The Red Sea
The Red Sea is an arm of the Indian Ocean. Surrounding it are the continents of
Africa and Asia. It separates the Arabian Peninsula in Asia from the western Egypt,
northwestern Sudan, and northern Ethiopia: all of which in Africa. The Red Sea is about
1,400 miles long and around 220 miles wide. It’s average depth is around 2,000feet deep.
The sea alone is a little bit larger than California.
The sea is very dangerous when it comes to navigation, for large reefs inhabit the
waters. The only place for considerate navigation is a small 20 mile wide channel in the
southern half of the sea. This then comes surprising to say for the Red Sea is one of the
busiest trade routes in the world. This made possible by dredging and blasting of the coral
reefs.
The sea’s name was brought on one of two suspected ways. One being that the
water is usually a very bluish-green, but because red algae is present the water often times
looks a copper like color. Another reasoning is the sea was named after it’s coastal
mountains which contain many mineral deposits and consist of a reddish tone.
Some problems the locals and the Red Sea face are that the Red Sea waters are
among the saltiest in the world, this mixed with high temperature result in high salt
concentrations on the water’s surface. People have to live with the salt, but to get a little
The Essay on Sea Cucumbers Water Cucumber One
Sea cucumbers are visual fascinating organisms. To the untrained eye, one may ask whether the sea cucumber is plant or animal. They are distinguished from the other Echinoderms by the lack of a skeleton that is made up of calcerous plates fixed together. Instead, the soft skin is reinforced with microscopic plates and spicules called ossicles, giving it a leathery texture. All other Echinoderms ...
use out of it they often times collect the water and then collect the salt from that for use
in local stores and businesses.
Navigation is often a problem. The trade routes are often times busily crowded and
only one or two routes are available. Affecting the navigation is that coral reefs block many
ways, irregular currents can push a small vessel off track, and strong winds and sandstorms
also make it difficult for even some very large vessels. Solutions for this haven’t taken
much impact. Dredging and blasting are what keep one canal open. Another alternative
is to find different means of transportation. Flying has proven somewhat affective for
transportation but not for trade. Caravans were used in biblical times and in the past but
would take too long in this day in age.
The earlier solution that was taken of blasting and dredging of the reefs then brings
up another problem. Destruction of coral reefs. This process does some good and some
bad. Good for it helps with the trade routes, but does bad for destroying the reefs. The
solution that was actually used was to fight the dredgers. This brought on to the ability for
them to only blast and dredge the areas or high boat and vessel concentration.
Fishing isn’t too much a problem, but the sea doesn’t provide a great number of
each kind of fish to make commercial fishing profitable. This problem isn’t too bad for it
is backed up with an equal economical solution. Due to the variety of fish scuba diving
makes for great recreation and for business for some as guides and researchers.
There is a great variety of sea animal life within the sea. Dolphins and sea turtles
are among the animals in a adequate majority. The most sea life though is the fish. With
more than four hundred species. This makes scuba diving a must see and do for Red Sea
The Term Paper on Coral Reefs Reef Fish Great
Coral Reefs, The City Under the Ocean By Nick Gray Mr. Mullen English 1102 27, February 1999 Coral Reefs: The City Under the Ocean. It was a hot sunny day off the Bahamas shoreline when my family and I went snorkeling for the first time. We took a boat out to the coral reef and dove down to find an underwater beauty. There were many different forms of life including colorful fish, different types ...
tourists and residents.
The climate of the area is monsoon like but without all of the rain. The area is a dry
region, but because of it’s type of climate is very humid. The temperature stays fairly high
year round. It stays around 70 degrees Fahrenheit on average and the water around
65 degrees Fahrenheit. In the summer the temperature averages 90 degrees
fahrenheit and the water is very warm at an average of 80 degrees fahrenheit. The
winter though is when the little bit of rain they get occurs. The winter is also the time for
the best visibility under the water for scuba divers because the cool water is usually unable
to support algae and plankton life.
You may have heard about the sea in a famous story from the Bible. The waters of
the sea were parted. The Israelites then escaped to Egypt. Even at this time the Red Sea,
along with the Mediterranean Sea, were important trade routes. Camel and donkey
transported goods between the two at this time and continued to before the Suez Canal
opened in 1869 to connect the two.
Recreational activities attracts many tourist to the sea. Scuba diving is the most pop-
ular attraction, for the sea has over 400 different species of fish. Wind-surfing is a popular
activity among the local residents. Many businesses offer many water sports including banana
boating, jet skiing, water skiing, and parasailing. Fishing is also a recreational activity, but isn’t
profitable enough to become commercial.
Sources used were Compton’s Encyclopedia on the computer, World Book on
computer, School encyclopedias, and Internet. The internet sites were www.red-sea.com
and its.idx.gov.ed/tourism/docs/red_sea/redsea.htm.
