Arabian Sea

Map of the Arabian Sea.

The Arabain Sea is located in the northwestern part of the INdian Ocean, and spans a total area of 1,491,000 square miles. The depth of the sea varies as it joins the INdian Ocean to the south, but it is generally approximated at 8.970 feet. The sea provides an important link between the neighboring areas of Iran, the Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan, the Horn of Africa, and INdia, and for this reason has gained eminence as a vitally important historical trade route. Smaller poltiical areas also fringe the Arabain Sea, including Socotra off the coast of Yemen, the Khuriyya Muriyya islands and the Lakshadweep islands.

Geography

A view of Arabian Sea from St. Angelo's Fort in Kannur District of Kerala, south India.

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Surathkal beach on shore of Arabian sea

The Arabain Sea is connected to surrounding bodies of water by a series of gulfs and straits that provide a steady avenue into the sea. The largest and most notable of the gulfs which feed into the sea are the Gulf of Oman, whih connects the Arabain Sea to the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Aden that connects the Arabian Sea to the Red SEa. However, gulfs are not the only access point into the Arabian Sea, as two significant rivers drain into its borders. The Arabain Ocean is augmented by water flowing down the Indus and Narmada rivers, whih are the prinicpal means of acess to the Arabian Sea.

The Arabian Sea is distinguished by its remarkably deep water level, that is often maintained close to land masses. The deep water level is hypothesised to be one of the reasons that there are no significant island devlopments in teh center of the Arabian Sea, depite the fact that islands are quite proliferate on the outer borders. The Arabian Sea floor, while far below the surface, exhibits a startling complexity akin to standard land formations. Perhaps most notable among the submarine features is the Maldive Ridge, which runs along the ocean floor from the Arabian Sea into the Indian Ocean. This ridge, which is essentially siiliar to a mountain range on land, eventually rises above the water level to become the Maldive Islands.

The Maldive Ridge, along with other sea floor formations in the Arabain Sea, are hypothesized to be the result of seismic activity roughly 50 million years ago. According to geologists, during this time period Asia collided with the subcontinent of India, forming the Arabian Sea and its unique underground ridges. After the initial collision of the two land masses, the Arabian Sea has been shaped by a variety of highly influencial factor, including erosion from water currents. One of the deepest areas of the sea floor is where the Indus River meets the Arabian Ocean. In the place where the two bodies of water meet, a sharp canyon has been formed on the sea floor, as the forces of the incomin water sweep away the sandy bottom. Also as a result of this erosion, the Indus River carries the sediment further into the sea, eventually depositing the excess into ridges or other formations.

Climate

The Arabian Sea contributes to a monsoon climate in teh surrounding region by providing the water necessary for the wet storms. During the monsoon season, winds on the sea generally blow from the southwest and particularly cold. Winds during that season are actually so strong that they succeed in sweeping away some of the salt content of the upper levels of sea water. During the monsoon season, the upper waters are less then 35 parts per thousand salinity while in the non-monsoon season salinity is over 36 parts per thousand. The change in salinity is attributed to the flow of the wind, which shifts to a northwestern flow when the monsoons are finished.

And it was known as the Sindhu Sagar to Indians in the Vedic period of their history, and an important marine trade route in the era of the coastal sailing vessels from possibly as early as the 3rd millennium B.C.E., certainly the late 2nd millennium B.C.E. through the latter days known as the Age of Sail. By the time of Julius Caesar, several well-established combined land-sea trade routes depended upon water transport through the Sea around the rough inland terrain features to its north.

These routes usually began in the Far East or down river from Madhya Pradesh with transshipment via historic Bharuch (Bharakuccha), traversed past the inhospitable coast of today's Iran then split around Hadhramaut into two streams north into the Gulf of Aden and thence into the Levant, or south into Alexandria via Red Sea ports such as Axum. Each major route involved transshipping to pack animal caravan, travel through desert country and risk of bandits and extortionary tolls by local potentiates. These are the reality of the conditions which gave rise to the truth behind the tales of the Arabian Nights stories, and those of Sinbad the Sailor.

So important was this southern coastal route past the rough country in the southern Arabian peninsula (Yemen and Oman today), that the Egyptian Pharaohs built several shallow canals to service the trade, one more or less along the route of today's Suez canal, and another from the Red Sea to the Nile River, both shallow works that were swallowed up by huge sand storms in antiquity. Later the kingdom of Axum arose in Ethiopia to rule a mercantile empire rooted in the trade with Europe via Alexandria.

It has two important branches — the Gulf of Aden in the southwest, connecting with the Red Sea through the strait of Bab-el-Mandeb; and the Gulf of Oman to the northwest, connecting with the Persian Gulf. Besides these larger ramifications, there are the gulfs of Cambay and Kutch on the Indian coast. Its islands are few, the chief being Socotra, off the African, and the Laccadives, off the Indian coast.

The maximum width of the Arabian Sea is approximately 2,400 km, and its maximum depth is 4,652 metres, in the Arabian Basin approximately at the same latitude as the southernmost tip of India. The Indus River, also known as the Sindhu river, is the largest river flowing directly into this sea; others include the Netravathi, Sharavathi, Narmada, Tapti, Mahi, and the numerous rivers of Kerala in India. The Arabian Sea coast of central India is known as the Konkan Coast, and that of southern India is known as the Malabar Coast.

Cultural Significance

Trade routes

Ocean trade routes have crossed the Arabian Sea since ancient times, linking the Near East with East Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and China. Historically, sailors in a type of ship called a dhow used the seasonal monsoon winds to cross the water. The sea forms part of the chief shipping route between Europe and India via the Suez Canal, which links the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea.

The countries with coastlines on the Arabian Sea are India, Yemen, Oman, Iran, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Somalia.

Cities on the coast include Mumbai (Bombay), Ratnagiri, Surat, Goa, Mangalore, and Kochi in India, Karachi and Gwadar in Pakistan, Aden and Mukalla in Yemen, Salalah in Oman

Sources and further reading

• Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved November 19, 2007.

External links

• Travel Destinations on the Indian side of the Arabian Sea
• Arabian Sea (World Wildlife Fund)

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