Question

The Red Sea is located in the Indian Ocean. What is its total area?
A) 438,000 sq.km
B) 218,000 sq.km
C) 348,000 sq.km
D) 638,000 sq.km

Answer 1

Hint: The Indian Ocean is the third-largest ocean division in the world with a surface area of 27,240,000 sq. m. or 19.8% of earth water. It is bordered by northern Asia, West Africa and east Australia. It is limited to the South or Antarctica to the South.

Complete answer:
The Red Sea is an Indian Ocean seawater inlet, which stretches from Africa to Asia. The ocean is connected to the south by the Bab El Mandeb Strait and the Aden Gulf. The Sinai Peninsula, Aqaba Gulf, and the Suez Gulf lie to the north (leading to the Suez Canal). The Red Sea Rift, part of the Rift Valley, is underlined.

The Red Sea is home to some of the hottest salty waters in the world. It is one of the most trafficked canals in the world and carries sea trade between Europe and Asia with connections to the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal. Its name comes from the shifts in colour noticed in its waters.

The Red Sea covers a surface of approximately 438,000 sq. km and is approximately 22,250 km long and 355 km wide. It is 490 m deep on average and reaches a maximum depth of 3,040 m in Suakin Trough central. Hence, the red sea is located in the Indian Ocean and its total area is 438,000 sq. km.

Therefore, we can conclude that the correct option is ‘A’ i.e, 438,000 sq. km.

Note: The Indian Ocean has been called by its present name since at least 1515 when the Latin form Oceanus Orientalis Indicus [Indian Eastern Ocean] is attested to, named for India, which projects into it. It was formerly known as the Eastern Ocean, a term still used in the mid-18th century in opposition to the Western Ocean(Atlantic) before the Pacific.