View source for Red Sea

{{Short description|Arm of the Indian Ocean between Asia and Africa}}
{{About|the body of water between Asia and Africa}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{More citations needed|date=June 2024}}
{{Confusing|date=June 2024}}
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name = Red Sea
| image_bathymetry = Red Sea topographic map-en.jpg
| caption_bathymetry = Map of the Red Sea
| location = [[North Africa]], [[East Africa]], and [[West Asia]]
| coords = {{Coord|22|N|38|E|region:EG_type:waterbody_scale:1000000|display=inline,title}}
| type = [[Sea]]
| inflow = [[Gulf of Aden]], [[Gulf of Suez]]
| outflow = [[Bab-el-Mandeb]], [[Suez Canal]]
| catchment =
| basin_countries = * {{flag|Djibouti}}
* {{flag|Egypt}}
* {{flag|Eritrea}}
* {{flag|Israel}}
* {{flag|Jordan}}
* {{flag|Saudi Arabia}}
* {{flag|Sudan}}
* {{flag|Yemen}}
| length = {{cvt|2250|km|mi}}
| width = {{cvt|355|km|mi}}
| area = {{cvt|438000|km2|sqmi}}
| depth = {{cvt|490|m|ft}}
| max-depth = {{cvt|2730|m|ft}}
| volume = {{cvt|233000|km3|cumi}}
| residence_time =
| shore =
| elevation =
| frozen =
| islands =
| cities =
| mapframe = yes
| mapframe-stroke-width = 1
| mapframe-zoom = 3
}}
{{Contains special characters}}

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 the north of the Red Sea lies the [[Sinai Peninsula]], the [[Gulf of Aqaba]], and the [[Gulf of Suez]], which leads 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 {{cvt|438,000|km2|sqmi}},<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 June 2008 |title=State of the Marine Environment Report for the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden: 2006 |url=https://www.cbd.int/doc/meetings/mar/ebsaws-2015-02/other/ebsaws-2015-02-persga-submission1-en.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421194829/https://www.cbd.int/doc/meetings/mar/ebsaws-2015-02/other/ebsaws-2015-02-persga-submission1-en.pdf |archive-date=21 April 2021 |access-date=25 January 2020}}</ref> is about {{cvt|2250|km|mi}} long, and {{cvt|355|km|mi}} across at its widest point. It has an average depth of {{cvt|490|m|ft}}, and in the central Suakin Trough, it reaches its maximum depth of {{cvt|2730|m|ft}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dinwiddie |first=Robert |title=Ocean: The World's Last Wilderness Revealed |date=2008 |publisher=Dorling Kindersley |isbn=978-0-7566-2205-3 |editor-last=Thomas |editor-first=Louise |location=London |pages=452}}</ref>

The Red Sea is quite shallow, with approximately 40% of its area being less than {{cvt|100|m|ft}} deep, and approximately 25% being less than {{cvt|50|m|ft}} deep. The extensive shallow shelves are noted for their marine life and [[coral]]s. 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.

== Extent ==
The [[International Hydrographic Organization]] defines the limits of the Red Sea as follows:<ref>{{Cite web |year=1953 |title=Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd edition |url=https://iho.int/uploads/user/pubs/standards/s-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008191433/http://www.iho.int/iho_pubs/standard/S-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf |archive-date=8 October 2011 |access-date=28 December 2020 |publisher=International Hydrographic Organization}}</ref>{{blockquote|''On the North.'' The Southern limits of the [[Gulf of Suez|Gulfs of Suez]] [A line running from [[Ras Muhammad National Park|Ràs Muhammed]] (27°43'N) to the South point of [[Shadwan]] Island (34°02'E) and thence Westward on a parallel (27°27'N) to the coast of [[Africa]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> and [[Gulf of Aqaba|Aqaba]] [A line running from Ràs al Fasma Southwesterly to Requin Island ({{coord|27|57|N|34|36|E|display=inline}}) through [[Tiran Island]] to the Southwest point thereof and thence Westward on a parallel (27°54'N) to the coast of the [[Sinai Peninsula]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>.

''On the South.'' A line joining [[Hisn Murad|Husn Murad]] ({{coord|12|40|N|43|30|E|display=inline}}) and [[Ras Siyyan]] ({{coord|12|29|N|43|20|E|display=inline}}).}}

== Exclusive economic zone ==
[[Exclusive economic zones]] in Red Sea:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sea Around Us {{!}} Fisheries, Ecosystems and Biodiversity |url=http://www.seaaroundus.org/data/#/eez |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223181456/http://www.seaaroundus.org/data/#/eez |archive-date=23 February 2016 |access-date=25 February 2021 |website=www.seaaroundus.org}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:100%"
|-
! Number
! Country
! Area (Km<sup>2</sup>)
|-
| align=center | 1 || {{KSA}} || align=center | 186,392
|-
| align=center | 2 || {{SUD}} || align=center | 92,513
|-
| align=center | 3 || {{EGY}} || align=center | 91,279
|-
| align=center | 4 || {{ERI}} || align=center | 78,383
|-
| align=center | 5 || {{YEM}} || align=center | 35,861
|-
| align=center | 6 || {{DJI}} || align=center | 7,037
|- style="background:#9acdff;"
! Total
| '''Red Sea''' || align=center | '''491,465'''
|}
Note: [[Halaib Triangle|Hala'ib Triangle]] disputed between Sudan and Egypt and calculated for both.

[[File:Tihama on the Red Sea near Khaukha, Yemen.jpg|thumb|[[Tihama]] on the Red Sea near Khaukha, [[Yemen]]]]
[[File:Empty Coast in Farasan Island.jpg|thumb|Red Sea coast seen from [[Farasan Islands]]]]

== Name ==
Red Sea has names in many languages of the region:
* {{langx|ar|البحر الأحمر|translit=al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar|label=[[Modern Standard Arabic]]}}; {{langx|ar|بحر القلزم|translit=Baḥr al-Qulzum|links=no|label=Medieval [[Arabic]]}};
* {{Langx|he|הַיָּם הָאָדוֹם|translit=hayYām hāʾĀḏōm}}; {{Langx|hbo|יַם-סוּף|translit=[[Yam Suph|Yam Sūp̄]]}}
* {{langx|cop|ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ|Phiom Enhah}}, or {{langx|cop|ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ|Phiom ǹšari|label=none}}
* {{langx|ti|ቀይሕ ባሕሪ|Qeyyiḥ bāḥrī}}
* {{Langx|so|Badda Cas}}
* {{langx|aa|Qasa Bad}}.

The English term ''Red Sea'' is a direct translation of the [[Ancient Greek]] ''Erythrà Thálassa'' ({{lang|grc|Ἐρυθρὰ Θάλασσα}}). The sea itself was once referred to as the [[Erythraean Sea]] by Europeans. As well as ''Mare Rubrum'' in [[Latin]] (alternatively ''Sinus Arabicus'', literally "Arabian Gulf"), the Romans called it ''Pontus Herculis'' (Sea of Hercules).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Phillips |first1=Carl |last2=Villeneuve |first2=François |last3=Facey |first3=William |title=A Latin inscription from South Arabia |journal=Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies |date=2004 |volume=34 |pages=239–250 |jstor=41223821 }}</ref> Other designations include the Arabic {{langx|ar|البحر الأحمر|Al-Baḥr Al-Aḥmar|label=none}} (alternatively {{langx|ar|بحر القلزم|Baḥr Al-Qulzum|the Sea of [[Clysma]]|label=none}}); the Coptic {{langx|cop|ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ̀ⲛϣⲁⲣⲓ|Phiom ̀nšari|label=none}}; the [[Syriac language|Syriac]] {{langx|syc|ܝܡܐ ܣܘܡܩܐ|Yammāʾ summāqā|label=none}}; the Somali {{lang|so|Badda Cas}}; and the Tigrinya {{langx|ti|ቀይሕ ባሕሪ|Qeyyiḥ bāḥrī|label=none}}. The name of the sea may signify the seasonal blooms of the red-coloured ''[[Trichodesmium|Trichodesmium erythraeum]]'' near the water's surface.<ref name="britannica">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Red Sea {{!}} sea, Middle East |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica Online Library Edition |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Red-Sea |access-date=14 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123232055/https://www.britannica.com/place/Red-Sea |archive-date=23 January 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Some{{Who|date=October 2009}} suggest that it refers to the mineral-rich red [[mountain]]s nearby, which are called Harei Edom ({{langx|he|הרי אדום|links=no}}). ''[[Edom]]'', meaning "ruddy complexion", is also an alternative [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] name for the red-faced biblical character [[Esau]] (brother of [[Jacob]]), and the nation descended from him, the [[Edomites]], which in turn provides yet another possible origin for ''Red Sea''.{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} --> A theory favored by some modern scholars is that the name ''red'' refers to the direction south, just as the [[Black Sea]]'s name may refer to the north. The basis of this theory is that some [[Pre-Indo-European languages|Asiatic languages]] used color words to refer to the [[5 cardinal point|cardinal directions]].<ref name="ChiTra">{{Cite web |title=How the Red Sea Got its Name |url=http://www.smithsonianjourneys.org/blog/how-the-red-sea-got-its-name-180950850/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190926131326/https://www.smithsonianjourneys.org/blog/how-the-red-sea-got-its-name-180950850/ |archive-date=26 September 2019 |access-date=20 July 2015}}</ref> [[Herodotus]] on one occasion uses the Red Sea and Southern Sea interchangeably.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schmitt |first1=Rüdiger |chapter=Considerations on the name of the Black Sea: what can the historian learn from it? |pages=219–224 |editor1-last=Leschhorn |editor1-first=Wolfgang |editor2-last=Miron |editor2-first=Auguste V. B. |editor3-last=Miron |editor3-first=Andrei |title=Hellas und der griechische Osten: Studien zur Geschichte und Numismatik der griechischen Welt : Festschrift für Peter Robert Franke zum 70. Geburtstag |date=1996 |publisher=SDV Saarbrücker Druckerei und Verlag GmbH |isbn=978-3-930843-12-1 }}</ref>

The name ''[[Yam Suph]]'' ({{langx|he|ים סוף|lit=Sea of Reeds|links=no}}) is of biblical origin.

