Gulf of Aden

{{short description|Gulf between the Horn of Africa and Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula}}

{{Infobox body of water

| name = Gulf of Aden

| image = ISS062-E-51221 - View of Earth.jpg

| caption =

| image_bathymetry = Gulf_of_Aden_map.png

| caption_bathymetry = The Gulf of Aden, as viewed from space (top) and on a map (bottom)

| location = East Africa and West Asia

| coords = {{Coord|12|N|48|E|type:waterbody_scale:5000000|display=title,inline}}

| type = Gulf

| inflow =

| outflow =

| catchment =

| basin_countries = {{collapsible list

| {{flag|Djibouti}}

| {{flag|Somalia}}

| {{flag|Yemen}}

}}

{{collapsible list

| title = {{nowrap|1 de facto}}Michael Hodd, East Africa Handbook, 7th Edition, (Passport Books: 2002), p. 21: "To the north are the countries of the Horn of Africa comprising Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti, "

| titlestyle = text-align:left;padding-right:4em;font-weight:normal;background-color:whitesmoke; | {{flag|Somaliland}}

}}

| length =

| width =

| area = {{cvt|410,000|km2}}{{dubious|1=This would make it about the same size as the neighbouring Red Sea, which is obviously much larger.|date=April 2022}}

| depth = {{convert|500|m|abbr=on}}

| max-depth = {{convert|2700|m|abbr=on}}

| volume =

| residence_time =

| salinity =

| shore =

| temperature_high = {{convert|28|°C|°F}}

| temperature_low = {{convert|15|°C|°F}}

| frozen =

| islands =

| trenches =

| benches =

| cities = Aden, Zinjibar, Shuqrah, Ahwar, Balhaf, Mukalla, Ash-Shihr, al-Hami, Hadibu, Qulensya, Berbera, Bulhar, Maydh, Djibouti, Zeila, Las Khorey, Bosaso

| mapframe = yes

| mapframe-zoom = 4

| mapframe-stroke-width = 1

}}

The Gulf of Aden ({{langx|ar|خليج عدن}}; {{langx|so|Gacanka Cadmeed}}) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channel, the Socotra Archipelago, Puntland in Somalia and Somaliland to the south.Lytle, Ephraim. "Early Greek and Latin Sources on the Indian Ocean and Eastern Africa." Early Exchange between Africa and the Wider Indian Ocean World. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2016. 113-134. In the northwest, it connects with the Red Sea through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, and it connects with the Arabian Sea to the east. To the west, it narrows into the Gulf of Tadjoura in Djibouti. The Aden Ridge lies along the middle of the gulf, and tectonic activity at the ridge is causing the gulf to widen by about {{convert|15|mm|in|abbr=on|2}} per year.

The ancient Greeks regarded the gulf as one of the most important parts of the "Erythraean Sea". It later came to be dominated by Muslims, as the area around the gulf converted to Islam. From the late 1960s onwards, there was an increased Soviet naval presence in the Gulf. The importance of the Gulf of Aden declined while the Suez Canal was closed, but it was revitalized when the canal was reopened in 1975, after being deepened and widened by the Egyptian government.

The waterway is part of the important Suez Canal shipping route between the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Sea in the Indian Ocean, with 21,000 ships crossing the gulf annually.{{cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081202/ap_on_re_af/piracy |title=Pirates fire on US cruise ship in hijack attempt: Yahoo! News |access-date=2008-12-04 |publisher=Yahoo! |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204080826/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081202/ap_on_re_af/piracy |archive-date=December 4, 2008 }} This route is often used for the delivery of Persian Gulf oil, making the gulf an integral waterway in the world economy. Important cities along the Gulf of Aden include the namesake Aden in Yemen. Other Yemeni cities are Zinjibar, Shuqrah, Ahwar, Balhaf, Mukalla, Ash-Shihr, al-Hami, Hadibu, and Qulensya. On the African side are the cities of Djibouti, Berbera and Bosaso.

Despite a lack of large-scale commercial fishing facilities, the coastline supports many isolated fishing towns and villages. The Gulf of Aden is richly supplied with fish, turtles, and lobsters.{{Cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/aden-gulf|title=Aden, Gulf of {{!}} Encyclopedia.com|website=www.encyclopedia.com|access-date=2019-06-14|archive-date=2019-10-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026183352/https://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/aden-gulf|url-status=live}} Local fishing takes place close to the shore; sardines, tuna, kingfish, and mackerel make up the bulk of the annual catches. Crayfish and sharks are also fished locally.

