Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf (Persian: خلیج فارس, romanized: xalij-e fârs, lit. 'Gulf of Fars', pronounced [xæliːdʒe fɒːɾs]), sometimes called the Arabian Gulf (Arabic: اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, romanized: Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. It is connected to the Gulf of Oman in the east by the Strait of Hormuz. The Arvand or Shatt al-Arab river delta forms the northwest shoreline.
| Persian Gulf | |
|---|---|
Persian Gulf from space | |
| Location | West Asia |
| Coordinates | 26°N 52°E |
| Type | Gulf |
| Primary inflows | Gulf of Oman |
| Basin countries | Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Oman (exclave of Musandam) |
| Max. length | 989 km (615 mi) |
| Surface area | 251,000 km2 (97,000 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 50 m (160 ft) |
| Max. depth | 90 m (300 ft) |
| Water volume | 8,780 km3 (2,100 cu mi) |
The Persian Gulf has many fishing grounds, extensive reefs (mostly rocky, but also coral), and abundant pearl oysters, however its ecology has been damaged by industrialization and oil spills.
The Persian Gulf is in the Persian Gulf Basin, which is of Cenozoic origin and related to the subduction of the Arabian Plate under the Zagros Mountains. The current flooding of the basin started 15,000 years ago due to rising sea levels of the Holocene glacial retreat.