The name in Coptic {{Lang|cop|ⲫⲓⲟⲙ 'ⲛϩⲁϩ}} ''Phiom Enhah'' ("Sea of Hah") is connected to [[Egyptian language|the Ancient Egyptian]] root ''ḥ-ḥ'' which refers to water and sea (for example the names of the [[Ogdoad (Egyptian)|Ogdoad]] gods [[Heh (god)|Heh and Hauhet]]).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vycichl |first=Werner |title=Dictionnaire Etymologique de La Langue Copte |publisher=Peeters |year=1983 |location=Leuven |pages=320}}</ref>

Historically, it was also known to western geographers as ''Mare Mecca'' (Sea of [[Mecca]]), and ''Sinus Arabicus'' (Gulf of [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabia]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Arabia |url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/2919/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605202421/http://www.wdl.org/en/item/2919/ |archive-date=5 June 2013 |access-date=11 August 2013 |publisher=World Digital Library}}</ref> Some ancient geographers called the Red Sea the Arabian Gulf<ref>{{Cite book |last=Michael D. Oblath |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c5ya9QVCpIkC&q=Red+sea+as+Arabian+gulf&pg=PA53 |title=The Exodus itinerary sites: their locations from the perspective of the biblical sources |publisher=Peter Lang |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-8204-6716-0 |page=53 |access-date=19 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210065000/https://books.google.com/books?id=c5ya9QVCpIkC&q=Red+sea+as+Arabian+gulf&pg=PA53 |archive-date=10 February 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> or the Gulf of Arabia.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1525/9780520943728-073 |chapter=Fish Stocks/ Overfishing |title=Encyclopedia of Islands |date=2019 |last1=Brodziak |first1=Jon |pages=310–311 |isbn=978-0-520-94372-8 }}</ref>

The association of the Red Sea with the [[Bible|biblical]] account of the Israelites [[crossing the Red Sea]] is ancient. It was made explicit in the [[Septuagint]] translation of the [[Book of Exodus]] from [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] to [[Koine|Koine Greek]] in approximately the third century BC. In that version, the ''[[Yam Suph]]'' ({{langx|he|ים סוף|lit=Sea of Reeds}}) is translated as ''Erythra Thalassa'' (Red Sea).

The Red Sea is one of four seas named in English after common [[Color|colours]] – the others being the [[Black Sea]], the [[White Sea]] and the [[Yellow Sea]]. The direct rendition of the Greek ''Erythra thalassa'' in Latin as [[Mare Erythraeum]] refers to the north-western part of the [[Indian Ocean]], and also to a region on [[Mars]].

== History ==
=== Ancient era ===
[[File:C+B-Ship-Fig1-HatshepsuSailingBoat.PNG|thumb|upright=1.4|[[Ancient Egypt]]ian expedition to the [[Land of Punt]] on the Red Sea coast during the reign of Queen [[Hatshepsut]]]]

The earliest known exploration of the Red Sea was conducted by [[ancient Egypt]]ians, as they attempted to establish commercial routes to [[Land of Punt|Punt]]. One such expedition took place around 2500&nbsp;BC, and another around 1500&nbsp;BC (by [[Hatshepsut]]). Both involved long voyages down the Red Sea.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fernandez-Armesto |first=Felipe |url=https://archive.org/details/pathfindersgloba00fern/page/24 |title=Pathfinders: A Global History of Exploration |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-393-06259-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/pathfindersgloba00fern/page/24 24]}}</ref>

The biblical [[Book of Exodus]] tells the account of the [[Israelites]]' [[Crossing the Red Sea|crossing of the sea]], which the Hebrew text calls ''[[Yam Suph]]'' ({{Langx|he|יַם סוּף}}). ''Yam Suph'' was traditionally identified as the Red Sea. Rabbi [[Saadia Gaon]] (882‒942), in his Judeo-Arabic translation of the [[Torah|Pentateuch]], identifies the crossing place of the Red Sea as ''Baḥar al-Qulzum'', meaning the [[Gulf of Suez]].<ref>''Tafsir'', Saadia Gaon, s.v. Exodus 15:22, ''et al''.</ref>

In the 6th century BC, [[Darius the Great]], who was a prominent ruler of the [[Achaemenid Empire]] in Persia, undertook significant efforts to improve and extend navigation in the Red Sea. He sent reconnaissance missions to explore the Red Sea area and to identify its various navigational hazards, such as rocks and currents. This effort was significant, as it contributed to safer and more efficient navigation routes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Darius' Red Sea Canal Stele {{!}} cabinet |url=https://www.cabinet.ox.ac.uk/darius-red-sea-canal-stele |access-date=8 June 2023 |website=www.cabinet.ox.ac.uk |archive-date=16 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230716120327/https://www.cabinet.ox.ac.uk/darius-red-sea-canal-stele |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Periplous of the Erythraean Sea.svg|left|thumb|upright=1.5|Settlements and commercial centres in the vicinity of the Red Sea involved in the [[spice trade]], as described in the ''[[Periplus of the Erythraean Sea]]'']]

In addition to the maritime explorations, during the reign of Darius the Great, a canal was constructed linking the Nile River to the northern end of the Red Sea at Suez. This canal is sometimes referred to as the ancient Suez Canal. It played a pivotal role in improving trade and communication between the Nile Valley and the Red Sea, and beyond to the Indian Ocean. This canal was a predecessor to the modern [[Suez Canal]], which was constructed in the 19th century and continues to be one of the world's most important waterways.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Colburn |first=Henry |date=2021 |title=King Darius' Red Sea Canal |url=https://hcommons.org/deposits/item/hc:44609/ |journal=FEZANA Journal |language=en-US |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=27–30 |access-date=8 June 2023 |archive-date=16 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230716120327/https://hcommons.org/deposits/item/hc:44609/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The construction of the canal during Darius's reign is evidenced by ancient records, including inscriptions. Darius commemorated the completion of the canal by creating stelae (stone monuments) with inscriptions in several languages, describing the construction and its benefits. The canal not only facilitated trade but also solidified Darius's control over Egypt and enhanced the Achaemenid Empire's economic and political power in the region.

In the late 4th century BC, [[Alexander the Great]] sent Greek naval expeditions down the Red Sea to the [[Indian Ocean]]. Greek navigators continued to explore and compile data on the Red Sea. [[Agatharchides]] collected information about the sea in the 2nd century BC. The ''[[Periplus of the Erythraean Sea]]'' ("[[Periplus of the Red Sea]]"), a [[Greek language|Greek]] [[periplus]] written by an unknown author around the 1st century, contains a detailed description of the Red Sea's ports and sea routes.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fernandez-Armesto |first=Felipe |url=https://archive.org/details/pathfindersgloba00fern/page/32 |title=Pathfinders: A Global History of Exploration |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-393-06259-5 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/pathfindersgloba00fern/page/32 32–33]}}</ref> The Periplus also describes how [[Hippalus]] first discovered the direct route from the Red Sea to [[India]].

The Red Sea was favored for [[Roman trade with India]] starting with the reign of [[Augustus]], when the [[Roman Empire]] gained control over the Mediterranean, [[Egypt]], and the northern Red Sea. The route had been used by previous states but grew in the volume of traffic under the Romans. From Indian ports goods from [[China]] were introduced to the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] world. Contact between Rome and China depended on the Red Sea, but the route was broken by the [[Aksumite Empire]] around the 3rd century AD.<ref>{{Cite book |last=East |first=W. Gordon |url=https://archive.org/details/geographybehindh0000east_z8c9/page/174 |title=The Geography behind History |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company |year=1965 |isbn=978-0-393-00419-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/geographybehindh0000east_z8c9/page/174 174–175]}}</ref>
From antiquity [[slavery in Saudi Arabia|until the 20th century]], the Red Sea was also a trade route for the [[Red Sea slave trade]] from Africa to the Middle East.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-13260-5 |title=The Palgrave Handbook of Global Slavery throughout History |date=2023 |isbn=978-3-031-13259-9 |editor-last1=Pargas |editor-last2=Schiel |editor-first1=Damian A. |editor-first2=Juliane }}{{pn|date=May 2025}}</ref>

=== Middle Ages and modern era ===
During the [[Middle Ages]], the Red Sea was an important part of the [[spice trade]] route. In 1183, [[Raynald of Châtillon]] launched a raid down the Red Sea to attack the Muslim pilgrim convoys to Mecca.<ref name="Mallett2008">{{cite journal |last1=Mallett |first1=Alex |title=A Trip down the Red Sea with Reynald of Châtillon |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society |date=2008 |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=141–153 |jstor=27755928 |doi=10.1017/S1356186307008024 }}</ref>{{rp|pages=143–144}} The possibility that Raynald's fleet might sack the holy cities of Mecca and Medina caused fury throughout the Muslim world.<ref name="Mallett2008"/>{{rp|pages=146–147}} However, it appears that Raynald's target was the lightly armed Muslim pilgrim convoys, rather than the well-guarded cities of Mecca and Medina, and the belief in the Muslim world that Raynald was seeking to sack the holy cities, due to the proximity of those cities to the areas that Raynald raided.<ref name="Mallett2008"/>{{rp|pages=152–153}}

In 1513, trying to secure that channel to Portugal, [[Afonso de Albuquerque]] laid [[Siege of Aden|siege to Aden]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Newitt |first=M. D. D. |title=A history of Portuguese overseas expansion, 1400–1668 |publisher=New York Routledge |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-415-23979-0 |location=London |page=87}}</ref> but was forced to retreat. They cruised the Red Sea inside the [[Bab al-Mandab]], as the first fleet from Europe in modern times to have sailed these waters. Later in 1524, the city was delivered to Governor Heitor da Silveira as an agreement for protection from the [[Ottoman Empire in World War I|Ottomans]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mathew |first=K. M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kl3IR3RJTIEC&q=Heitor+da+Silveira+Aden&pg=PA136 |title=History of the Portuguese Navigation in India, 1497–1600 |year=1988 |publisher=Mittal Publications |isbn=978-81-7099-046-8 |access-date=19 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210065001/https://books.google.com/books?id=Kl3IR3RJTIEC&q=Heitor+da+Silveira+Aden&pg=PA136 |archive-date=10 February 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>
In 1798, [[France]] ordered General [[Napoleon I|Napoleon]] to invade [[Egypt]] and take control of the Red Sea. Although he failed in his mission, the engineer [[Jean-Baptiste Lepère]], who took part in it, revitalised the plan for a canal which had been envisaged during the reign of the [[Pharaoh]]s. Several canals were built in ancient times from the Nile to the Red Sea along or near the line of the present [[Sweet Water Canal]], but none lasted for long. The [[Suez Canal]] was opened in November 1869. During the first half of the 20th century, the [[Red Sea slave trade]] attracted substantial international condemnation.