Historical names

File:Ibn Majid Gulf of Berbera.png referring to the Gulf as the Gulf of Berbera]]

In antiquity, the ancient Greeks viewed what is now called the Gulf of Aden as an extension of the Erythraean Sea (Red Sea) {{langx|grc|Ἐρυθρὰ Θάλασσα}}, Erythrà Thálassa. They named several of the islands in the gulf, including one they called Stratonis, although it is no longer clear which Greek name referred to which island.Smith, William (editor); Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0064;layout=;query=id%3D%2312506;loc=stratoniceia-geo "Stratonis Insula"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240522132615/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0064&redirect=true |date=2024-05-22 }}, London, (1854){{Cite web|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/16D*.html|title=LacusCurtius • Strabo's Geography — Book XVI Chapter 4|website=penelope.uchicago.edu|access-date=2021-02-19|archive-date=2021-06-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612122218/https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/16D%2A.html|url-status=live}}

In Abu'l-Fida's A Sketch of the Countries ({{langx|ar|تقويم البلدان}}), the present-day Gulf of Aden was called the Gulf of Berbera, which shows how important Berbera was in both regional and international trade during the medieval period.[http://www.idref.fr/026676869 Identifiants et Référentiels Sudoc Pour L'Enseignement Supérieur et la Recherche - Abū al-Fidā (1273-1331)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420092100/https://www.idref.fr/026676869 |date=2023-04-20 }} {{in lang|fr}}{{cite book|last1=Lewicki|first1=Tadeusz|title=Arabic External Sources for the History of Africa to the South of Sahara|date=1974|pages=33|publisher=Curzon Press|language=en}}

Legendary navigator Ibn Majid also referred to the Gulf of Aden as the Gulf of Berbera in his 15th century magnum opus The Book of the Benefits of the Principles and Foundations of Seamanship.{{cite book|title=الفوائد في أصول علم البحر والقواعد|page=129|language=ar|first=Ahmad|last=Ibn Majid}} Berbera has been a prominent port since antiquity.{{Cite web |url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/periplus.html |title=Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, Schoff's 1912 translation |access-date=2020-12-31 |archive-date=2014-08-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814160845/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/periplus.html |url-status=live }}

Geography

=Limits=

The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Gulf of Aden as follows:{{cite web|url=https://iho.int/uploads/user/pubs/standards/s-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf|title=Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd edition|year=1953|publisher=International Hydrographic Organization|access-date=28 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008191433/http://www.iho.int/iho_pubs/standard/S-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf|archive-date=8 October 2011}}

::On the northwest – the southern limit of the Red Sea [a line joining Hisn Murad ({{Coord|12|40|N|43|30|E}}) and Ras Siyyan ({{Coord|12|29|N|43|20|E}})]

::On the east – the meridian of Cape Guardafui

::The Gulf of Tadjoura is part of the Gulf of Aden, forming its western end.

=Hydrography=

The temperature of the Gulf of Aden varies between {{convert|15|C|F}} and {{convert|28|C|F}}, depending on the season and the monsoons. The salinity of the gulf at {{convert|10|m|ft}} depth varies from 35.3 ‰ along the eastern Somali coast to as high as 37.3 ‰ in the gulf's center,{{cite book|url=http://www.fao.org/WAIRDOCS/FNS/FN023E/begin.htm#Contents| chapter-url=http://www.fao.org/WAIRDOCS/FNS/FN023E/ch2.htm| title=Report on Cruise No. 3 of R/V "Dr. Fridtjof Nansen" - Indian Ocean Fishery and Development Programme - Pelagic Fish Assessment Survey North Arabian Sea| chapter=Hydrographic Survey Results|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)|year=1975|access-date=2011-04-23}} while its oxygen content at the same depth is typically between 4.0 and 5.0 mg/L.

Exclusive economic zone

Exclusive economic zones in Gulf of Aden:{{Cite web|url=http://www.seaaroundus.org/data/#/eez|title=Sea Around Us | Fisheries, Ecosystems and Biodiversity|website=www.seaaroundus.org|access-date=2020-09-13|archive-date=2016-02-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223181456/http://www.seaaroundus.org/data/#/eez|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.seaaroundus.org/data/#/eez/706?chart=catch-chart&dimension=taxon&measure=tonnage&limit=10|title=Sea Around Us | Fisheries, Ecosystems and Biodiversity|website=www.seaaroundus.org|access-date=2020-09-13|archive-date=2016-02-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223181456/http://www.seaaroundus.org/data/#/eez/706?chart=catch-chart&dimension=taxon&measure=tonnage&limit=10|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.seaaroundus.org/data/#/eez/917?chart=catch-chart&dimension=taxon&measure=tonnage&limit=10|title=Sea Around Us | Fisheries, Ecosystems and Biodiversity|website=www.seaaroundus.org|access-date=2020-09-13|archive-date=2016-02-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223181456/http://www.seaaroundus.org/data/#/eez/917?chart=catch-chart&dimension=taxon&measure=tonnage&limit=10|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.seaaroundus.org/data/#/eez/262?chart=catch-chart&dimension=taxon&measure=tonnage&limit=10|title=Sea Around Us | Fisheries, Ecosystems and Biodiversity|website=www.seaaroundus.org|access-date=2020-09-13|archive-date=2016-02-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223181456/http://www.seaaroundus.org/data/#/eez/262?chart=catch-chart&dimension=taxon&measure=tonnage&limit=10|url-status=live}}

