Major Seas of the World
Major Seas of the World : Andaman
Sea | Arabian Sea | Baltic
Sea | Bering Sea | Black
Sea | Caribbean Sea | East
China Sea | Gulf of Mexico
| Hudson Bay |
Mediterranean Sea | Red Sea |
Sea of Japan | Sea
of Okhotsk | South China
Sea
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and part of the southern Persian littoral, on the west by Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui, the north-east point of Somalia, Socotra and Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin) in India. It was known as the Sindhu Sagar to Indians in the Vedic period of their history.
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.
Description
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.
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, Iran, Oman, Pakistan, Srilanka, Yemen, Somalia and the Maldives.
Cities on the coast include Mumbai (Bombay), Surat, Goa, Mangalore, and Kochi in India, Karachi and Gwadar in Pakistan, and Aden in Yemen.
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