After the [[Second World War]], the Americans and Soviets exerted their influence whilst the volume of oil tanker traffic intensified. However, the [[Six-Day War]] culminated in the closure of the Suez Canal from 1967 to 1975. Today, despite the patrols by the major maritime fleets in the waters of the Red Sea, the Suez Canal has never recovered its supremacy over the Cape route, which is believed to be less vulnerable to piracy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Piracy Resurges in the Indian Ocean as Red Sea Tensions Escalate – Ship Universe |url=https://www.shipuniverse.com/news/piracy-resurges-in-the-indian-ocean-as-red-sea-tensions-escalate/ |access-date=2025-06-25 |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Red Sea crisis===
{{main|Red Sea crisis}}
[[Iran]]ian-backed Yemini [[Houthis]] have attacked Western ships, including warships, next to the [[Bab al-Mandeb]] during the [[Gaza war]]. One ship was hijacked and taken back to Yemen.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/10/houthis-call-wests-bluff-with-renewed-red-sea-drone-assault | title=Houthis call west's bluff with renewed Red Sea drone assault | newspaper=The Guardian | date=10 January 2024 | last1=Sabbagh | first1=Dan }}</ref>

== Oceanography ==
[[File:ISS036-E-011050.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Annotated view of the Nile and Red Sea, with a dust storm, viewed from the [[International Space Station]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 July 2013 |title=Egyptian Dust Plume, Red Sea |url=http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=81566 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222100350/http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=81566 |archive-date=22 February 2014 |access-date=4 February 2014 |website=earthobservatory.nasa.gov}}</ref>]]
[[File:Day Pass down the Red Sea.ogv|thumb|upright=1.35|This video over the south-eastern [[Mediterranean Sea]] and down the coastline of the Red Sea was taken by the crew of Expedition 29 on board the International Space Station.]]
The Red Sea is between arid land, [[desert]] and [[semi-desert]].<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2015 |editor-last=Rasul |editor-first=Najeeb M.A. |editor2-last=Stewart |editor2-first=Ian C.F. |title=The Red Sea |url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-662-45201-1 |journal=Springer Earth System Sciences |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-662-45201-1 |isbn=978-3-662-45200-4 |issn=2197-9596|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Many regions of the coastal zone of the Red Sea possess large areas of vigorously growing coral and extensive reef complexes. Due to the tidal currents, low human population and the minimal development in this climatically inhospitable region, the Red Sea coral reefs are some of the healthiest reef environments in the world.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Acker |first1=James |last2=Leptoukh |first2=Gregory |last3=Shen |first3=Suhung |last4=Zhu |first4=Tong |last5=Kempler |first5=Steven |date=2008-02-01 |title=Remotely-sensed chlorophyll a observations of the northern Red Sea indicate seasonal variability and influence of coastal reefs |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924796307000589 |journal=Journal of Marine Systems |series=Physical-Biological Interactions in the Upper Ocean |volume=69 |issue=3 |pages=191–204 |doi=10.1016/j.jmarsys.2005.12.006 |bibcode=2008JMS....69..191A |issn=0924-7963|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The Red Sea water mass-exchanges its water with the [[Arabian Sea]] and [[Indian Ocean]] via the [[Gulf of Aden]]. These physical factors reduce the effect of high salinity caused by evaporation in the north and relatively hot water in the south.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sofianos |first1=Sarantis S. |last2=Johns |first2=William E. |date=2002 |title=An Oceanic General Circulation Model (OGCM) investigation of the Red Sea circulation, 1. Exchange between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans |language=en |volume=107 |issue=C11 |page=3196 |bibcode=2002JGRC..107.3196S |doi=10.1029/2001JC001184 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

The [[climate]] of the Red Sea is the result of two [[monsoon]] seasons: a northeasterly monsoon and a southwesterly monsoon. Monsoon winds occur because of differential heating between the land and the sea. Very high surface temperatures and high salinity make this one of the warmest and saltiest bodies of seawater in the world. The average surface water temperature of the Red Sea during the summer is about {{cvt|26|C|F|0}} in the north and {{cvt|30|C|F|0|}} in the south, with only about {{cvt|2|C-change}} variation during the winter months. The overall average water temperature is {{cvt|22|C|F|0|}}. Temperature and visibility remain good to around {{cvt|200|m|ft}}. The sea is known for its strong winds and unpredictable local currents.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}

The [[rainfall]] over the Red Sea and its coasts is extremely low, averaging {{cvt|60|mm|in|2}} per year. The rain is mostly short showers, often with thunderstorms and occasionally with dust [[storm]]s. The scarcity of rainfall and no major source of fresh water to the Red Sea result in excess evaporation as high as {{cvt|2050|mm|in|0}} per year and high salinity with minimal seasonal variation. A recent{{When|date=June 2023}} underwater expedition to the Red Sea offshore from [[Sudan]] and [[Eritrea]]<ref>[[BBC 2]] television program "''Oceans 3/8 The Red Sea''", 8 pm–9 pm Wednesday 26 November 2008</ref>{{Verify source|date=June 2023}} found surface water temperatures {{cvt|28|C|F|0}} in winter and up to {{cvt|34|C|F|0}} in the summer, but despite that extreme heat, the coral was healthy with much fish life with very little sign of [[coral bleaching]], with only 9% infected by ''[[Thalassomonas loyana]]'', the 'white plague' agent. [[Favia|''Favia favus'']] coral there harbours a virus, BA3, which kills ''T.&nbsp;loyana''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Virus power harnessed to protect Red Sea coral |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21528725-700-virus-power-harnessed-to-protect-red-sea-coral/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423092252/http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21528725.700-virus-power-harnessed-to-protect-red-sea-coral.html |archive-date=23 April 2015 |access-date=4 June 2023 |website=New Scientist |language=en-US}}</ref>
Scientists are investigating the unique properties of these coral and their [[commensal]] [[algae]] to see if they can be used to salvage bleached coral elsewhere.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fitzgerald |first=Sunny |date=8 April 2020 |title=The super-corals of the Red Sea |url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200408-the-middle-eastern-corals-that-could-survive-climate-change |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507075625/https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200408-the-middle-eastern-corals-that-could-survive-climate-change |archive-date=7 May 2022 |access-date=24 May 2022 |publisher=[[BBC Future]]}}</ref>

=== Salinity ===
The Red Sea is one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world, owing to high evaporation and low precipitation; no significant rivers or streams drain into the sea, and its southern connection to the [[Gulf of Aden]], an arm of the Indian Ocean, is narrow.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Por |first=F. D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=syn0CAAAQBAJ&q=salinity+of+the+Red+Sea+is+greater+than+the+world+average,&pg=PA65 |title=The Legacy of Tethys: An Aquatic Biogeography of the Levant |date=6 December 2012 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-94-009-0937-3 |language=en |access-date=19 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210065003/https://books.google.com/books?id=syn0CAAAQBAJ&q=salinity+of+the+Red+Sea+is+greater+than+the+world+average,&pg=PA65 |archive-date=10 February 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> Its [[salinity]] ranges from between ~36&nbsp;[[per mil|‰]] in the southern part and 41&nbsp;‰ in the northern part around the [[Gulf of Suez]], with an average of 40&nbsp;‰. (Average salinity for the world's [[seawater]] is ~35&nbsp;‰ on the Practical Salinity Scale, or PSU; that translates to 3.5% of actual dissolved salts).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hanauer |first=Eric |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uh6mcZC8yWIC&q=salinity+of+the+Red+Sea+is+greater+than+the+world+average,&pg=PA67 |title=The Egyptian Red Sea: A Diver's Guide |date=1988 |publisher=Aqua Quest Publications, Inc. |isbn=978-0-922769-04-9 |language=en |access-date=19 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210065001/https://books.google.com/books?id=uh6mcZC8yWIC&q=salinity+of+the+Red+Sea+is+greater+than+the+world+average,&pg=PA67 |archive-date=10 February 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Tidal range ===
In general, tide ranges between {{cvt|0.6|m|ft|1}} in the north, near the mouth of the Gulf of Suez and {{cvt|0.9|m|ft|1}} in the south near the Gulf of Aden, but it fluctuates between {{cvt|0.20|m|ft|2}} and {{cvt|0.30|m|ft|2}} away from the nodal point. The central Red Sea (Jeddah area) is therefore almost tideless, and as such the annual water level changes are more significant. Because of the small tidal range, the water during high tide inundates the coastal [[sabkha]]s as a thin sheet of water up to a few hundred metres rather than flooding the [[sabkha]]s through a network of channels. However, south of Jeddah in the [[Shoiaba]] area, the water from the lagoon may cover the adjoining sabkhas as far as {{cvt|3|km|mi|0}}, whereas north of [[Jeddah]] in the [[Al-Kharrar]] area the sabkhas are covered by a thin sheet of water as far as {{cvt|2|km|mi|1}}. The prevailing north and northeast winds influence the movement of water in the coastal inlets to the adjacent sabkhas, especially during storms. Winter mean sea level is {{cvt|0.5|m|ft|1}} higher than in summer. Tidal velocities passing through constrictions caused by reefs, sand bars and low islands commonly exceed {{cvt|1–2|m/s|0}}. Coral reefs in the Red Sea are near Egypt, Eritrea, Jordan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Coral Reefs of the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/6701/ |access-date=18 June 2024 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en}}</ref>

=== Current ===
Detailed information regarding current data is lacking, partially because the currents are weak and both spatially and temporally variable. The variation of temporal and spatial currents is as low as {{cvt|0.5|m|ft|1}}{{clarify|what does this mean?|date=October 2021}} and is governed all by the wind. During the summer, northwesterly winds drive surface water south for about four months at a velocity of {{cvt|15–20|cm/s|0}}, whereas in winter the flow is reversed, resulting in the inflow of water from the Gulf of Aden into the Red Sea. The net value of the latter predominates, resulting in an overall drift to the north end of the Red Sea. Generally, the velocity of the tidal current is {{cvt|50–60|cm/s|0}} with a maximum of {{cvt|1|m/s|ft/s|1}} at the mouth of the al-Kharrar Lagoon. However, the range of the north-northeast current along the Saudi coast is {{cvt|8–29|cm/s|0}}.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}

=== Wind regime ===
The northern part of the Red Sea is dominated by persistent north-west [[winds]], with speeds ranging between {{cvt|7|km/h|mph|1}} and {{cvt|12|km/h|mph|1}}. The rest of the Red Sea and the [[Gulf of Aden]] are subjected to regular and seasonally reversible winds. The wind [[regime]] is characterized by seasonal and regional variations in [[speed]] and [[direction (geometry, geography)|direction]] with average speed generally increasing northward.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Patzert |first1=William C. |title=Wind-induced reversal in Red Sea circulation |journal=Deep Sea Research and Oceanographic Abstracts |date=February 1974 |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=109–121 |doi=10.1016/0011-7471(74)90068-0 |bibcode=1974DSRA...21..109P }}</ref>

The wind is the driving force in the Red Sea to transport material as suspension or as bedload. Wind-induced currents play an important role in the Red Sea in resuspending bottom sediments and transferring materials from sites of dumping to sites of burial in a quiescent environment of deposition. Wind-generated current [[measurement]] is therefore important to determine the sediment dispersal pattern and its role in the erosion and accretion of the coastal rock exposure and the submerged coral beds.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Morcos |first=S. A. |date=1970 |title=Physical and chemical oceanography of the Red Sea |journal=Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review}}</ref>

