The Red Sea is a long, narrow strip of water located between the Arabian Peninsula and Africa. It is one of the world’s most saline bodies of water, with a salinity of around 41%. The Red Sea is also one of the world’s youngest oceans, having formed only around 20 million years ago.
The Red Sea gets its name from the intense red color that sometimes appears at its surface due to high concentrations of algae and other microscopic organisms. The sea has an average depth of 1,500 meters (4,900 feet) and a maximum depth of 3,040 meters (9,970 feet).
The Red Sea is home to over 1,200 species of fish, as well as numerous corals and other invertebrates. Many of these species are found nowhere else in the world. The sea is also a popular destination for scuba diving and snorkeling due to its clear waters and abundant marine life.
The Red Sea Rift is a continental rift zone that extends for over 6,000 kilometers (3,700 miles) from the Gulf of Aden in the north to the Afar Triple Junction in the south. The rift zone consists of two parts: an eastern branch that runs along the length of the Red Sea; and a western branch that extends into Ethiopia and Eritrea.
The eastern branch is where seafloor spreading occurs and new oceanic crust is being created. This process began around 30 million years ago when Arabia began to split away from Africa along what became known as the Great Rift Valley. As Arabia moved northward away from Africa, it caused the formation of faults along both sides of what was once a single landmass. These faults eventually led to seafloor spreading and creation of new oceanic crust in what is now known as the Red Sea Rift Zone.