The Gulf of Aden (Arabic: خليج عدن; Somali: 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. 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 15 mm (0.59 in) per year.
| Gulf of Aden | |
|---|---|
 | |
 The Gulf of Aden, as viewed from space (top) and on a map (bottom) | |
| Location | East Africa and West Asia |
| Coordinates | 12°N 48°E / 12°N 48°E |
| Type | Gulf |
| Basin countries | List
|
| Surface area | 410,000 km2 (160,000 sq mi)[dubious – discuss] |
| Average depth | 500 m (1,600 ft) |
| Max. depth | 2,700 m (8,900 ft) |
| Max. temperature | 28 °C (82 °F) |
| Min. temperature | 15 °C (59 °F) |
| Settlements | Aden, Zinjibar, Shuqrah, Ahwar, Balhaf, Mukalla, Ash-Shihr, al-Hami, Hadibu, Qulensya, Berbera, Bulhar, Maydh, Djibouti, Zeila, Las Khorey, Bosaso |
| Location | |
 | |
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. 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. 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
In antiquity, the ancient Greeks viewed what is now called the Gulf of Aden as an extension of the Erythraean Sea (Red Sea) Ancient Greek: 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.
In Abu'l-Fida's A Sketch of the Countries (Arabic: 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.
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. Berbera has been a prominent port since antiquity.
Geography
Limits
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Gulf of Aden as follows:
- On the northwest – the southern limit of the Red Sea [a line joining Hisn Murad (12°40′N 43°30′E / 12.667°N 43.500°E) and Ras Siyyan (12°29′N 43°20′E / 12.483°N 43.333°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 15 °C (59 °F) and 28 °C (82 °F), depending on the season and the monsoons. The salinity of the gulf at 10 metres (33 ft) depth varies from 35.3 ‰ along the eastern Somali coast to as high as 37.3 ‰ in the gulf's center, 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:
| Number | Country | Area (Km2) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Yemen | 509,240 |
| 2 |  Somalia and  Somaliland | 831,059 |
| 3 |  Djibouti | 7,037 |
| Total | Gulf of Aden | 1,347,336 |
Economy
The Gulf of Aden is a vital waterway for shipping, especially for Persian Gulf oil, making it an integral waterway in the world economy. 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. 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. 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.
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.Whales, dolphins, and dugongs were once common before being severely reduced by commercial hunts, including by mass illegal hunts by the Soviet Union and Japan in the 1960s and 1970s. The now critically endangered Arabian humpback whales were once seen here in large numbers, but only a few large whales still appear in the gulf waters, including Bryde's whales,blue whales, and deep-sea toothed whales such as sperm whales and tropical bottlenose whales.
See also
- Maritime Security Patrol Area
- International fleet of vessels in the Gulf of Aden
References
- 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, "
- 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.
- "Pirates fire on US cruise ship in hijack attempt: Yahoo! News". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on December 4, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
- "Earth from Space: The Gulf of Aden – the gateway to Persian oil". European Space Agency. 2005-03-01. Archived from the original on 2008-03-17. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
- "Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden" (PDF). International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF). 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-16. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
- "Aden, Gulf of | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Archived from the original on 2019-10-26. Retrieved 2019-06-14.
- Smith, William (editor); Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, "Stratonis Insula" Archived 2024-05-22 at the Wayback Machine, London, (1854)
- "LacusCurtius • Strabo's Geography — Book XVI Chapter 4". penelope.uchicago.edu. Archived from the original on 2021-06-12. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
- Identifiants et Référentiels Sudoc Pour L'Enseignement Supérieur et la Recherche - Abū al-Fidā (1273-1331) Archived 2023-04-20 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
- Lewicki, Tadeusz (1974). Arabic External Sources for the History of Africa to the South of Sahara. Curzon Press. p. 33.
- Ibn Majid, Ahmad. الفوائد في أصول علم البحر والقواعد (in Arabic). p. 129.