== Geology ==
[[File:Dust red sea.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Dust storm]] over the Red Sea]]
The Red Sea was formed by the [[Arabian Peninsula]] being split from the [[Horn of Africa]] by the movement of the [[Red Sea Rift]]. This split started in the [[Eocene]] and accelerated during the [[Oligocene]]. The sea is still widening (in 2005, following a three weeks of [[tectonic]] activity it had grown by {{cvt|8|m|ft|disp=sqbr}}),<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Rose |first1=Paul |title=Oceans: Exploring the hidden depths of the underwater world |last2=Laking |first2=Anne |publisher=BBC Books |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-84-607505-6 |location=London}}</ref> and it is considered that it will become an ocean in time (as proposed in the model of [[John Tuzo Wilson]]). In 1949, a deep water survey reported anomalously hot [[brine]]s in the central portion of the Red Sea. Later work in the 1960s confirmed the presence of hot, {{cvt|60|C|F}}, saline brines and associated metalliferous muds. The hot solutions were emanating from an active subseafloor [[Rift (geology)|rift]]. [[Lake Assal (Djibouti)|Lake Asal]] in Djibouti is eligible as an experimental site to study the evolution of the deep hot brines of the Red Sea.<ref name="Boschetti-1">{{Cite journal |last1=Boschetti |first1=Tiziano |last2=Awaleh |first2=Mohamed Osman |last3=Barbieri |first3=Maurizio |date=2018 |title=Waters from the Djiboutian Afar: a review of strontium isotopic composition and a comparison with Ethiopian waters and Red Sea brines |journal=Water |volume=10 |issue=11 |pages=1700 |doi=10.3390/w10111700 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2018Water..10.1700B |hdl=11573/1202448 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> By observing the strontium isotope composition of the Red Sea brines, it is possible to deduce how these salt waters found at the bottom of the Red Sea could have evolved in a similar way to Lake Asal, which ideally represents their compositional extreme.<ref name="Boschetti-1" /> The high salinity of the waters was not hospitable to living organisms.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1007/978-3-662-28603-6 |title=Hot Brines and Recent Heavy Metal Deposits in the Red Sea |date=1969 |isbn=978-3-662-27120-9 |editor-last1=Degens |editor-last2=Ross |editor-first1=Egon T. |editor-first2=David A. }}{{pn|date=May 2025}}{{Failed verification|date=June 2023}}</ref>

Sometime during the [[Tertiary (period)|Tertiary]], the [[Bab el Mandeb]] closed and the Red Sea evaporated to an empty hot dry salt-floored sink.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lehmann |first=Jenny |date=2025-10-02 |title=The Red Sea Vanished From Earth for 100,000 Years Until a Catastrophic Flood Brought It Back |url=https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-red-sea-vanished-from-earth-for-100-000-years-until-a-catastrophic-flood-brought-it-back-48099 |access-date=2025-10-05 |website=Discover Magazine |language=en}}</ref> Effects causing this would have been:
* A "race" between the Red Sea widening and [[Perim Island]] [[volcano|erupting]] filling the Bab el Mandeb with [[lava]].
* The lowering of world [[sea level]] during the [[Ice age|Ice Age]]s because of much water being locked up in the [[ice cap]]s.

Several volcanic islands rise from the center of the sea. Most are dormant. However, in 2007, [[Jabal al-Tair island]] in the Bab el Mandeb strait erupted violently. Two new islands were formed in 2011 and 2013 in the [[Zubair Group|Zubair Archipelago]], a small chain of islands owned by Yemen. The first island, Sholan Island, emerged in an eruption in December 2011, and the second island, Jadid, emerged in September 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 December 2011 |title=MSN – Outlook, Office, Skype, Bing, Breaking News, and Latest Videos |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/45807839 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210065003/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna45807839 |archive-date=10 February 2023 |access-date=10 November 2019 |website=NBC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Israel |first=Brett |date=28 December 2011 |title=New Island Rises in the Red Sea |url=http://www.livescience.com/31004-red-sea-volcanic-island.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128081422/https://www.livescience.com/31004-red-sea-volcanic-island.html |archive-date=28 January 2022 |access-date=31 July 2015 |website=LiveScience.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Oskin |first1=Becky |last2=SPACE.com |date=30 May 2015 |title=Red Sea Parts for 2 New Islands |url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/red-sea-parts-for-2-new-islands |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150803072542/http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/red-sea-parts-for-2-new-islands/ |archive-date=3 August 2015 |access-date=31 July 2015 |website=Scientific American}}</ref> Approximately 40% of the Red Sea is quite shallow at less than {{cvt|100|m|ft}} deep, with about 25% less than {{cvt|50|m|ft}} deep.<ref name="britannica"/>

=== Oil and gas ===
Undiscovered oil reserves in the region have been estimated at {{convert|5,041|e6oilbbl|e6m3|order=flip|abbr=off}}. Undiscovered gas reserves in the region have been estimated at {{convert|112,349|e9ft3|e9m3|order=flip|abbr=off|sigfig=3}}. Undiscovered natural gas reserves have been estimated at {{convert|3,077|e6oilbbl|e6m3|order=flip|abbr=off|sigfig=3}}.<ref>{{cite report |doi=10.3133/fs20103119 |chapter=Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Red Sea Basin Province |publisher=USGS |date=2010 |doi-access=free |title=Fact Sheet }}</ref> Most of these plays are controlled by the structure of the basin.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dolson |first1=John C. |last2=Shann |first2=Mark V. |last3=Matbouly |first3=Sayed I. |last4=Hammouda |first4=Hussein |last5=Rashed |first5=Rashed M. |year=2001 |title=Egypt in the Twenty-First Century: Petroleum Potential in Offshore Trends |journal=GeoArabia |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=211–230 |bibcode=2001GeoAr...6..211D |doi=10.2113/geoarabia0602211 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Normal faults are common as the Red Sea occupies an active diverging margin.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Beydoun |first=Z. R. |date=1989 |title=THE HYDROCARBON PROSPECTS OF THE RED SEA‐GULF OF ADEN: A REVIEW |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-5457.1989.tb00229.x |journal=Journal of Petroleum Geology |language=en |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=125–144 |doi=10.1111/j.1747-5457.1989.tb00229.x |issn=0141-6421|url-access=subscription }}</ref> These targets are commonly found below the Salt deposits of the [[Middle Miocene]].

Modern development is focused on the following fields. The Durwara 2 Field was discovered in 1963, while the Suakin 1 Field and the Bashayer 1A Field were discovered in 1976, on the Egyptian side of the Red Sea. The Barqan Field was discovered in 1969, and the Midyan Field in 1992, both within the Midyan Basin on the Saudi Arabian side of the Red Sea. The 20-m thick Middle Miocene Maqna [[formation (geology)|Formation]] is an oil source rock in the basin. [[Oil seep]]s occur near the [[Farasan Islands]], the [[Dahlak Archipelago]], along the coast of Eritrea, and in the southeastern Red Sea along the coasts of Saudi Arabia and Yemen.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lindquist |first=Sandra |title=The Red Sea Province: Sudr-Nubia(!) and Maqna(!) Petroleum Systems, USGS Open File Report 99-50-A |date=1998 |publisher=US Dept. of the Interior |pages=6–7, 9}}</ref>

=== Mineral resources ===
{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2022}}
[[File:Red sea stony beach taba egypt.jpg|thumb|Red Sea coast in [[Taba, Egypt|Taba]], [[Egypt]]]]

In terms of mineral resources the major constituents of the Red Sea sediments are as follows:
;[[Biogenic]] constituents
: [[Nanofossil]]s,{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}} [[foraminifera]], [[pteropod]]s, [[siliceous]] fossils{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}
;[[Volcanogenic lake|Volcanogenic]] constituents:
:[[Tuff]]ites, [[volcanic ash]], [[montmorillonite]], [[cristobalite]], [[zeolite]]s
;[[Terrigenous sediment|Terrigenous]] constituents
: [[Quartz]], [[feldspar]]s, rock fragments, [[mica]], heavy minerals, [[clay mineral]]s<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 October 2015 |title=Sudan, Saudi Arabia discuss minerals exploration in the Red Sea |url=https://sudantribune.com/article55069/ |access-date=18 June 2024 |website=Sudan Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref>
;[[Authigenic]] minerals
: [[Sulfide mineral]]s, [[aragonite]], [[calcite]], [[wikt:protodolomite|protodolomite]],{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}} [[Dolomite (mineral)|dolomite]], quartz,{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}} [[chalcedony]]
; [[Evaporite]] minerals<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Shevchenko |first1=Illia |last2=Engelbrecht |first2=Johann P. |last3=Mostamandi |first3=Suleiman |last4=Stenchikov |first4=Georgiy |date=2021-07-01 |title=Evaluation of minerals being deposited in the Red Sea using gravimetric, size distribution, and mineralogical analysis of dust deposition samples collected along the Red Sea coastal plain |journal=Aeolian Research |volume=52 |article-number=100717 |doi=10.1016/j.aeolia.2021.100717 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2021AeoRe..5200717S |hdl=10754/669667 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
: [[Magnesite]], [[gypsum]], [[anhydrite]], [[halite]], [[polyhalite]]
;[[Brine]] precipitate
: Fe-[[montmorillonite]],{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}} [[goethite]], [[hematite]], [[siderite]], [[rhodochrosite]], [[pyrite]], [[sphalerite]], anhydrite{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

== Ecosystem ==
[[File:Hawksbill turtle at Elphinstone Reef, Red Sea, Egypt (35150034493).jpg|thumb|[[Hawksbill sea turtle]] in the [[Elphinstone Reef]]]]
[[File:Nudibranch egg ribbon at Shaab Mahmoud.JPG|thumb|upright|Nudibranch egg ribbon at Shaab Mahmoud]]

The Red Sea is a rich and diverse ecosystem. For example, more than 1200 fish species have been recorded in the Red Sea,<ref name="fishbase">{{Cite web |last1=Froese |first1=Rainer |last2=Pauly, Daniel |year=2009 |title=FishBase |url=http://www.fishbase.org/TrophicEco/FishEcoList.php?ve_code=5 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201217070339/http://www.fishbase.org/TrophicEco/FishEcoList.php?ve_code=5 |archive-date=17 December 2020 |access-date=12 March 2009}}</ref> of which 10% are endemic, found nowhere else.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Siliotti |first=A. |title=Fishes of the red sea |year=2002 |publisher=Geodia Edizioni Internazionali |isbn=978-88-87177-42-8 |editor-last=Verona, Geodia}}</ref>

Since the opening of the Suez Canal in November 1869, over a thousand marine species from the Red Sea—from plankton, seaweeds, invertebrates to fishes—have migrated northward and settled in the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. To the point that a number of them now form a significant component of the Mediterranean ecosystem. The resulting change in biodiversity, without precedent in human memory, is currently accelerating, in particular for fishes according to surveys engaged by the [[Mediterranean Science Commission]].<ref>Atlas of Exotic Fishes in the Mediterranean Sea. 2nd Edition. 2021. (F. Briand Ed.) CIESM Publishers, Paris, Monaco 366 p.[https://ciesm.org/catalog/index.php?article=2021]</ref>

[[File:Red sea coral reef.jpg|thumb|Red Sea coral and marine fish]]

The rich diversity of the Red Sea is in part due to the {{cvt|2000|km|mi|-1}} of [[coral reef]] extending along its coastline; these fringing reefs are 5000–7000 years old and are largely formed of stony [[acropora]] and [[porites|porite]] corals. The reefs form platforms and sometimes lagoons along the coast and occasionally other features such as cylinders (such as the [[Blue Hole (Red Sea)]] at [[Dahab]]).