width=75\|Number !width=250\|Country !width=100\|Area (Km²)
class="wikitable" style="font-size:100%"
align=center\|1	{{YEM}}	align=center\|509,240
align=center\|2	{{SOM}} and {{Flag\|Somaliland}}	align=center\|831,059
align=center\|3	{{DJI}}	align=center\|7,037
style="background:#9acdff;" !Total \|Gulf of Aden	align=center\|1,347,336

Economy

File:Dhow Gulf of Aden.jpg in the Gulf of Aden]]

The Gulf of Aden is a vital waterway for shipping, especially for Persian Gulf oil, making it an integral waterway in the world economy.{{cite web|url=http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEMWOXNFGLE_index_0.html|title=Earth from Space: The Gulf of Aden – the gateway to Persian oil|publisher=European Space Agency|date=2005-03-01|access-date=2008-04-04|archive-date=2008-03-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080317045047/http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEMWOXNFGLE_index_0.html|url-status=live}} Approximately 11% of the world's seaborne petroleum passes through the Gulf of Aden on its way to the Suez Canal or to regional refineries.{{cite web|url=http://www.itopf.com/information-services/country-profiles/documents/redsea.pdf|title=Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden|publisher=International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF)|year=2003|access-date=2008-04-04|archive-date=2010-12-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101216101730/http://itopf.com/information%2Dservices/country%2Dprofiles/documents/redsea.pdf|url-status=dead}} The main ports along the gulf are Aden, Balhaf, Bir Ali, Mukalla, and Shokra in Yemen; Djibouti City in Djibouti; Zeila in Somaliland, Berbera in Somaliland, and Bosaso in Somalia.

In antiquity, the gulf was a thriving area of international trade between Ptolemaic Egypt and Rome in the west and Classical India, its Indonesian colonies, and Han China in the east. It was not limited to transshipment, as Yemeni incense, tortoiseshell, and other goods were in high demand in both directions. After Egyptian sailors discovered the monsoon winds and began to trade directly with India, caravan routes and their associated kingdoms began to collapse, leading to a rise in piracy in the area. The 1st-century Periplus of the Erythraean Sea documents one Egyptian captain's experiences during this era.

After the collapse of the Roman economy, direct trade ceased but the Awsan I port Crater, located just south of the modern city of Aden, remained an important regional center. In late antiquity and the early medieval period, there were several invasions of Yemen from Ethiopia; after the rise of Islam, the gulf permitted repeated migrations of northwest Africa by Arab settlers.

In the first decade of the 2000s, especially during the war in Somalia, the gulf evolved into a hub of pirate activity. By 2013, attacks in the waters had steadily declined due to private security and international navy patrols.{{cite news|last=Arnsdorf|first=Isaac|title=West Africa Pirates Seen Threatening Oil and Shipping|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-22/west-africa-pirates-seen-threatening-oil-and-shipping.html|access-date=23 July 2013|newspaper=Bloomberg|date=22 July 2013|archive-date=26 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726141219/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-22/west-africa-pirates-seen-threatening-oil-and-shipping.html|url-status=live}} India receives US$50 billion in imports – and sends US$60 billion in exports – through this area annually. To protect its trade and that of other countries, India keeps a warship escort in the area.{{cite web |url=https://thediplomat.com/2011/04/19/india-takes-fight-to-pirates/ |title=India Takes Fight to Pirates |first=Nitin |last=Gokhale |website=the-diplomat.com |publisher=The Diplomat |year=2011 |access-date=19 April 2011 |archive-date=3 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003090038/http://thediplomat.com/2011/04/19/india-takes-fight-to-pirates/ |url-status=live }}