- "Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, Schoff's 1912 translation". Archived from the original on 2014-08-14. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- "Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd edition" (PDF). International Hydrographic Organization. 1953. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- "Hydrographic Survey Results". Report on Cruise No. 3 of R/V "Dr. Fridtjof Nansen" - Indian Ocean Fishery and Development Programme - Pelagic Fish Assessment Survey North Arabian Sea. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 1975. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- "Sea Around Us | Fisheries, Ecosystems and Biodiversity". www.seaaroundus.org. Archived from the original on 2016-02-23. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
- "Sea Around Us | Fisheries, Ecosystems and Biodiversity". www.seaaroundus.org. Archived from the original on 2016-02-23. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
- "Sea Around Us | Fisheries, Ecosystems and Biodiversity". www.seaaroundus.org. Archived from the original on 2016-02-23. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
- "Sea Around Us | Fisheries, Ecosystems and Biodiversity". www.seaaroundus.org. Archived from the original on 2016-02-23. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
- Arnsdorf, Isaac (22 July 2013). "West Africa Pirates Seen Threatening Oil and Shipping". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
- Gokhale, Nitin (2011). "India Takes Fight to Pirates". the-diplomat.com. The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 3 October 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
- "Red Sea & Gulf of Aden". United Nations Environment Programme. 2005. Archived from the original on 2005-07-01. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
- Nasr D.. Dugongs in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Archived 2015-11-27 at the Wayback Machine
- Hoath R.. 2009. A Field Guide to the Mammals of Egypt Archived 2023-04-28 at the Wayback Machine. pp.112. The American University in Cairo Press. Retrieved on February 26. 2016
- Jackson J.. 2006. Diving with Giants[permanent dead link]. p.59. New Holland Publishers Ltd. Retrieved on December 17. 2014
- Yuri A. Mikhalev (1997). "Humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae in the Arabian Sea" (PDF). Marine Ecology Progress Series. 149: 13. Bibcode:1997MEPS..149...13M. doi:10.3354/meps149013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-08-06. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
- "PBS - The Voyage of the Odyssey - Track the Voyage - MALDIVES". www.pbs.org. Archived from the original on 2017-10-19. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
- "Cetaceans in the Indian Ocean Sanctuary: A Review : A WDCS Science report" (PDF). Vliz.be. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
- "Yemen". www.sailingluna.nl. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2016-02-26.
- Anderson, R. C.; Clark, R.; Madsen, P. T.; Johnson, C.; Kiszka, J.; Breysse, O. (2006). "Observations of Longman's Beaked Whale (Indopacetus pacificus) in the Western Indian Ocean". Aquatic Mammals. 32 (2): 223–231. doi:10.1578/AM.32.2.2006.223.
Further reading
- Pollak, Richard (April 22, 2009). "The Cost of Doing Business on the Open Sea". The Nation. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
External links
Media related to Gulf of Aden at Wikimedia Commons
- Space Station photograph of the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa
The Gulf of Aden Arabic خليج عدن Somali 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 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 15 mm 0 59 in per year Gulf of AdenThe Gulf of Aden as viewed from space top and on a map bottom LocationEast Africa and West AsiaCoordinates12 N 48 E 12 N 48 E 12 48TypeGulfBasin countriesList Djibouti Somalia Yemen 1 de facto SomalilandSurface area410 000 km2 160 000 sq mi dubious discuss Average depth500 m 1 600 ft Max depth2 700 m 8 900 ft Max temperature28 C 82 F Min temperature15 C 59 F SettlementsAden Zinjibar Shuqrah Ahwar Balhaf Mukalla Ash Shihr al Hami Hadibu Qulensya Berbera Bulhar Maydh Djibouti Zeila Las Khorey BosasoLocation 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 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 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 namesIbn Majid 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 Ancient Greek Ἐry8rὰ 8alassa Erythra Thalassa 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 In Abu l Fida s A Sketch of the Countries Arabic 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 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 Berbera has been a prominent port since antiquity GeographyLimits The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Gulf of Aden as follows On the northwest the southern limit of the Red Sea a line joining Hisn Murad 12 40 N 43 30 E 12 667 N 43 500 E 12 667 43 500 and Ras Siyyan 12 29 N 43 20 E 12 483 N 43 333 E 12 483 43 333 dd On the east the meridian of Cape Guardafui dd The Gulf of Tadjoura is part of the Gulf of Aden forming its western end dd Hydrography The temperature of the Gulf of Aden varies between 15 C 59 F and 28 C 82 F depending on the season and the monsoons The salinity of the gulf at 10 metres 33 ft depth varies from 35 3 along the eastern Somali coast to as high as 37 3 in the gulf s center while its