A body of water that separates northeastern Africa from the Arabian Peninsula. The Red Sea forms part of the African Rift System, which also includes the Gulf of Aden and a complex series of continental rifts in East Africa extending as far south as Malawi. The Red Sea extends for 1920 km (1190 mi) from Ras (Cape) Muhammed at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula to the Straits of Bab el Mandab at the entrance to the Gulf of Aden. At Sinai the Red Sea splits into the Gulf of Suez, which extends for an additional 300 km (180 mi) along the northwest trend of the Red Sea and the nearly northward-trending Gulf of Aqaba. The 175-km-long (109-mi) Gulf of Aqaba forms the southern end of the Levant transform, a primarily strike-slip fault system extending north into southern Turkey. The Levant transform also includes the Dead Sea and Sea of Galilee and forms the northwestern boundary of the Arabian plate. Escarpment Fault and fault structures

The Red Sea consists of narrow marginal shelves and coastal plains and a broad main trough with depths ranging from about 400 to 1200 m (1300 to 3900 ft). The main trough is bisected by a narrow (<60 km or 37 mi wide) axial trough with a very rough bottom morphology and depths of greater than 2000 m (6600 ft). The maximum recorded depth is 2920 m (9580 ft). Reef

Water circulation in the Red Sea is driven by monsoonal wind patterns and changes in water density due to evaporation. Evaporation in the Red Sea is sufficient to lower the sea level by over 2 m (6.6 ft) per year. No permanent rivers flow into the sea, and there is very little rainfall. As a result, there must be a net inflow of water from the Gulf of Aden to compensate for evaporative losses. During the winter monsoon, prevailing winds in the Red Sea are from the south, and there is a surface current from the Gulf of Aden into the Red Sea. During the summer monsoon, the wind in the Red Sea blows strongly from the north, causing a surface current out of the Red Sea. Monsoon meteorology Seawater