinary large watershed between two continents. The main natural wealth of the countries along its coasts is the desert and the sea, in some places - oil.

• Egypt, the capital - Cairo. The most popular destination for tourist routes and beach holidays. In addition to the red sea beauty of tourists, the ancient history of this country, its mysterious pyramids and sphinxes, the banks of the Nile and the exotic life of the Bedouins attract.
• Sudan, the capital is Khartoum. The Red Sea is for this power the only maritime "outlet to the light." Sudan is an intermediary between the Arab and African worlds, the main path of pilgrims from eastern Africa to religious shrines.
• Eritrea, the capital - Asmara. The small but very dry and hot patch of the desert of Danakil, which stretches a little more than a kilometer along the coastline, blocked access to the large Ethiopian sea. The struggle for independence ended in victory, but economic problems have only just begun and the tourism sphere is the main line of replenishment of the budget.
• Israel, the capital - Jerusalem. Economically developed country of the Middle East with a rich history and cultural attractions. It has access to two seas - the Dead and the Red, on the banks of which there are world famous hospitals.
• Jordan, the capital - Amman. An arid and desolate climate, very scarce water reserves, which are only slightly replenished from November to April, during the rainy season - such a seemingly small Asian country looks like Jordan. The Red Sea for this power, as well as for its other neighbors, is an excellent prospect to attract tourists and foreign capital, since its natural resources are insignificant.
• Saudi Arabia, the capital - Riyadh. The rich oil queen of the Middle East, whose reserves of basic wealth are the largest in the world. A successful location in the center of sea routes is used to transport oil and other traffic. The problem was the pollution of the coast by oil waste.
• Yemen, the capital is Sana'a. A small state in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula is washed by the Red and Arabian seas. Such a place is very beneficial for trade routes. Yemen is a very poor country in the past, which dramatically increased its oil production in the 1990s and since then has been steadily moving towards welfare growth.
• Djibouti with the capital of the same name. In this country, a desert, hot and dry climate. There are no permanent rivers here. The vegetation cover is desert or semidesert. The animal world is poor.

All countries on the Red Sea coast, both African and Asian, both rich and poor, have one thing in common - the availability of resorts and tourist attractions.

Resorts of the Red Sea

The most prestigious and fashionable resorts on the Red Sea are in Egypt. They are also among the most popular. The developed infrastructure, service, colorful coast allows finding places for quiet family rest, and for noisy youth. Sharm el-Sheikh, Hurghada, Taba, Dahab are just some of the many famous places. In addition to beach recreation, tourists like sea cruises, travel to shrines that are very close.

A comparatively new resort of El-Guna became a worthy alternative to familiar and familiar resort places. It is called eastern Venice. The islands, on which the hotels and beautiful gardens are located, are created man-made and connected among themselves by elegant bridges. If you add to this and the fact that the resort is located in a cozy bay, closed from the winds, it becomes clear what he attracted attention.

The only Israeli resort on the Red Sea, Eilat, is far from places of pilgrimage to shrines and, unlike the Dead Sea vacation spots, has an entertaining direction. Here is a huge aquarium, which is a room with walls of glass in the middle of a coral reef. Watching life under water can be without scuba.

The Gulf of the Red Sea Aqaba and the eponymous resort were chosen by divers. This place also differs in that the rest is comfortable here at any time of the year. The mountains along the shore protect the bay from strong winds, and the water temperature does not drop below 22 °.

The rest of the powers on the coast, although they can not compete with these resorts in terms of beach rest, gladly reveal their secrets to the numerous tourists who are interested in the history, culture and life of this region.

The Islands

The islands in the Red Sea are small in size, but unsurpassed in their beauty. Some of them are not even marked on maps, the nature of these places is sometimes wild and untouched by man. Constantly populated by the local population only four islands. The main occupation here is pearl mining. This fishery began as early as the time of the ancient Romans and continues to this day, in the same way.

The largest archipelago is located near Eritrea, called Dahlak. The largest population lives on the island of Dahlak Kebir. On one of the islands called Nokra, in the 70s was the naval base of the Soviet Union.

For lovers of contemplating the beauty that hides the depth of the Red Sea, an unforgettable experience leaves the island of Bryzers. This large and small brothers, together with the neighboring small islands of Rocky and Zabargad make up a unique underwater Marine Park. For inspection of underwater depths without aqualung, there are two submarines with a special transparent bottom and huge portholes.

Not far from Hurghada is located another coral reserve on the island of Mahmey.

Secrets and legends

Beauty of the sea depths, exotic representatives of flora and fauna, medicinal air and water are the main charms of this region. The main, but not the only ones. Still, the shores of the Red Sea are covered with legends, historical events and unsolved mysteries. It was through the waters of the Red Sea that Moses led the Jews with God's help, spreading the hands of his water. Divers and scuba divers are attracted not only by sea inhabitants and the beauty of corals. The sea abyss can compete with the museum in terms of the number of antiques hidden in it. The shortest route from Asia to Europe was not always smooth and cloudless. Reefs became a deadly obstacle for ships at different times.

Another mystical mystery of the Red Sea is a dangerous but beautiful vertical huge coral cave near the city of Dahab.

Whatever reasons prompted the traveler to visit the Red Sea coast, he will not be disappointed: there are plenty of rest and impressions and drive in this region.