| Red Sea | |
| Image Bathymetry: | Red Sea topographic map-en.jpg |
| Location: | North Africa, East Africa, and West Asia |
| Type: | Sea |
| Inflow: | Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Suez |
| Outflow: | Bab-el-Mandeb, Suez Canal |
| Basin Countries: | |
The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez—leading to the Suez Canal. It is underlain by the Red Sea Rift, which is part of the Great Rift Valley.
The Red Sea has a surface area of roughly,[1] is about long, and wide at its widest point. It has an average depth of, and in the central Suakin Trough it reaches its maximum depth of .[2]
Approximately 40% of the Red Sea is quite shallow at less than deep, and about 25% is less than deep. The extensive shallow shelves are noted for their marine life and corals. More than 1,000 invertebrate species and 200 types of soft and hard coral live in the sea. The Red Sea is the world's northernmost tropical sea, and has been designated a Global 200 ecoregion.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Red Sea as follows:[3]
Djibouti
Egypt
Eritrea
Israel
Jordan
Saudi Arabia
Sudan
Yemen