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Satellite effigy take from space show the Red Sea as a profane line running roughly from north to south along the northeast edge of the African continent . The acute blue of the water , which stands in stark direct contrast to the drab brownness of the surrounding landscape , belies the sea ’s renowned name . There ’s seemingly nothing " crimson " about the Red Sea .

So , how did the Red Sea acquire its famous nickname ?

Life’s Little Mysteries

The color of the Red Sea is normally an intense turquoise.

" I do n’t cerebrate anyone know for sure how it got its name , " said Karine Kleinhaus , an associate professor of marine and atmospheric sciences at Stony Brook University in New York . But it ’s potential , she added , that the answer might have to do with alga — in this pillowcase , Trichodesmium erythraeum . Sometimes call " ocean sawdust , " it is a type of cyanobacteria ( aquatic bacterium that live throughphotosynthesis ) that go to the blue - green alga group , and it is responsible for between 60 % and 80 % of nitrogen changeover in the sea , according to NASA Earth Observatory .

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T. erythraeumis prolific and is found in much of the world ’s tropical and subtropical ocean . It grows abundantly in the Red Sea and is open to occasional blooms , which fall out when there is a rapid growth of the population . When the algae die off , the water shoot on a reddish - browned semblance as the dying algae spread across the ocean ’s surface .

This is an underwater photo of white, green, and reddish-pink coral reef surrounded by a school of little yellow Anthias fish. It was taken in the Red Sea.

The color of the Red Sea is normally an intense turquoise.

However , it ’s also possible that the Red Sea is named after the red mountains that line share of its shoreline , such as along the Jordanian seacoast , Kleinhaus say .

But the Red Sea is n’t defined alone by its name . " The Red Sea is a hot spot of biodiversity with many endemic animals that are see only in the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden , " Kleinhaus said .

Long and narrow , the Red Sea [ in Arabic , Al - Bahr Al - Ahmar ] is sandwich between northeast Africa and the Arabian Peninsula . It extends approximately 1,200 miles ( 1,930 kilometers ) from the Gulf of Suez in the north to the Gulf of Aden in the south , eventually connecting with the Indian Ocean . According to Britannica , the Red Sea ’s maximal width is 190 miles ( 305 km ) and its maximal depth is 9,974 animal foot ( 3,040 measure ) . It covers an expanse of approximately 174,000 square mile ( 450,000 square kilometer ) .

This is a satellite view of Middle East, with Saudi Arabia in the center.

The Red Sea is sandwiched between Egypt, Sudan and Eritrea to the left and Saudi Arabia and Yemen to the right.

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a photo of the ocean with a green tint

The Red Sea has one of the world ’s longest continuouscoral reefs . It extends for 2,485 mil ( 4,000 km ) and hosts a rich multifariousness of maritime life story . The reef ’s unique characteristic make it one of the world ’s only nautical refuges fromclimate change , Kleinhaus said .

" The corals that reached there at the terminal of thelast ice agewere only those that could tolerate very high temperatures and salt , because of the condition of the Red Sea at the time they introduce , " Kleinhaus state . " Therefore , they are now experience well below their maximal temperatures and are predicted to be one of the last coral reefs to survive this one C . "

The Red Sea is one of the world ’s youngest bodies of water and was take form by the splitting of twotectonic plates , the Arabian Plate and the African Plate , said Kleinhaus . " These are still drifting asunder , so it is a mature ocean , " she summate .

Illustration of the Red Planet aka Mars against a black background.

Additional resources

Bibliography

NASAEarth Observatory , ( 2019 ) " A Bloom of Nitrogen - Fixing bacteria . “https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov / images/145610 / a - rosiness - of - nitrogen - fixing - bacterium

Britannica , " Red Sea . “https://www.britannica.com / position / Red - Sea

Originally bring out on Live Science on Sept. 12 , 2012 and rewritten on June 8 , 2022 .

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