The Red Sea also hosts many offshore reefs, including several true atolls. Many of the unusual offshore reef formations defy classic (i.e., Darwinian) coral reef classification schemes, and are generally attributed to the high levels of tectonic activity that characterize the area. Both offshore and coastal reefs are visited by pelagic species of fish, including many of the 44 recorded species of shark, and by many species (over 175) of [[nudibranch]], many of which are endemic to the Red Sea.<ref name="SAW Yonow">{{Cite magazine |last=Yonow |first=Nathalie |year=2012 |title=Nature's Best-Dressed |url=http://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/201204/nature.s.best-dressed.htm |url-status=live |magazine=Saudi Aramco World |publisher=Aramco Services Company |volume=63 |pages=2–9 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220045032/http://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/201204/nature.s.best-dressed.htm |archive-date=20 December 2018 |access-date=11 December 2018 |number=4}}</ref> Other coastal Red Sea habitats include [[sea grass|seagrass]] beds, [[Dry lake|salt pans]], [[mangroves]] and [[salt marshes]]. Furthermore, the deep Red Sea [[brine pools]] have been extensively studied about their microbial life, characterized by their diversity and adaptation to extreme environments.

The high marine biodiversity of the area is recognized by the Egyptian government, which set up the [[Ras Mohammed|Ras Mohammed National Park]] in 1983. The rules and regulations governing this area protect local marine life. Ras Mohammed is one of the world's top 10 sites recognized by the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] for effective management of marine ecosystems, and the first marine protected area in Africa and in the Middle East region.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-12-03 |title=Ras Mohammed National Park: Egypt's underwater paradise among the best protected marine reserves on the planet {{!}} IUCN |url=https://iucn.org/news/protected-areas/201812/ras-mohammed-national-park-egypts-underwater-paradise-among-best-protected-marine-reserves-planet |access-date=2025-06-25 |website=International Union for Conservation of Nature |language=en}}</ref>

Due to the high volume of maritime traffic, carrying 12–15% of global trade, the Red Sea is considered highly vulnerable to marine pollution, particularly oil spills. Academic literature has increasingly focused on both past disasters and predictive modelling. Studies have modelled spill trajectories and their environmental consequences.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Abdallah |first1=Ibrahem M. |last2=Chantsev |first2=Valery YU. |title=Modeling marine oil spill trajectory and fate off Hurghada, Red Sea coast, Egypt |journal=Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries |date=November 2022 |volume=26 |issue=6 |pages=41–61 |doi=10.21608/ejabf.2022.269676 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mittal |first1=H. V. R. |last2=Langodan |first2=Sabique |last3=Zhan |first3=Peng |last4=Li |first4=Shihan |last5=Knio |first5=Omar |last6=Hoteit |first6=Ibrahim |title=Hazard assessment of oil spills along the main shipping lane in the Red Sea |journal=Scientific Reports |date=23 August 2021 |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=17078 |doi=10.1038/s41598-021-96572-5 |pmid=34426613 |pmc=8382762 |bibcode=2021NatSR..1117078M }}</ref> Others have analysed the ecological impact of spills on coral reefs and marine biodiversity and assessed how chemical dispersants and specific oil compounds affect marine fauna and coastal ecosystems.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Epstein |first1=N. |last2=Bak |first2=R.P.M. |last3=Rinkevich |first3=B. |title=Toxicity of Third Generation Dispersants and Dispersed Egyptian Crude Oil on Red Sea Coral Larvae |journal=Marine Pollution Bulletin |date=June 2000 |volume=40 |issue=6 |pages=497–503 |doi=10.1016/S0025-326X(99)00232-5 |bibcode=2000MarPB..40..497E }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nukapothula |first1=Sravanthi |last2=Suneel |first2=V. |last3=Yunus |first3=Ali P. |last4=Rao |first4=V. Trinadha |last5=Chen |first5=Chuqun |title=Impact assessment of oil spills on the Red Sea waters using remote sensing and numerical modeling |journal=Regional Studies in Marine Science |date=September 2025 |volume=86 |article-number=104187 |doi=10.1016/j.rsma.2025.104187 |bibcode=2025RSMS...8604187N }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-39593-3_12 |chapter=Oil Pollution in the Northern Red Sea: A Threat to the Marine Environment and Tourism Development |title=Environmental Remote Sensing in Egypt |series=Springer Geophysics |date=2020 |last1=Kostianaia |first1=Evgeniia A. |last2=Kostianoy |first2=Andrey |last3=Lavrova |first3=Olga Yu. |last4=Soloviev |first4=Dmitry M. |pages=329–362 |isbn=978-3-030-39592-6 }}</ref> Public health literature has raised concerns over the spill's impact on respiratory illness and waterborne contamination in coastal populations.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Huynh |first1=Benjamin Q. |last2=Kwong |first2=Laura H. |last3=Kiang |first3=Mathew V. |last4=Chin |first4=Elizabeth T. |last5=Mohareb |first5=Amir M. |last6=Jumaan |first6=Aisha O. |last7=Basu |first7=Sanjay |last8=Geldsetzer |first8=Pascal |last9=Karaki |first9=Fatima M. |last10=Rehkopf |first10=David H. |title=Public health impacts of an imminent Red Sea oil spill |journal=Nature Sustainability |date=11 October 2021 |volume=4 |issue=12 |pages=1084–1091 |doi=10.1038/s41893-021-00774-8 |pmid=34926834 |pmc=8682806 |bibcode=2021NatSu...4.1084H }}</ref>

=== List of fauna species found in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba ===
{{Unreferenced section|date=November 2025}}
The Red Sea is home to a plethora of wildlife, as mentioned earlier. Let's cover them all, including the rare species:

=== Crabs ===
* Hairy elbow crab
* Rusty guard crab
* Brown guard crab
* Indo-Pacific hairy hermit crab
* Grapsus granulosus
* Furrowed crab
* Tiny rock crab
* Soft coral spider crab
* Purple estuarine rock crab
* One-horned spider crab
* Soft coral crab
* Scaly rock crab
* Haig's porcelain crab
* Violet crab
* Ornamental spider crab
* Xenia swimming crab
* Reticulated hermit crab
* Showy xanthid crab
* Giant elbow crab
* White-handed fiddler crab
* Woodmason's hermit crab
* Inversed fiddler crab
* African blue swimming crab
* Rosy hermit crab
* Tetralia nigrolineata
* Setiferous hermit crab
* Hairy coral crab

=== Sea turtles ===
* [[Green sea turtle]]
* [[Hawksbill sea turtle]]

=== Dolphins ===
* [[Spinner dolphin]]
* [[Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin]]
* [[Common bottlenose dolphin]]
* [[Indian humpback dolphin]]
* [[Risso's dolphin]]
* [[Pantropical spotted dolphin]]

=== Fish ===
* [[Lyretail Anthias|Lyretail anthias]] (The most commonly found fish in the sea.)
* Red Sea anemonefish
* [[Pterois miles|Indian lionfish]]
* [[Klunzinger's wrasse]]
* Indian bullethead parrotfish
* [[Sohal tang]]
* [[Red Sea bannerfish]]
* Masked pufferfish
* [[Raccoon butterflyfish]]
* [[Sergeant major]]
* [[Giant moray eel]]
* [[Arabian Picasso triggerfish]]
* [[Rusty parrotfish]]
* [[White-spotted pufferfish]]
* [[Threadfin butterflyfish]]
* Lined bristletooth
* [[Bluespotted cornetfish]]
* [[Purple tang]]
* [[Coral grouper]]
* [[Crown Butterflyfish|Crown butterflyfish]]
* Red Sea goatfish
* Indian Ocean humbug
* [[Titan triggerfish]]
* [[Yellow boxfish]]
* [[Threespot dascyllus]]
* [[Orangestripe triggerfish]]
* [[Emperor angelfish]]
* [[Yellow-edged lyretail]]
* Dusky surgeonfish
* Starry pufferfish
* Greasy rockrod grouper
* [[Napoleon fish]]
* Geometric moray eel
* [[Sharksucker]] (Also called a remora.)
* Golden-striped mackerel
* [[Great barracuda]]
* Panther flounder
* Doublebar bream
* [[Giant trevally]]
* Zigzag wrasse
* [[Dogtooth tuna]]
* [[Needlefish]] (Houndfish)
* Black-barred halfbeak
* Red Sea garden eel
* [[Smallscale scorpionfish]]
* [[Fringelip mullet]]
* Flathead pomfret
* [[Yellowfin tuna]]
* [[Mahi-mahi]]

=== Jellyfish and cnidarians ===
* [[Cauliflower jellyfish]]
* Mangrove upside-down jelly
* Amakusa jelly
* [[Purple Jellyfish|Pelagic purple jelly]]
* [[Nomad jellyfish]]
* [[Moon Jellyfish|Moon jellyfish]]

=== Sharks ===
* [[Tawny nurse shark]]
* [[Whale shark]]
* [[Tiger shark]]
* [[Whitetip reef shark]]
* [[Great hammerhead]]
* [[Blacktip reef shark]]
* [[Gray reef shark]]
* [[Pelagic thresher shark]]
* [[Spinner shark]]
* [[Silky shark]]
* [[Oceanic whitetip shark]]
* [[Spot-tail shark]]
* [[Longfin mako shark]]
* [[Sicklefin lemon shark]]
* [[Shortfin mako shark]]
* [[Zebra shark]]
* [[Bull shark]]
* [[Great white shark]] (exceptionally rare)

=== Billfish ===
* [[Swordfish]]
* [[Striped marlin]]
* [[Indo-Pacific sailfish]]

=== Octopuses and other cephalopods ===
* [[Day octopus]]
* Ornate night octopus
* [[Mimic octopus]]
* Marbled octopus
* Red Sea long-arm octopus
* [[Giant squid]]

=== Rays ===
* [[Cowtail stingray]]
* [[Porcupine ray]]
* [[Ornate eagle ray]]
* [[Reticulate whipray]]
* [[Sicklefin devil ray]]
* Bluespotted fantail ray
* Oceanic manta ray

=== Lobsters ===
* Pronghorn spiny lobster
* [[Painted spiny lobster]]

=== Whales ===
* [[False killer whale]] (one was discovered off the coast of Saudi Arabia in December 2024)
* [[Pygmy blue whale]]
* [[Bryde's whale]] (one was found in Al-Qunfudah)
* [[Blue whale]] (one was seen in the Gulf of Aqaba in 2018)
* [[Sperm whale]]
* [[Humpback whale]] (rare to see, as they enter the ocean through the [[Bab Al-Mandeb]] strait)

== Environmental impacts of the Red Sea crisis ==
{{main|Red Sea crisis}}
Since November 2023, [[Houthi]] forces have conducted over 100 attacks against commercial and naval vessels, transforming the [[Red Sea]] into a high-risk zone for [[environmental disasters]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Raydan |first1=Noam |last2=Nadimi |first2=Farzin |title=Houthi Shipping Attacks: Patterns and Expectations for 2025 |url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/houthi-shipping-attacks-patterns-and-expectations-2025 |website=The Washington Institute for Near East Policy |access-date=28 December 2025 |date=16 December 2024}}</ref>