oxygen content at the same depth is typically between 4 0 and 5 0 mg L Exclusive economic zoneExclusive economic zones in Gulf of Aden Number Country Area Km2 1 Yemen 509 2402 Somalia and Somaliland 831 0593 Djibouti 7 037Total Gulf of Aden 1 347 336EconomyA dhow 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 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 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 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 EcologyA 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 Whales dolphins and dugongs were once common before being severely reduced by commercial hunts including by mass illegal hunts by the Soviet Union and Japan in the 1960s and 1970s The now critically endangered Arabian humpback whales were once seen here in large numbers but only a few large whales still appear in the gulf waters including Bryde s whales blue whales and deep sea toothed whales such as sperm whales and tropical bottlenose whales See alsoOceans portalMaritime Security Patrol Area International fleet of vessels in the Gulf of AdenReferencesMichael 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 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 Pirates fire on US cruise ship in hijack attempt Yahoo News Yahoo Archived from the original on December 4 2008 Retrieved 2008 12 04 Earth from Space The Gulf of Aden the gateway to Persian oil European Space Agency 2005 03 01 Archived from the original on 2008 03 17 Retrieved 2008 04 04 Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden PDF International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation ITOPF 2003 Archived from the original PDF on 2010 12 16 Retrieved 2008 04 04 Aden Gulf of Encyclopedia com www encyclopedia com Archived from the original on 2019 10 26 Retrieved 2019 06 14 Smith William editor Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Stratonis Insula Archived 2024 05 22 at the Wayback Machine London 1854 LacusCurtius Strabo s Geography Book XVI Chapter 4 penelope uchicago edu Archived from the original on 2021 06 12 Retrieved 2021 02 19 Identifiants et Referentiels Sudoc Pour L Enseignement Superieur et la Recherche Abu al Fida 1273 1331 Archived 2023 04 20 at the Wayback Machine in French Lewicki Tadeusz 1974 Arabic External Sources for the History of Africa to the South of Sahara Curzon Press p 33 Ibn Majid Ahmad الفوائد في أصول علم البحر والقواعد in Arabic p 129 Periplus of the Erythraean Sea Schoff s 1912 translation Archived from the original on 2014 08 14 Retrieved 2020 12 31 Limits of Oceans and Seas 3rd edition PDF International Hydrographic Organization 1953 Archived from the original PDF on 8 October 2011 Retrieved 28 December 2020 Hydrographic Survey Results Report on Cruise No 3 of R V Dr Fridtjof Nansen Indian Ocean Fishery and Development Programme Pelagic Fish Assessment Survey North Arabian Sea Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAO 1975 Retrieved 2011 04 23 Sea Around Us Fisheries Ecosystems and Biodiversity www seaaroundus org Archived from the original on 2016 02 23 Retrieved 2020 09 13 Sea Around Us Fisheries Ecosystems and Biodiversity www seaaroundus org Archived from the original on 2016 02 23 Retrieved 2020 09 13 Sea Around Us Fisheries Ecosystems and Biodiversity www seaaroundus org Archived from the original on 2016 02 23 Retrieved 2020 09 13 Sea Around Us Fisheries Ecosystems and Biodiversity www seaaroundus org Archived from the original on 2016 02 23 Retrieved 2020 09 13 Arnsdorf Isaac 22 July 2013 West Africa Pirates Seen Threatening Oil and Shipping Bloomberg Archived from the original on 26 July 2013 Retrieved 23 July 2013 Gokhale Nitin 2011 India Takes Fight to Pirates the diplomat com The Diplomat Archived from the original on 3 October 2012 Retrieved 19 April 2011 Red Sea amp Gulf of Aden United Nations Environment Programme 2005 Archived from the original on 2005 07 01 Retrieved 2008 04 04 Nasr D Dugongs in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Archived 2015 11 27 at the Wayback Machine Hoath R 2009 A Field Guide to the Mammals of Egypt Archived 2023 04 28 at the Wayback Machine pp 112 The American University in Cairo Press Retrieved on February 26 2016 Jackson J 2006 Diving with Giants permanent dead link p 59 New Holland Publishers Ltd Retrieved on December 17 2014 Yuri A Mikhalev 1997 Humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae in the Arabian Sea PDF Marine Ecology Progress Series 149 13 Bibcode 1997MEPS 149 13M doi 10 3354 meps149013 Archived PDF from the original on 2020 08 06 Retrieved 2020 01 27 PBS The Voyage of the Odyssey Track the Voyage MALDIVES www pbs org Archived from the original on 2017 10 19 Retrieved 2017 08 29 Cetaceans in the Indian Ocean Sanctuary A Review A WDCS Science report PDF Vliz be Archived PDF from the original on 5 March 2016 Retrieved 10 August 2018 Yemen www sailingluna nl Archived from the original on 2016 03 07 Retrieved 2016 02 26 Anderson R C Clark R Madsen P T Johnson C Kiszka J Breysse O 2006 Observations of Longman s Beaked Whale Indopacetus pacificus in the Western Indian Ocean Aquatic Mammals 32 2 223 231 doi 10 1578 AM 32 2 2006 223 Further readingPollak Richard April 22 2009 The Cost of Doing Business on the Open Sea The Nation Archived from the original on September 19 2015 Retrieved June 18 2017 External linksMedia related to Gulf of Aden at Wikimedia Commons Space Station photograph of the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa
