The Gulf of Suez ( ar, خليج السويس, khalīǧ as-suwais; formerly , ', "Sea of Calm") is a
gulf at the northern end of the
Red Sea, to the west of the
Sinai Peninsula. Situated to the east of the Sinai Peninsula is the smaller
Gulf of Aqaba. The gulf was formed within a relatively young but now inactive
Gulf of Suez Rift
The Gulf of Suez Rift is a continental rift zone that was active between the Late Oligocene ( 28 Ma) and the end of the Miocene (c. 5 Ma). It represented a continuation of the Red Sea Rift until break-up occurred in the middle Miocene, with most ...
rift basin, dating back about 26 million years. It stretches some north by northwest, terminating at the Egyptian city of
Suez and the entrance to the
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...
. Along the mid-line of the gulf is the boundary between Africa and Asia. The entrance of the gulf lies atop the mature Gemsa oil and
gas field.
The gulf is considered one of the world's important maritime zones due to being an entrance to the Suez Canal.
Geography
The gulf occupies the northwestern arm of the
Red Sea between Africa and the Sinai Peninsula. It is the third arm of the
triple junction rift system, the second arm being the
Gulf of Aqaba.
The length of the gulf, from its mouth at the
Strait of Gubal
A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...
(alternate name: Strait of Jubal) to its head at the city of Suez, is , and it varies in width from .
Extent
The
International Hydrographic Organization defines the southern limit of the gulf as "A line running from
Ras Muhammed (27°43'N) to the South point of
Shadwan Island (34°02'E) and thence Westward on a parallel (27°27'N) to the coast of Africa".
Geology
The Gems Field was discovered in 1869, but did not produce until 1910. The Hurghada Field produced in 1913. By 1998, over 1900 wells had been drilled and 120 fields identified. The major oil source rock is the
Upper Cretaceous marine Sudr
Formation
Formation may refer to:
Linguistics
* Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes
* Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes
Mathematics and science
* Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...
, the
limestone Campanian Brown/Duwi
Member
Member may refer to:
* Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon
* Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set
* In object-oriented programming, a member of a class
** Field (computer science), entries in ...
in particular, which is thick in the gulf.
The gulf
sedimentary basin stratigraphic section
A stratigraphic section is a sequence of layers of rocks in the order they were deposited. It is based on the principle of original horizontality, which states that layers of sediment are originally deposited horizontally under the action of gr ...
consists of prerift
Paleozoic to
Oligocene
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...
clastic rock
Clastic rocks are composed of fragments, or clasts, of pre-existing minerals and rock. A clast is a fragment of geological detritus,Essentials of Geology, 3rd Ed, Stephen Marshak, p. G-3 chunks, and smaller grains of rock broken off other rocks ...
s and
carbonates, and synrift and postrift
Miocene to
Holocene clastics and
evaporites.
[
Three large oil fields are in the gulf: the El Morgan discovered in 1964, Belayim discovered in 1955, and the October Field discovered in 1977.][Lelek, J.J., Shepherd, D.B., Stone, D.M., and Abdine, A.S., 1992, October Field, In Giant Oil and Gas Fields of the Decade, 1978-1988, AAPG Memoir 54, Halbouty, M.T., editor, Tulsa: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, ] The October Field produces from the Cretaceous Nubia Formation
Formation may refer to:
Linguistics
* Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes
* Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes
Mathematics and science
* Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...
, the Upper Cretaceous Nezzazat Formation, the Miocene Nukhul Formation, and the Miocene Asl Member of the Upper Rudeis Formation.[
]
Ecology
References
External links
Satellite photographs of the Gulf, and of the Suez Canal
{{Authority control
Bodies of water of the Red Sea
Suez
Bodies of water of Egypt
Suez Canal
Red Sea Governorate
South Sinai Governorate
Suez Governorate