Gulf of Aqaba
[[Image:Sinai_Peninsula_from_Southeastern_Mediterranean_panorama_STS040-152-180.jpg|right|thumb|{{Sinai Peninsula}}, with the {{Gulf of Aqaba}} (east) and the {{Gulf of Suez}} (west), as viewed from the {{Space Shuttle program|Space Shuttle}} {{STS-40}}.]]
The
Gulf of Aqaba, also called
The Gulf of Eilat in
Hebrew. (
Arabic: خليج العقبة;
transliterated: Khalyj al-'Aqabah), (
Hebrew: מפרץ אילת, transliterated: Mifrahtz Eilat) is a large
gulf of the
Red Sea. It is located to the east of the
Sinai peninsula and west of the Arabian mainland.
Egypt,
Israel,
Jordan, and
Saudi Arabia all have coastlines on the Gulf of Aqaba.
The Gulf of Aqaba is one of two gulfs created by the
Sinai Peninsula's bifurcation of the northern
Red Sea, the
Gulf of Suez lying to the west of the Sinai Peninsula and the Gulf of Aqaba lying to its east. The Gulf of Aqaba measures 24 km at its widest point and stretches some 160 km north from the
Straits of Tiran to a point where the border of
Israel meets the borders of
Egypt and
Jordan. At this northern end of the Gulf are three important cities:
Taba in Egypt,
Eilat in Israel, and
Aqaba in Jordan. All three cities serve both as strategically important commercial ports and as popular resort destinations for tourists seeking to enjoy the warm climate of the region.
The Gulf of Aqaba, like the coastal waters of the Red Sea, is one of the world's premier sites for snorkeling and
Scuba diving. The area is especially rich in coral and other marine biodiversity and contains a number of underwater wrecks, some accidental shipwrecks, others vessels deliberately sunk in an effort to provide a habitat for marine organisms and bolster the local dive tourism industry.
Geologically, the Gulf of Aqaba is an integral part of the
Great Rift Valley that runs from
East Africa through the Red Sea and northwards towards the rift valley containing the
Dead Sea.
*
The Red Sea Marine Peace Park - a joint Israel-Jordan initiative