=== Pollution through oil and chemical spills ===
The sinking of the [[MV Rubymar]] in February 2024 created an 18-mile oil slick resulting from approximately 200 tons of [[heavy fuel oil]] and 80 tons of [[marine diesel oil]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mazzucco |first1=Leonardo Jacopo Maria |title=From Navigational Disruptors to Ecocriminals: The Environmental Impact of the Houthi Anti-Shipping Campaign in the Red Sea |url=https://agsi.org/analysis/from-navigational-disruptors-to-ecocriminals-the-environmental-impact-of-the-houthi-anti-shipping-campaign-in-the-red-sea/ |website=Arab Gulf States Institute |access-date=28 December 2025 |date=12 March 2025}}</ref> Additionally, the vessel was also carrying 21,000 metric tons of [[fertilizer]], raising concerns about large-scale nutrient overloading that could trigger extensive [[algal blooms]], potentially leading to seawater contamination and fish mortality.<ref>{{cite web |title=Red Sea Attacks Lead to Environmental Emergency |url=https://paxforpeace.nl/news/red-sea-attacks-lead-to-environmental-emergency/#content |website=PAX |access-date=28 December 2025 |date=18 July 2025}}</ref> The vessel sank two weeks after being attacked by [[Houthi]] forces, posing risks to marine life, including [[coral reefs]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Red Sea Crisis Impacts on global shipping and the case for international co-operation |url=https://www.itf-oecd.org/sites/default/files/repositories/red-sea-crisis-impacts-global-shipping.pdf |website=International Transport Forum |access-date=28 December 2025 |date=2024}}</ref> The oil slick drifted toward [[Yemen]]'s [[Farasan Islands]] and [[Eritrea]]'s [[Dahlak Archipelago]] and posed a high threat to coastal communities, aquatic [[fauna]] and sensitive [[ecosystems]] in the region.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mazzucco |first1=Leonardo Jacopo Maria |title=From Navigational Disruptors to Ecocriminals: The Environmental Impact of the Houthi Anti-Shipping Campaign in the Red Sea |url=https://agsi.org/analysis/from-navigational-disruptors-to-ecocriminals-the-environmental-impact-of-the-houthi-anti-shipping-campaign-in-the-red-sea/ |website=Arab Gulf States Institute |access-date=28 December 2025 |date=12 March 2025}}</ref> 

Similar [[oil spill]]s forming around vessels have been reported following [[Houthi]] attacks. Some oil sinks to the ground while the rest follows the current and can be washed to the ashore where it affects [[flora]] and [[fauna]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Red Sea Attacks Lead to Environmental Emergency |url=https://paxforpeace.nl/news/red-sea-attacks-lead-to-environmental-emergency/#content |website=PAX |access-date=28 December 2025 |date=18 July 2025}}</ref> The August 2024 [[attacks on the Sounion]] tanker carrying 150,000 tons of [[crude oil]] represented a further threat, with salvage operations repeatedly hindered by [[Houthi]] interference before it was safely removed by the EU’s [[Operation Aspides]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wright |first=Robert |title=Attack on oil tanker in Red Sea threatens 'severe ecological disaster' |url=https://www.ft.com/content/7f886279-fecb-4410-b402-fbf85b9411b1 |website=Financial Times |url-access=subscription |access-date=28 December 2025 |date=24 August 2024}}</ref> The [[attacks on the MV Tutor]] in June 2024 and on the Chios Lion tanker in July 2024, generating a 136-mile [[oil slick]], illustrate the systematic pattern of environmental damage from sustained maritime conflict to the Red Sea ecosystem.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mazzucco |first1=Leonardo Jacopo Maria |title=From Navigational Disruptors to Ecocriminals: The Environmental Impact of the Houthi Anti-Shipping Campaign in the Red Sea |url=https://agsi.org/analysis/from-navigational-disruptors-to-ecocriminals-the-environmental-impact-of-the-houthi-anti-shipping-campaign-in-the-red-sea/ |website=Arab Gulf States Institute |access-date=28 December 2025 |date=12 March 2025}}</ref> 

=== Rising emissions through vessel rerouting ===
Container vessel traffic through the [[Suez Canal]] declined by approximately 75 percent in 2024 compared to 2023, as many shipping companies rerouted vessels around [[Africa]]'s [[Cape of Good Hope]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Red Sea crisis: Renewed attacks keep shipping at risk |url=https://www.project44.com/supply-chain-insights/the-red-sea-crisis-ceasefire-collapse-leaves-red-sea-in-tumultuous-state/ |website=Project 44 |access-date=28 December 2025 |date=21 August 2025}}</ref> Ships that would normally transit through the [[Suez Canal]] now travel 50 - 60 percent longer distances.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Impact of the Red Sea Crisis on Global Shipping and Trade |url=https://www.freightos.com/freight-blog/market-update/red-sea-crisis-impact/ |website=Freightos |access-date=28 December 2025 |date=27 November 2024}}</ref> The rerouting adds around 4575 [[nautical miles]] to the sailing distance between [[Shanghai]] and [[Rotterdam]], increasing voyage durations on average by 12 days.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Notteboom |first1=Theo |last2=Haralambides |first2=Hercules |last3=Cullinane |first3=Kevin |title=The Red Sea Crisis: ramifications for vessel operations, shipping networks, and maritime supply chains |journal=Maritime Economics & Logistics |date=20 February 2024 |volume=26 |page=1-20 |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41278-024-00287-z |access-date=28 December 2025}}</ref> Thus, the rerouting leads to an increase in fuel consumption of up to 33 percent depending on speed, distance and the type of vessel.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Red Sea Crisis Impacts on global shipping and the case for international co-operation |url=https://www.itf-oecd.org/sites/default/files/repositories/red-sea-crisis-impacts-global-shipping.pdf |website=International Transport Forum |access-date=28 December 2025 |date=2024}}</ref> The resulting environmental impact manifests as approximately 40 percent increase in [[CO₂ emissions]] per voyage<ref>{{cite web |title=The Impact of the Red Sea Crisis on Global Shipping and Trade |url=https://www.freightos.com/freight-blog/market-update/red-sea-crisis-impact/ |website=Freightos |access-date=28 December 2025 |date=27 November 2024}}</ref>, with speed increases potentially amplifying emissions by an additional 14 percent.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Red Sea Crisis Impacts on global shipping and the case for international co-operation |url=https://www.itf-oecd.org/sites/default/files/repositories/red-sea-crisis-impacts-global-shipping.pdf |website=International Transport Forum |access-date=28 December 2025 |date=2024}}</ref> The longer roundtrip schedules imply that fleets require at least two additional ships to ensure a weekly service. Those supplementary  vessels  also contribute to total fleet emissions leading up to a 67 percent increase in [[CO₂ emissions]] for typical Asia-North Europe service operating weekly.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Notteboom |first1=Theo |last2=Haralambides |first2=Hercules |last3=Cullinane |first3=Kevin |title=The Red Sea Crisis: ramifications for vessel operations, shipping networks, and maritime supply chains |journal=Maritime Economics & Logistics |date=20 February 2024 |volume=26 |page=1-20 |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41278-024-00287-z |access-date=28 December 2025}}</ref> Given that maritime shipping accounts for approximately 3 percent of global [[greenhouse gas emissions]], the [[Red Sea crisis]] represents a setback to the international climate goal to reach [[net-zero emissions]] by or around 2050<ref>International Maritime Organization. 2023 IMO Strategy on Reduction of GHG Emissions From Ships, Annex 1—Resolution MEPC.377(80), Marine Environment Protection Committee, Adopted on 7 July 2023, London: International Maritime Organization. https://cdn.qualenergia.it/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Resolution-MEPC.37780.pdf</ref> and simultaneously makes it more difficult to comply with the long-term temperature goal set out in Article 2 of the [[Paris Agreement]].<ref>United Nations. (2015). Paris Agreement. UN Doc. FCCC/CP/2015/10/Add.1. https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/english_paris_agreement.pdf</ref> While regional emissions at the Red Sea dropped 60 percent as fewer large vessels transit the waterway, this is offset by substantially increased global emissions resulting from longer rerouting.<ref>{{cite web |title=How the Red Sea Crisis has impacted international shipping activity and emissions at Saudi ports |url=https://oceanmind.global/knowledge-hub/how-the-red-sea-crisis-has-impacted-international-shipping-activity-and-emissions-at-saudi-ports/ |website=Ocean Mind |access-date=28 December 2025 |date=16 July 2025}}</ref> 

Another discussed option of rerouting vessels is via the [[Northern Sea Route]], which would reduce sailing distance by up to 40 percent compared to the route via the Red Sea. This would pose significant ecological risks, including higher per-container emissions due to smaller ship sizes, increased [[black carbon]] pollution in the fragile [[Arctic]] and disruption to marine ecosystems. Weak regulatory enforcement in the area and inadequate waste infrastructure further undermine the environmental sustainability of the [[Northern Sea Route]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zhu |first1=Shengda |last2=Fu |first2=Xiaowen Fu |last3=Ng |first3=Adolf K.Y. |last4=Luo |first4=Meifeng |last5=Ge |first5=Ying-En |title=The environmental costs and economic implications of container shipping on the Northern Sea Route |journal=Maritime Policy & Management |date=5 March 2018 |volume=45 |issue=4 |page=456-477 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03088839.2018.1443228 |access-date=28 December 2025}}</ref>

=== Biodiversity loss and damage to marine life ===
The increase in shipping traffic via the [[Cape of Good Hope]] leads to [[underwater noise pollution]] on this route which affects local [[fish]] stocks and [[marine mammals]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Baraniuk |first1=Chris |title=Red Sea crisis: What it takes to reroute the world's biggest cargo ships |url=https://supernet.isenberg.umass.edu/media/BBC-future-20240121.pdf |access-date=29 December 2025 |publisher=BBC |date=21 January 2024}}</ref> Additionally, the riskier route via the [[Cape of Good Hope]] leads to increasing numbers of container losses. The region is characterised by dangerous sailing conditions created by intersecting weather conditions. In 2024 approximately 200 containers were lost on that route what makes up 35 percent of all recorded container losses in that year.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Schuler |first1=Mike |title=Container Losses Rise in 2024 as Red Sea Crisis Forces Riskier Routes |website=gCaptain |access-date=29 December 2025 |date=30 June 2025}}</ref> Furthermore, military operations like [[Prosperity Guardian]] and [[Poseidon Archer]] have deployed naval forces from over fifteen nations in the Red Sea region.<ref>{{cite web |title=Calming the Red Sea’s Turbulent Waters |url=https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/gulf-and-arabian-peninsula/yemen/248-calming-red-seas-turbulent-waters |website=International Crisis Group |access-date=29 December 2025 |date=21 March 2025}}</ref> Their military [[sonar]] systems can cause behavioral disruptions, habitat displacement, and physiological harm to [[marine life]]. [[Cetacean species]] in the Red Sea are particularly vulnerable to acoustic disturbances due to their reliance on [[Animal echolocation|echolocation]] and [[Underwater acoustic communication|acoustic communication]] for critical life functions including [[navigation]], [[foraging]], and [[social bonding]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Southall |first1=Brandon L. |last2=Durban |first2=John W. |last3=Calambokidis |first3=John |last4=Casey |first4=Caroline |last5=Fahlbusch |first5=James A. |last6=Fearnbach |first6=Holly |last7=Flynn |first7=Kiirsten R. |last8=Fregosi |first8=Selene |last9=Friedlaender |first9=Ari S. |last10=Leander |first10=Samantha G. M. |last11=Visser |first11=Fleur |title=Behavioural responses of common dolphins to naval sonar |journal=Royal Society Open Science |date=1 October 2024 |volume=11 |issue=10 |page=240650 |url=https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/11/10/240650/92415/Behavioural-responses-of-common-dolphins-to-naval |access-date=29 December 2025}}</ref>
Furthermore, the [[Houthis]]’ implementation of [[naval mines]] to attack ships posing a threat to [[flora]] and [[fauna]] off the [[Yemeni]] coast.<ref>{{cite web |title=Calming the Red Sea’s Turbulent Waters |url=https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/gulf-and-arabian-peninsula/yemen/248-calming-red-seas-turbulent-waters |website=International Crisis Group |access-date=29 December 2025 |date=21 March 2025}}</ref> 

