Gulf of Suez
Gulf of Suez | ||
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Aerial photograph taken from the space shuttle STS-40 |
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Waters | Red Sea | |
Land mass | Sinai Peninsula , Africa | |
Geographical location | 28 ° 45 ′ N , 33 ° 0 ′ E | |
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width | 32 km | |
length | 280 km | |
Islands | Shadwan | |
The Gulf of Suez, an average of 40 meters deep (in ancient times Heroopoliticus Sinus , Arabic خليج السويس Chalīdsch as-Suwais , DMG Ḫalīǧ as-Suways ) is a northwestern branch of the Red Sea .
It is separated from the Gulf of Aqaba by the Sinai Peninsula . With 40 million years, the Gulf of Suez is a geologically relatively young rift zone and extends from Suez at the entrance of the Suez Canal in the north to the Strait of Gubal in the south over a length of about 280 kilometers. The border between Africa and Asia lies along the central line through the Gulf .
There are numerous islands at the exit of the Gulf to the Red Sea. The largest is the island of Shadwan , about 30 kilometers northeast of the city of el Gouna .
economy
Large Egyptian oil fields lie on the edges of the Gulf . One of the oldest still active fields is the Gemsa oil field off the coast in the southwest. It was discovered back in 1869 and oil production began in 1910. Natural gas is also produced today.