Arabian (Persian) Gulf Earthcache Ras Al Khaimah EarthCache
Arabian (Persian) Gulf Earthcache Ras Al Khaimah
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Short note at first: We got a lot of mails concerning the right name for the Gulf. Everybody told us that the people of the Arabian countries could be annoyed about the use of the Name "Persian Gulf" instead of "Arabian Gulf". After discussing the topic we decided to use "Arabian" as the first term as well as "Persian" (the common name of the Gulf everywhere else) in brackets.
The Arabian (Persian) Gulf is a semi- enclosed extension of the Indian Ocean between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. The Gulf is bordered by Kuwait and Iraq on the west, Iran on the entire east coast, Oman and United Arab Emirates on the southern coast and Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia on the west.
The Gulf is separated from the open ocean through the Strait of Hormuz, where the narrowest point is 56 km wide. From there, it stretches over a distance of approximately 1000 km to the Shatt Al Arab of Iraq. The width ranges from 200- 300 km. The northern coast is bounded by the river delta of the Shatt Al Arab, the eastern coast by the mountains of Iran and the western side by desert plains.
The sea itself is- compared with other oceans- very shallow, with a maximum depth of 100 m and a anverage depth of 40 m. The bottom of the Gulf is mostly flat and without features, covered with soft sediments.
Due to the surrounding arid land masses the temperature can drop to 0° in wintertime and reach up to 50° in the summer. The annual average precipitation is 150 mm and is limited to the winter months. The average water temperature can reach up to 34° during the summer and drop to 15° during wintertime.
The water circulation pattern is counter clockwise. The water enters as surface water through the Strait of Hormuz, rotating within appr. 2,5 years through the Gulf and exits along the bottom of the Strait of Hormuz. Due to extensive evaporation, limited precipitation and also limited freshwater inflow (main inflow Shatt Al Arab 1500 qm/s) the water becomes hypersalin during this process. It is one of the most saline waters of all oceans.
You can find a detailed article about the Arabian (Persian) Gulf here:
(visit link)
Please answer the following questions by mail and log your find:
1. How much is the entire surface area of the Gulf?
2. How much is his total volume?
3. What is the average salinity of the Arabian (Persian) Gulf?
4. What is the average beach slope and grain size at the cachelocation?
Please post the current water temperature in your log and feel free to upload your pictures of the Gulf!
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