===  Collapse of conservation governance ===
The Red Sea lacks a comprehensive regional [[environmental treaty]] comparable to for example the [[Barcelona Convention]] regarding the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. [[Environmental regulation]] is dispersed among national agencies and the regional Organization for the Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (PERSGA).<ref>{{cite web |title=Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) |url=https://persga.org/programmes/marine-protected-areas-mpas-program/ |website=PERSGA |access-date=29 December 2025}}</ref>However, it has limited enforcement capacity as many [[coastal states]] lack resources for [[monitoring]] and rapid response.<ref>{{cite web |title=IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION AND RESULTS REPORT TF014701 ON A GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF US$3 MILLION TO THE Regional Organization for the Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (PERSGA) FOR THE Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Strategic Ecosystem Management Project |url=https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/177091565292535045/pdf/Middle-East-and-North-Africa-Red-Sea-and-Gulf-of-Aden-Strategic-Ecosystem-Management-Project.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com |access-date=29 December 2025 |date=28 June 2019}}</ref> The region's [[Marine Protected Area]]s are characterized as "non-cohesive" and "barely implemented" even under conditions prior to the [[Red Sea crisis]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gajdzik |first1=Laura |last2=Green |first2=Alison L. |last3=Cochran |first3=Jesse E.M. |last4=Hardenstine |first4=Royale S. |last5=Tanabe |first5=Lyndsey K. |last6=Berumen |first6=Michael L. |title=Using species connectivity to achieve coordinated large-scale marine conservation efforts in the Red Sea |journal=Marine Pollution Bulletin |date=May 2021 |volume=166 |page=112244 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X21002782}}</ref> 
The emergency cooperation efforts like the [[FSO Safer]] oil offloading in August 2023<ref>{{cite web |title=Race against time STOP RED SEA OIL SPILL |url=https://www.undp.org/safer |website=UNDP |access-date=29 December 2025 |date=2023}}</ref> and the successful salvage operation, led by the [[EU]]’s [[Operation Aspides]], regarding the [[attacks on the Sounion]] demonstrate potential for coordinated action against environmental threats in the region.<ref>{{cite web |title=Red Sea Attacks Lead to Environmental Emergency |url=https://paxforpeace.nl/news/red-sea-attacks-lead-to-environmental-emergency/#content |website=PAX |access-date=28 December 2025 |date=18 July 2025}}</ref> At the same time the inability to replicate such cooperation for the [[MV Rubymar]] incident reveals how active conflict fundamentally constrains environmental response capacity.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mazzucco |first1=Leonardo Jacopo Maria |title=From Navigational Disruptors to Ecocriminals: The Environmental Impact of the Houthi Anti-Shipping Campaign in the Red Sea |url=https://agsi.org/analysis/from-navigational-disruptors-to-ecocriminals-the-environmental-impact-of-the-houthi-anti-shipping-campaign-in-the-red-sea/ |website=Arab Gulf States Institute |access-date=28 December 2025 |date=12 March 2025}}</ref>

== Desalination plants ==
There is extensive demand for [[Desalination|desalinated]] water to meet the needs of the population and the industries along the Red Sea.

There are at least 18 desalination plants along the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia which discharge warm [[brine]] and treatment chemicals ([[chlorine]] and [[Anti-fouling agent|anti-scalants]]) that [[Coral bleaching|bleach]] and kill [[coral]]s and cause diseases in the fish. This is only localized, but it may intensify with time and profoundly impact the fishing industry.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mabrook |first1=Badr |title=Environmental impact of waste brine disposal of desalination plants, Red Sea, Egypt |journal=Desalination |date=August 1994 |volume=97 |issue=1–3 |pages=453–465 |doi=10.1016/0011-9164(94)00108-1 |bibcode=1994Desal..97..453M }}</ref>

== Trade ==
The Red Sea serves an important role in the [[global economy]], with cargo vessels traveling [[Indo-Mediterranean|between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea]] every year, thus shortening the path between [[Asia]] and [[Europe]] almost by half (as compared to traveling [[Cape Route|around Africa]] via the Atlantic Ocean).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rodrigue |first=Jean-Paul |date=1 November 2017 |title=Geographical Impacts of the Suez and Panama Canals |url=https://transportgeography.org/contents/chapter1/emergence-of-mechanized-transportation-systems/suez-panama-canal-geography-impacts/ |access-date=4 June 2023 |publisher=Hofstra University |language=en-US |publication-place=New York |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604204437/https://transportgeography.org/contents/chapter1/emergence-of-mechanized-transportation-systems/suez-panama-canal-geography-impacts/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 12% of global trade passes through the Red Sea.<ref name="rsce">{{cite news |last=Yerushalmy |first=Jonathan |date=20 December 2023 |title=Red Sea crisis explained: what is happening and what does it mean for global trade? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/dec/19/red-sea-shipping-crisis-bp-oil-explained-what-is-happening-and-what-does-it-mean-for-global-trade |work=The Guardian |access-date=3 January 2024}}</ref> This includes 30% of global [[Container ship|container]] traffic.<ref name="rsce"/>

=== Tourism ===

The sea is known for its [[recreational diving]] sites, such as [[Ras Mohammed]], [[SS Thistlegorm]] (shipwreck), [[Elphinstone Reef]], [[The Brothers, Egypt|The Brothers]], [[Daedalus Reef]], [[St. John's Reef]], [[Rocky Island (Egypt)|Rocky Island]] in [[Egypt]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scuba Diving in Egypt – Red Sea – Dive The World Vacations |url=http://www.dive-the-world.com/diving-sites-red-sea.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623214316/http://www.dive-the-world.com/diving-sites-red-sea.php |archive-date=23 June 2013 |access-date=15 March 2013 |website=www.dive-the-world.com}}</ref> and less known sites in [[Sudan]] such as [[Sanganeb]], [[Abington, Sudan|Abington]], [[Angarosh]] and [[Shaab Rumi]].

The Red Sea became a popular destination for diving after the expeditions of [[Hans Hass]] in the 1950s, and later by [[Jacques-Yves Cousteau]].<ref name="Cousteau">{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mTCj-DUHro |title=Jacques Cousteau's underworld village in the Red Sea |date=23 April 2010 |publisher=BBC Earth |access-date=11 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627162343/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mTCj-DUHro |archive-date=27 June 2018 |url-status=live |people=Philippe Cousteau Jnr}}</ref> Popular tourist resorts include [[El Gouna]], [[Hurghada]], [[Safaga]] and [[Marsa Alam]], on the west shore of the Red Sea, and [[Sharm-el-Sheikh]], [[Dahab]], and [[Taba, Egypt|Taba]] on the [[Egypt]]ian side of [[Sinaï]], as well as [[Aqaba]] in [[Jordan]] and [[Eilat]] in [[Israel]] in an area known as the [[Red Sea Riviera]].

The popular tourist beach of Sharm el-Sheikh was closed to all swimming in December 2010 due to several serious [[2010 Sharm El Sheikh shark attacks|shark attacks]], including a fatality. As of December 2010, scientists are investigating the attacks and have identified, but not verified, several possible causes including overfishing which causes large sharks to hunt closer to shore, tourist boat operators who chum offshore for shark-photo opportunities, and reports of ships throwing dead livestock overboard. The sea's narrowness, significant depth, and sharp drop-offs, all combine to form a geography where large deep-water sharks can roam in hundreds of meters of water, yet be within a hundred meters of swimming areas. The Red Sea Project is building the highest quality accommodation and a wide range of facilities on the coastline in Saudi Arabia. This will allow people to visit the coastline of the Red Sea by the end of 2022 but will be fully finished by 2030.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 April 2020 |title=Saudi Arabia's 'The Red Sea Project' breaks ground on coastal village |url=https://english.alarabiya.net/en/life-style/travel-and-tourism/2020/04/20/Saudi-Arabia-s-The-Red-Sea-Project-breaks-ground-on-coastal-village |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201209103910/https://english.alarabiya.net/en/life-style/travel-and-tourism/2020/04/20/Saudi-Arabia-s-The-Red-Sea-Project-breaks-ground-on-coastal-village |archive-date=9 December 2020 |access-date=4 December 2020 |website=Al Arabiya English |language=en}}</ref>

{{see also|2016 Hurghada attack|2017 Hurghada attack|2006 Dahab bombings|2005 Sharm El Sheikh bombings|2004 Sinai bombings|Metrojet Flight 9268}}

Tourism to the region has been threatened by occasional terrorist attacks, and by incidents related to food safety standards.<ref name="WalshKaraszDeath">{{Cite news |last1=Walsh |first1=Declan |last2=Karasz |first2=Palko |date=24 August 2018 |title=Hundreds of Tourists Evacuated From Hotel in Egypt After Britons' Sudden Death |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/24/world/middleeast/egypt-hotel-thomas-cook.html |url-status=live |access-date=26 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825225328/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/24/world/middleeast/egypt-hotel-thomas-cook.html |archive-date=25 August 2018}}</ref><ref name="RegevCriticalBlow">{{Cite news |last=Regev |first=Dana |date=15 July 2017 |title=Egypt's tourism industry suffers a critical blow |publisher=DW |url=http://www.dw.com/en/egypts-tourism-industry-suffers-a-critical-blow/a-39705321 |url-status=live |access-date=26 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170716032022/http://www.dw.com/en/egypts-tourism-industry-suffers-a-critical-blow/a-39705321 |archive-date=16 July 2017}}</ref>

=== Security ===
{{See also|Red Sea crisis}}

The Red Sea is part of the [[sea road]]s between [[Europe]], the [[Persian Gulf]] and [[East Asia]], and as such has heavy [[shipping|shipping traffic]]. Government-related bodies responsible for policing the Red Sea area include the [[Port Said Port Authority]], the [[Suez Canal Authority]] and the [[Red Sea Ports Authority]] of [[Egypt]], [[Jordan Maritime Authority|the Jordan Maritime Authority]], [[Israel Port Authority|the Israel Port Authority]], [[Saudi Ports Authority|the Saudi Ports Authority]] and [[Sea Ports Corporation, Sudan|the Sea Ports Corporation]] of [[Sudan]].