Ecology

A geologically young body of water, the Gulf of Aden has a unique biodiversity that includes many varieties of fish, coral, seabirds and invertebrates. This rich ecological diversity has benefited from a relative lack of pollution by humans in the past. However, environmental groups fear that the lack of a coordinated effort to control pollution may jeopardize the gulf's ecosphere.{{cite web|url=http://www.unep.org/regionalseas/Programmes/Non-UNEP_administered_Programmes/Red_Sea_and_Gulf_of_Eden/default.asp|title=Red Sea & Gulf of Aden|publisher=United Nations Environment Programme|year=2005|access-date=2008-04-04|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20050701024758/http://www.unep.org/regionalseas/Programmes/Non-UNEP_administered_Programmes/Red_Sea_and_Gulf_of_Eden/default.asp|archive-date=2005-07-01}} Whales, dolphins, and dugongsNasr D.. [http://www.unep.ch/regionalseas/main/persga/rednasr.html Dugongs in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151127025822/http://www.unep.ch/regionalseas/main/persga/rednasr.html |date=2015-11-27 }} were once commonHoath R.. 2009. [https://books.google.com/books?id=agWfg6oEKKkC&q=gulf+of+aden+&pg=PA115 A Field Guide to the Mammals of Egypt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230428170516/https://books.google.com/books?id=agWfg6oEKKkC&q=gulf+of+aden+&pg=PA115 |date=2023-04-28 }}. pp.112. The American University in Cairo Press. Retrieved on February 26. 2016 before being severely reduced by commercial hunts, including by mass illegal hunts by the Soviet Union and Japan in the 1960s and 1970s.Jackson J.. 2006. [https://books.google.com/books?id=QGU1X1HMuQAC&dq=gulf+of+aqaba+whale&pg=PA60 Diving with Giants]{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. p.59. New Holland Publishers Ltd. Retrieved on December 17. 2014 The now critically endangered Arabian humpback whales were once seen here in large numbers,{{cite journal|url=https://www.int-res.com/articles/meps/149/m149p013.pdf|volume=149|date=1997|journal=Marine Ecology Progress Series|title=Humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae in the Arabian Sea|author=Yuri A. Mikhalev|page=13|doi=10.3354/meps149013|bibcode=1997MEPS..149...13M|doi-access=free|access-date=2020-01-27|archive-date=2020-08-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806073151/https://www.int-res.com/articles/meps/149/m149p013.pdf|url-status=live}} but only a few large whales still appear in the gulf waters, including Bryde's whales,{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/odyssey/odyssey/20040430_log_transcript.html|title=PBS - The Voyage of the Odyssey - Track the Voyage - MALDIVES|website=www.pbs.org|access-date=2017-08-29|archive-date=2017-10-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019022514/https://www.pbs.org/odyssey/odyssey/20040430_log_transcript.html|url-status=live}} blue whales,{{cite web|url=http://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/246400.pdf|title=Cetaceans in the Indian Ocean Sanctuary: A Review : A WDCS Science report|website=Vliz.be|access-date=10 August 2018|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305040958/http://www.vliz.be/imisdocs/publications/246400.pdf|url-status=live}} and deep-sea toothed whales such as sperm whales{{cite web|url=http://www.sailingluna.nl/Yemenn.htm|title=Yemen|website=www.sailingluna.nl|access-date=2016-02-26|archive-date=2016-03-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307081229/http://www.sailingluna.nl/Yemenn.htm|url-status=live}} and tropical bottlenose whales.{{cite journal |last1=Anderson |first1=R. C. |last2=Clark |first2=R. |last3=Madsen |first3=P. T. |last4=Johnson |first4=C. |last5=Kiszka |first5=J. |last6=Breysse |first6=O. |year=2006 |title=Observations of Longman's Beaked Whale (Indopacetus pacificus) in the Western Indian Ocean |journal=Aquatic Mammals|volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=223–231 |doi=10.1578/AM.32.2.2006.223 |bibcode=2006AqMam..32..223A }}

References

External links

{{commons category-inline}}
[http://www.nasa.gov/content/space-station-flyover-of-gulf-of-aden-and-horn-of-africa/#.VNj6ifnF8mE Space Station photograph of the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa]

Category:Bodies of water of Somalia

Category:Bodies of water of Yemen

Category:Great Rift Valley

Category:Bodies of water of the Arabian Sea

Category:Piracy by body of water

Aden

Category:Bodies of water of the Red Sea

Category:Bodies of water of Djibouti

Category:Bodies of water of Somaliland

Category:Gulfs of Africa

Category:Western Indo-Pacific

width=75\|Number !width=250\|Country !width=100\|Area (Km²)
class="wikitable" style="font-size:100%"
align=center\|1	{{YEM}}	align=center\|509,240
align=center\|2	{{SOM}} and {{Flag\|Somaliland}}	align=center\|831,059
align=center\|3	{{DJI}}	align=center\|7,037
style="background:#9acdff;" !Total \|Gulf of Aden	align=center\|1,347,336