The Red Sea Reef

To anybody footing on its beach and gazing out across its wonderful waters, the Red Sea may seem to be a mislabeling. Its blueness is everlasting and anything less red cannot be fantasized. The Red Sea, where the waste meets the ocean, is truly one of the planet’s most foreign and charming natural seascape environments. The Red Sea is situated between Asia and Africa. At its most northerly point forms the Sinai Peninsula and stretches over 1000 miles south to join the Indian Ocean, between Ethiopia and Yemen. In the north and west are desert plains, while in the south a mountainous region (2642 meters high), which is part of the mountain variety stretching from deep in Saudi Arabia, across the Sinai and then into Nubia of the African continent. The Red Sea holds under its gemstone blue surface an oasis of living creatures, reefs, and coral arrangement. Its use as a highway between East and West has fascinated man since the beginning of time.

Water temperatures in the Red Sea stay strangely steady year round, averaging 22^ C in the summer. Low pressure systems expand in the Sahara Desert and sketch hot dry east winds from Asia which cause the temperature to go up regularly along with sand storms. At the same time, lows develop over the Red Sea, bringing damp cold air from the south and creating clouds, haze, and more often rain. The northern land accumulation is the primary power over temperature in the gulf, but this decreases to the south the closer you get to open sea. The open sea’s cooling result creates an interesting temperature prototype: maximum summer temperatures are lower in the south while minimum temperatures are higher in the north with the reverse occurring during the winter. In any case, the coldest moth of the year is January and the warmest months are July and August. The Red Sea is infamous among seafarers for its high speed surface winds and aggressively short irregular movement. It may be peaceful on the inward shore, but journeys to bare sites like The Brothers islands, a distant off-shore site east of El Quseir, can be dangerous and boats have been seen literally to fall apart under the force of the journey.

Snorkeling is a accepted way to view the border of the reef, particularly for those with limited assurance in their swimming skill. Sharks, manta rays, turtles, and eels will take pieces of bread from your hand, and luminously colored schools of fish team all around in confusing color. However, most divers will tell you that there is nothing to hit the excitement of experiencing the deepness of the reef and the wealthy marine life to be found in the Red Sea. The lure of the reef is such that many novice divers become totally "hooked" and cannot imagine why they have never joined in the fun before. Furthermore, when asked to compare their local diving conditions with those in the Red Sea, they find it a "paradise" with clear visibility, little wave action, and warm temperatures all year long.

The water of the Red Sea is also a fundamental asset. Surrounding cities are totally dependent on it for household and manufacturing supplies, and marvelous desalination plants are in procedure. These supply drinking water which has been purified to a high standard, as well as non-potable domestic water. Sea water is also used in large quantities by oil refineries and cement works situated along the coastline. The danger of pollution is always present in the Red Sea, particularly from oil spillage. A Royal Decree forbids the discharge of any pollutant substances, including oil, within 100 miles of the Saudi Arabian coastline.

For swimmers, divers, traders, industrialists, fishermen, archaeologists, and tourists, the Red Sea has its own kind of incomparability. And even the leisured gazer, speculating the inaccessible blue/red abnormality, can be said to have been given something to think about. The underwater amazement of the Red Sea remains a living tapestry of resounding corals and exotic fish, waiting for you to discover its secrets. It is nominated as one of the natural wonder.