[[Houthi]] rebels in Yemen have increased attacks on shipping vessels since mid-November 2023. The blocking of Israeli-linked ships was in response to Israel's war on [[Gaza Strip|Gaza]].<ref name="rsce" /> In January 2024, it was reported that Red Sea shipping volumes had dropped to 30% of normal levels due to Houthi intervention.<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Middle East faces economic chaos |url=https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2024/01/18/the-middle-east-faces-economic-chaos |access-date=21 January 2024 |newspaper=The Economist }}</ref> In response, the US has announced a maritime coalition to defend shipping in the Red Sea for the [[Operation Prosperity Guardian]].<ref name="rsce" /> In addition to the U.S.-led efforts, the European Union launched Operation Aspides in February 2024 to provide naval escorts and protect commercial shipping in the Red Sea.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eunavfor-aspides_en|publisher=European External Action Service|title=EU launches Operation Aspides|year=2024|website=www.eeas.europa.eu}}</ref> In January 2025, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2768, calling for an end to Houthi attacks and demanding the release of detained crew from seized vessels.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://press.un.org/en/2025/sc15965.doc.htm|title=Security Council Adopts Resolution 2768 (2025), Sustaining Monthly Reporting on Houthi Attacks in Red Sea &#124; Meetings Coverage and Press Releases|website=press.un.org|publisher=United Nations Security Council}}</ref>

Beyond inter-state conflict, the Red Sea region is also shaped by non-traditional security threats, including piracy, illicit trafficking, and 'blue crime' – a convergence of arms smuggling, illegal fishing, and maritime terrorism within governance gaps.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bueger |first1=Christian |last2=Edmunds |first2=Tim |title=Blue Crime: Conceptualising Transnational Organised Crime at Sea |journal=Marine Policy |year=2020 |volume=119 |article-number=104067 |doi=10.1016/j.marpol.2020.104067|bibcode=2020MarPo.11904067B |doi-access=free }}</ref>. In March 2024, Chairman of WeCare Foundation, Saad Kassis-Mohamed, was reported to have called on governments to reinforce maritime security protocols and protect Red Sea trade routes amid shipping disruptions and cargo diversions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sudanspost.com/wecare-calls-for-global-efforts-to-reinforce-maritime-security-protocols/ |title=WeCare calls for global efforts to reinforce maritime security protocols |date=25 March 2024 |language=en |access-date=19 December 2025|website=Sudan Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://sudantribune.com/article/283710 |title=Advocacy initiative calls for global efforts to reinforce maritime security protocols |date=25 March 2024 |language=en |access-date=19 December 2025|website=Sudan Tribune}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.biztoday.news/2024/03/31/saad-kassis-mohamed-led-wecare-seek-red-sea-travel-security/ |title=Saad Kassis Mohamed led WeCare seek Red Sea travel security |date=31 March 2024 |language=en |access-date=19 December 2025|website=Biz Today}}</ref>
Recent academic assessments highlight the role of 'shadow fleets', unregistered or covert vessels often linked to Iranian or Russian interests, which operate in the Red Sea to evade sanctions and transport illicit goods, including oil, weapons, and narcotics.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/gulf-and-arabian-peninsula/red-sea/calm-red-seas-turbulent-waters|publisher=International Crisis Group|title=Calming the Red Sea's Turbulent Waters |year=2025}}</ref> While international attention has largely focused on missile and drone attacks, scholars also warn of critical infrastructure vulnerabilities, including damage to undersea cables caused by bottom trawling and sabotage.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Umanets |first=Maksym |title=Geopolitical Dimensions of the Houthi Interference with Submarine Cable Communications in the Red Sea |journal=Przegląd Geopolityczny |year=2024 |volume=50 |pages=51–67 |id={{CEEOL|1284998}} |url=https://przeglad.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/L-03-Umanets.pdf }}</ref>

== Bordering countries ==
[[File:Red Sea map.svg|thumb|A four color map of the Red Sea and its bordering countries]]

The Red Sea may be geographically divided into three sections: the Red Sea proper, and in the north, the Gulf of Aqaba and the Gulf of Suez. The six countries bordering the Red Sea proper are:
* Eastern shore:
** [[Saudi Arabia]]
** [[Yemen]]
* Western shore:
** [[Egypt]]
** [[Sudan]]
** [[Eritrea]]
** [[Djibouti]]

The Gulf of Suez is entirely bordered by Egypt.<ref>{{Citation |last=Schütz |first=Karsten I. |title=Structure and Stratigraphy of the Gulf of Suez, Egypt |date=1994 |work=Interior Rift Basins |url=https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/books/book/1314/chapter/107170283 |access-date=2025-10-05 |publisher=American Association of Petroleum Geologists |language=en |doi=10.1306/m59582c3 |isbn=978-1-62981-091-1|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Richardson |first=Mark |last2=Arthur |first2=Michael A. |date=1988 |title=The Gulf of Suez—northern Red Sea neogene rift: a quantitive basin analysis |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/0264817288900050 |journal=Marine and Petroleum Geology |language=en |volume=5 |issue=3 |pages=247–270 |doi=10.1016/0264-8172(88)90005-0|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The Gulf of Aqaba borders Egypt, [[Israel]], [[Jordan]] and Saudi Arabia.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rumley |first=Dennis |title=The Geography of Border Landscapes |last2=Minghi |first2=Julian |date=October 3, 2014 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781317598794 |chapter=The Gulf of Aqaba coastline: An evolving border landscape}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Spiegel |first=Steve L. |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9780203822685 |title=Practical Peacemaking in the Middle East: The Environment, Water, Refugees, and Economic Cooperation and Development |date=2014-04-23 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-203-82268-5 |edition=1 |language=en |chapter=Development and Protection of the Gulf of Aqaba |doi=10.4324/9780203822685}}</ref>

In addition to the standard geographical definition of the six countries bordering the Red Sea cited above, areas such as [[Somalia]] are sometimes also described as Red Sea territories. This is primarily due to their proximity to and geological similarities with the nations facing the Red Sea and/or political ties with them.<ref name="Barth">{{Cite book |last=Barth |first=Hans-Jörg |title=Sabkha ecosystems, Volume 2 |publisher=Springer |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-4020-0504-6 |page=148}}</ref><ref name="Makinda">{{Cite book |last=Makinda |first=Samuel M. |title=Superpower diplomacy in the Horn of Africa |publisher=Routledge |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-7099-4662-5 |page=37 }}</ref>

== Towns and cities ==
Towns and cities on the Red Sea coast (including the coasts of the Gulfs of Aqaba and Suez) include:

{{Div col|colwidth=18em}}
* [[Ain Sokhna]], Egypt (العين السخنة)
* [[Al Hudaydah]], Yemen (الحديدة)
* [[Al Lith]], Saudi Arabia (الليِّث)
* [[Al Qunfudhah]], Saudi Arabia (القنفذة)
* [[Al-Qusayr, Egypt|Al-Qusair]], Egypt (القصير)
* [[Al Wajh]], Saudi Arabia (الوجه)
* [[Aqaba]], Jordan (العقبة)
* [[Asseb]], Eritrea (ዓሰብ / عصب)
* [[Dahab]], Egypt (دهب)
* [[Duba, Saudi Arabia|Duba]], Saudi Arabia (ضباء)
* [[Eilat]], Israel (אילת)
* [[El Gouna]], Egypt (الجونة)
* [[El Tor, Egypt|El Tor]], Egypt (الطور)
* [[Suez]], Egypt (السويس)
* [[Hala'ib]], Egypt and Sudan (حلايب) (disputed)
* [[Haql]], Saudi Arabia (حقل)
* [[Hirgigo]], Eritrea (ሕርጊጎ / حرقيقو)
* [[Hurghada]], Egypt (الغردقة)
* [[Jeddah]], Saudi Arabia (جدة)
* [[Jizan|Jazan]], Saudi Arabia (جازان)
* [[Marsa Alam]], Egypt (مرسى علم)
* [[Massawa]], Eritrea (ምጽዋዕ / مصوع)
* [[Mokha]], Yemen (المُخا)
* [[Moulhoule]], Djibouti (مول هولة)
* [[Nuweiba]], Egypt (نويبع)
* [[Port Sudan]], Sudan (بورت سودان)
* [[Rabigh]], Saudi Arabia (رابغ)
* [[Safaga]], Egypt (سفاجا)
* [[Sharm El Sheikh]], Egypt (شرم الشيخ)
* [[Soma Bay]], Egypt (سوما باي)
* [[Suakin]], Sudan (سواكن)
* [[Taba (Egypt)|Taba]], Egypt (طابا)
* [[Thuwal]], Saudi Arabia (ثول)
* [[Yanbu]], Saudi Arabia (ينبع)
{{Div col end}}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Ocean|Water|Asia|Africa}}
* {{MS|al-Salam Boccaccio 98}} ferry disaster
* [[Crossing the Red Sea]], a Biblical tale from the [[Book of Exodus]]
* [[Red Sea Dam]]
* [[The Red Sea Project]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|33em}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Red Sea | volume= 22 |last1=Dickson |first1=Henry Newton |author1-link=Henry Newton Dickson |pages=970–971 |short=1}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Hamblin |first1=W. Kenneth |last2=Christiansen |first2=Eric H. |name-list-style=amp |year=1998 |title=Earth's Dynamic Systems |edition=8th |location=Upper Saddle River |publisher=Prentice-Hall |isbn=978-0-13-745373-3}}
* {{cite book |doi=10.1017/9781108399722 |title=Oceanic Histories |date=2017 |isbn=978-1-108-39972-2 |editor-last1=Armitage |editor-last2=Bashford |editor-last3=Sivasundaram |editor-first1=David |editor-first2=Alison |editor-first3=Sujit |last1=Miran |first1=Jonathan |chapter=The Red Sea |pages=156–181 |chapter-url={{GBurl|TMk-DwAAQBAJ|p=156}} }}
* {{Cite web |last1=Potts |first1=D.T. |last2=Gillies |first2=Sean |last3=Scalfano |first3=Perry |last4=Talbert |first4=R. |last5=Elliott |first5=Tom |last6=Becker |first6=Jeffrey |date=2 March 2021 |title=Places: 39290 (Arabicus Sinus/Erythr(ae)um/Rubrum Mare) |url=http://pleiades.stoa.org/places/39290 |access-date=2 June 2023 |publisher=Pleiades}}

== External links ==
{{sister project links}}
* [https://www.coral-reef-info.com/red-sea-coral-reefs/ Red Sea Coral Reefs]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120326031330/http://www.redseadivinghurghada.co.uk/underwater-photography.html Red Sea Photography]

{{List of African seas}}
{{List of seas}}
{{Countries bordering the Red Sea}}
{{Corals}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Red Sea| ]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Egypt]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Eritrea]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Israel]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Jordan]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Saudi Arabia]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Sudan]]
[[Category:Egypt–Sudan border]]
[[Category:Eritrea–Sudan border]]
[[Category:Geography of East Africa]]
[[Category:Geography of North Africa]]
[[Category:Geography of the Middle East]]
[[Category:Geography of West Asia]]
[[Category:Great Rift Valley]]
[[Category:Gulfs of the Indian Ocean]]
[[Category:Horn of Africa]]
[[Category:Inlets of Asia]]
[[Category:Marginal seas of the Indian Ocean]]
[[Category:Marine ecoregions]]
[[Category:Saudi Arabia–Yemen border]]
[[Category:Seas of Africa]]
[[Category:Seas of Asia]]
[[Category:Seas of Yemen]]
[[Category:Suez Canal]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Egypt]]
[[Category:Underwater diving sites]]