Is the Red Sea Really Red? (2024)

Is the Red Sea Really Red? (1)

Satellite images taken from space show the Red Sea as a blue line running roughly from north to south along the northeastern edge of the African continent. The intense blueness of the water, which stands in stark contrast to the drab brown of the surrounding landscape, belies the sea's famous name. There's seemingly nothing "red" about the Red Sea.

So, how did the Red Sea acquire its famous moniker?

"I don't think anyone knows for sure how it got its name," said Karine Kleinhaus, an associate professor of marine and atmospheric sciences at Stony Brook University in New York. But it's possible, she added, that the answer might have to do with algae — in this case, Trichodesmium erythraeum. Sometimes called "sea sawdust," it is a type of cyanobacteria (aquatic bacteria that survive through photosynthesis) that belongs to the blue-green algae group, and it is responsible for between 60% and 80% of nitrogen conversion in the ocean, according to NASA Earth Observatory.

Related: Why are there so many giants in the deep sea?

T. erythraeum is prolific and is found in much of the world's tropical and subtropical oceans. It grows abundantly in the Red Sea and is subject to periodic blooms, which occur when there is a rapid growth of the population. When the algae die off, the water takes on a reddish-brown color as the dying algae spread across the sea's surface.

Is the Red Sea Really Red? (2)

However, it's also possible that the Red Sea is named after the red mountains that line parts of its shoreline, such as along the Jordanian coast, Kleinhaus said.

But the Red Sea isn't defined solely by its name. "The Red Sea is a hotspot of biodiversity with many endemic animals that are found only in the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden," Kleinhaus said.

Long and narrow, the Red Sea [in Arabic, Al-Bahr Al-Ahmar] is sandwiched between northeast Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It extends approximately 1,200 miles (1,930 kilometers) from the Gulf of Suez in the north to the Gulf of Aden in the south, eventually connecting with the Indian Ocean. According to Britannica, the Red Sea's maximum width is 190 miles (305 km) and its maximum depth is 9,974 feet (3,040 meters). It covers an area of approximately 174,000 square miles (450,000 square km).

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The Red Sea has one of the world's longest continuous coral reefs. It extends for 2,485 miles (4,000 km) and hosts a rich diversity of marine life. The reef's unique characteristics make it one of the world's only marine refuges from climate change, Kleinhaus said.

"The corals that reached there at the end of the last ice age were only those that could tolerate very high temperatures and salinity, because of the conditions of the Red Sea at the time they entered," Kleinhaus said. "Therefore, they are now living well below their maximum temperatures and are predicted to be one of the last coral reefs to survive this century."

The Red Sea is one of the world's youngest bodies of water and was formed by the splitting of two tectonic plates, the Arabian Plate and the African Plate, said Kleinhaus. "These are still drifting apart, so it is a growing sea," she added.

Additional resources

Bibliography

NASA Earth Observatory, (2019) "A Bloom of Nitrogen-Fixing bacteria." https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/145610/a-bloom-of-nitrogen-fixing-bacteria

Britannica, "Red Sea." https://www.britannica.com/place/Red-Sea

Originally published on Live Science on Sept. 12, 2012 and rewritten on June 8, 2022.

Tom Garlinghouse is a journalist specializing in general science stories. He has a Ph.D. in archaeology from the University of California, Davis, and was a practicing archaeologist prior to receiving his MA in science journalism from the University of California, Santa Cruz. His work has appeared in an eclectic array of print and online publications, including the Monterey Herald, the San Jose Mercury News, History Today, Sapiens.org, Science.com, Current World Archaeology and many others. He is also a novelist whose first novelMind Fields, was recently published byOpen-Books.com.

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Is the Red Sea Really Red? (2024)

FAQs

Is the Red Sea Really Red? ›

Its name is derived from the colour changes observed in its waters. Normally, the Red Sea is an intense blue-green; occasionally, however, it is populated by extensive blooms of the algae Trichodesmium erythraeum, which, upon dying off, turn the sea a reddish brown colour.

