Nepedia
Back to Discover
Fluent Reader
🌍

Arabian Sea

earth science Maturity 7-9 Next article →

The Arabian Sea is a huge part of the northern Indian Ocean.

Arabian Sea in its region
Arabian Sea in its region

It covers a massive area of about 3,862,000 square kilometers. Many different lands touch its edges. These include India, Pakistan, Iran, Oman, Yemen, and the Maldives.

Arabian Sea - October 2012
Arabian Sea - October 2012

The sea is also very deep in many places. Its deepest point reaches 5,395 meters down. This is a very long way below the waves.

Water moves through the sea in interesting ways. The Gulf of Aden connects it to the Red Sea. This happens through a narrow path called the Bab-el-Mandeb strait.

Periplous of the Erythraean Sea
Periplous of the Erythraean Sea

Another branch is the Gulf of Oman. This part connects the sea to the Persian Gulf. The Indus River is the biggest river that flows into it. Large underwater shapes like the Indus Fan also exist here. This fan is the second largest in the whole world.

People have used this sea for trade for a very long time. Ships have crossed these waters since the 3rd or 2nd millennium BCE.

In the past, sailors used coastal vessels to move goods. Some routes even reached the time of Julius Caesar. These paths helped people move things around rough land. Many important ports still work hard today. The Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai is the largest one. Other busy ports include Karachi in Pakistan and Salalah in Oman.

There are many unique features hidden beneath the surface. You can find underwater mountains called seamounts. Some are named after famous people like C. V. Raman. Others have fun names like the Sind'Bad Seamount.

Socotra satview
Socotra satview

There are also large islands like Socotra and Lakshadweep. One island, Zalzala Koh, was even made by an earthquake! It appeared in 2013 but sank by 2016. This shows how much the ocean floor can change.

Scientists study the sea to understand how it changes. They look at a special area called an oxygen minimum zone. This is a place where oxygen levels are very low.

Winter Phytoplankon Arabian Sea
Winter Phytoplankon Arabian Sea

High heat and nutrients can cause this to happen. In the winter, tiny plants called phytoplankton turn the water green. Recent studies also show the sea is warming up. This might be because of global warming. Scientists watch these changes very closely to learn more.

369 words

Where will your curiosity go next?

Keep exploring at your chosen reading level.

🖼️ Images & Media (17)
File:Periplous of the Erythraean Sea.svg
Periplous of the Erythraean Sea.svg
File:Flag of Pakistan.svg
Flag of Pakistan.svg
File:Flag of Somalia.svg
Flag of Somalia.svg
File:Flag of Yemen.svg
Flag of Yemen.svg
File:Flag of Maldives.svg
Flag of Maldives.svg
File:Flag of Iran.svg
Flag of Iran.svg
File:Flag of Oman.svg
Flag of Oman.svg
File:Arabian Sea in its region.svg
Arabian Sea in its region.svg
File:Karachi Mangroves.jpg
Karachi Mangroves.jpg
File:Arabian Sea - October 2012.jpg
Arabian Sea - October 2012.jpg
File:Arabian Sea in Karachi.jpg
Arabian Sea in Karachi.jpg
File:Winter Phytoplankon Arabian Sea.jpg
Winter Phytoplankon Arabian Sea.jpg

+ 5 more

More to explore

🔗 What's this?

Concepts mentioned in this article

🔬 Go deeper

More advanced topics to explore

🪜 Step back

Simpler topics to build understanding

What is Nepedia?

A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.