Red Sea

a branch of the Indian Ocean, known also as the Arabian Gulf. It lies between Arabia on the east and Abyssinia and Egypt on the west. Its extreme length from the entrance of the Suez Canal to the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb is about 1,450 miles. Its general width is less than 200 miles. The narrowest part of the strait mentioned is less than fifteen miles. A branch about 100 miles in length extends northeastward into Arabia. The waters contain reddish marine algae, whence the name. The Red Sea occupies a long trough or valley. The shores are low and sandy, sometimes swampy. Travelers by steamer catch sight occasionally of a skulking lion. Considerable areas of sea are quite shallow. It is said that during the prevalence of heavy winds from a certain quarter, it may be possible to ford an arm of the sea. The Israelites are reputed to have crossed dry-shod from Egypt to the southern point of the peninsula which lies between the so-called Gulf of Suez and the Arabian branch of the Red Sea. The climate of the Red Sea region is excessively hot and rainless. It is estimated that the annual evaporation from the surface of the sea ranges from eight to twenty-three feet a year, according to locality. A large part of the moisture is carried by northwestern winds to the Abyssinian mountains, where it is deposited in the form of a perpetual snowcap. If the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb were closed, the sea would be converted into a bed of salt in from 1,000 to 2,000 years. See Suez Canal; Sinai