What is the real color of Red Sea? ›

Red Sea got its name because of a type of blue-green algae called Trichodesmium erythraeum, which is found in the sea. When these blooms of algae die off they appear to turn the blue-green color of the ocean to a reddish-brown.

Why is the Red Sea called red? ›

The Red Sea is the saltiest sea of all the seas that connect to the ocean without even one river meeting the sea. A popular hypotheses about the origins of the Red Sea's name is that it contains a cyanobacteria called Trichodesmium erythraeum, which turns the normally blue-green water a reddish-brown.

Can you swim in the Red Sea? ›

Swimming in the sea is a fantastic experience but you need to be aware that marine life is abundant in the coral waters of the Red Sea. Stonefish, scorpionfish, rays, jellyfish, sea urchins and coral could be present during the swims.

How deep is the Red Sea where Moses crossed? ›

Its maximum width is 190 miles, its greatest depth 9,580 feet (2,920 metres), and its area approximately 174,000 square miles (450,000 square kilometres). “ The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1992 ed., s.v. —Red Sea. “ Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1973), 2:44-45; Victor P.

Is the Red Sea water drinkable? ›

Drinking seawater can be deadly to humans.

While humans can safely ingest small amounts of salt, the salt content in seawater is much higher than what can be processed by the human body.

Why is the Red Sea so special? ›

The Red Sea contains some of the world's hottest and saltiest seawater. With its connection to the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal, it is one of the most heavily traveled waterways in the world, carrying maritime traffic between Europe and Asia. Its name is derived from the colour changes observed in its waters.

Why is the Red Sea so beautiful? ›

The Red Sea is known for its breathtaking underwater world, featuring some of the most diverse and colorful coral reefs on the planet.

Is the Red Sea warm or cold? ›

But the Red Sea also has its own curious characteristics that are not seen in other oceans. It is extremely warm—temperatures in its surface waters reach than 30° Celsius (86° Fahrenheit)—and water evaporates from it at a prodigious rate, making it extremely salty.

Which country has a two color sea? ›

Qidong City, east China's Jiangsu Province, is located at the confluence of the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea and the Yangtze River. A dam in the city stands as a barrier between the yellow sand- and silt-laden water of the Yellow Sea and the blue hue of a man-made bay, creating a two-color waterscape.

How deep is the Red Sea? ›

While the Red Sea does reach depths of 3,000 meters at its deepest point, it is holistically shallow, with one-quarter of the Red Sea being less than 50 meters deep.

What is the saltiest sea in the world? ›

All the oceans and seas have salty water. however, the dead sea is considered to be the saltiest of all of them. This is the reason why the dead sea is also known as salt sea.

Do sharks swim in the Red Sea? ›

There are 44 species of shark found in the Red Sea.

Is there a death pool at the bottom of the Red Sea? ›

Researchers from the University of Miami reached the depths of the Red Sea, located between the Arabian Peninsula and Africa, where they encountered dense, salty lakes referred to as "death pools." These lakes earned their ominous name due to being one of the most extreme environments on the planet.

Would the ocean be red if the sky was red? ›

The color of the sky has nothing to do with the oceans. It's because our atmosphere scatters the light from the sun, namely the blue wavelength. The color changes at sunrise and sunset simply because the light has to travel through more of our atmosphere. During that time the reds, oranges, and yellows get scattered.

What color was the Red Sea in the Bible? ›

The color of the water is not red. Ebers says that it is of a lovely blue-green color, and named Red either from its red banks or from the Erythraeans, who were called the red people.

Is the ocean actually red? ›

The ocean is blue because water absorbs colors in the red part of the light spectrum. Like a filter, this leaves behind colors in the blue part of the light spectrum for us to see. The ocean may also take on green, red, or other hues as light bounces off of floating sediments and particles in the water.

Why is the Red Sea oddly colored? ›

Some Oddly-Colored Seas:

The Red Sea often looks red because of red algae that live in this sea. The Black Sea looks almost black because it has a high concentration of hydrogen sulfide (which appears black).

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