The First Persian Gulf War, Jan.-Feb., 1991, was an armed conflict between Iraq and a coalition of 32 nations including the United States, Britain, Egypt, France, and Saudi Arabia. It was a result of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait on Aug. 2, 1990; Iraq then annexed Kuwait, which it had long claimed. Iraqi president Saddam Hussein declared that the invasion was a response to overproduction of oil in Kuwait, which had cost Iraq an estimated $14 billion a year when oil prices fell. Hussein also accused Kuwait of illegally pumping oil from Iraq's Rumaila oil field.
The UN Security Council called for Iraq to withdraw and subsequently embargoed most trade with Iraq. On Aug. 7, U.S. troops moved into Saudi Arabia to protect Saudi oil fields. On Nov. 29, the United Nations set Jan. 15, 1991, as the deadline for a peaceful withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait. When Saddam Hussein refused to comply, Operation Desert Storm was launched on Jan. 18, 1991, under the leadership of U.S. Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf.
The U.S.-led coalition began a massive air war to destroy Iraq's forces and military and civil infrastructure. Iraq called for terrorist attacks against the coalition and launched Scud missiles at Israel (in an unsuccessful attempt to widen the war and break up the coalition) and at Saudi Arabia. The main coalition forces invaded Kuwait and S Iraq on Feb. 24 and, over the next four days, encircled and defeated the Iraqis and liberated Kuwait. When U.S. President George H. W. Bush declared a cease-fire on Feb. 28, most of the Iraqi forces in Kuwait had either surrendered or fled.
Although the war was a decisive military victory for the coalition, Kuwait and Iraq suffered enormous property damage, and Saddam Hussein was not removed from power. In fact, Hussein was free to turn his attention to suppressing internal Shiite and Kurd revolts, which the U.S.-led coalition did not support, in part because of concerns over the possible breakup of Iraq if the revolts were successful. Coalition peace terms were agreed to by Iraq, but every effort was made by the Iraqis to frustrate implementation of the terms, particularly UN weapons inspections.
In 1993 the United States, France, and Britain launched several air and cruise-missile strikes against Iraq in response to provocations, including an alleged Iraqi plan to assassinate former President George H. W. Bush. An Iraqi troop buildup near Kuwait in 1994 led the United States to send forces to Kuwait and nearby areas. Continued resistance to weapons inspections led to bombing raids against Iraq, and trade sanctions imposed on Iraq remained in place, albeit with an emphasis on military-related goods until the second Gulf conflict. See also Gulf War Syndrome.
The Second Persian Gulf War, also known as the Iraq War, Mar.-Apr., 2003, was a largely U.S.-British invasion of Iraq. In many ways the final, delayed campaign of the First Persian Gulf War, it arose in part because the Iraqi government failed to cooperate fully with UN weapons inspections in the years following the first conflict.
The election of George W. Bush to the U.S. presidency returned to government many officials from his father's administration who had favored removing Saddam Hussein from power in the first war. After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the United States moved toward a doctrine of first-strike, pre-emptive war to eliminate threats to national security. As early as Oct., 2001, U.S. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld publicly suggested that military action against Iraq was possible, and in November President Bush asked Rumsfeld to undertake a war-plan review. In Jan., 2002, President Bush accused Iraq. along with North Korea and Iran, as being part of "an axis of evil," and with the Taliban forced from power in Afghanistan in early 2002, the administration's attention turned to Iraq.
Accusing Iraq of failing to abide by the terms of the 1991 cease-fire (by developing and possessing weapons of mass destruction and by refusing to cooperate with UN weapons inspections) and of supporting terrorism, the president and other officials suggested that the "war on terrorism" might be expanded to include Iraq and became more forceful in their denunciations of Iraq for resisting UN arms inspections, called for "regime change" in Iraq, and leaked news of military planning for war. President Bush also called on the United Nations to act forcefully against Iraq or risk becoming "irrelevant." As a result, Iraq announced in Sept., 2002, that UN inspectors could return, but Iraqi slowness to agree on inspection terms and U.S. insistence on stricter conditions for Iraqi compliance stalled the inspectors' return.
In October, Congress approved the use of force against Iraq, and in November the Security Council passed a resolution offering Iraq a "final opportunity" to cooperate on arms inspections. A strict inspections timetable was established, and active Iraqi compliance insisted on. Inspections resumed in late November. A December declaration by Iraq that it had no weapons of mass destruction was generally regarded as incomplete and uninformative, but by Jan., 2003, UN inspectors had found no evidence of forbidden weapons programs. However, they also indicated that Iraq was not actively cooperating with their efforts to determine if previously known or suspected weapons had been destroyed and weapons programs had been ended.
Despite much international opposition, including increasingly rancorous objections from France, Germany, and Russia, the United States and Britain continued their military buildup in areas near Iraq, insisting that Iraq was hiding weapons of mass destruction. Turkey, which the allies hoped to use as a base for a northern front in Iraq, refused to allow use of its territory, but most Anglo-American forces were in place in Kuwait and other locations by March. After failing to win the explicit UN Security Council approval desired by Britain (because Britons were otherwise largely opposed to war), President Bush issued an ultimatum to Iraqi president Hussein on Mar. 17, and two days later the war began with an airstrike against Hussein and the Iraqi leadership. Ground forces (almost exclusively Anglo-American and significantly smaller than the large international force assembled in the first war) began invading the following day, surging primarily toward Baghdad, the southern oil fields, and port facilities; a northern front was opened by Kurdish and airborne Anglo-American forces late in March.
By mid-April, 2003, Hussein's army and government had collapsed, he himself had disappeared, and the allies were largely in control of the major Iraqi cities. The allies gradually turned their attention to the rebuilding of Iraq and the establishment of a new Iraqi government, but progress toward that end was hampered by lawlessness, especially in Baghdad, where widespread looting initially had been tolerated by U.S. forces.
On May 1, President Bush declared victory in the war against Iraq. No weapons of mass destruction, however, were found, leading to charges that U.S. and British leaders had exaggerated the Iraqi biological and chemical threat in order to justify the war. Much of the intelligence used to justify the war subsequently was criticized as faulty by U.S. and British investigative bodies. Hussein was captured in Dec., 2003. In 2004, he was transferred to Iraqi legal custody; tried and convicted of crimes against humanity, he was executed in 2006. U.S.-led occupation forces and, later, Iraqi security forces, struggled into 2007 with Iraqi and Islamic insurgencies and sectarian violence that military and civilian planners had failed to foresee.
For the second conflict, see W. Murray and R. H. Scales, Jr., The Iraq War: A Military History (2003) and B. Woodward, Plan of Attack (2004) and State of Denial (2006).
The Persian Gulf, called the Arabian Gulf by the Arabs, is mostly shallow and has many islands, of which Bahrain is the largest. The gulf is bordered by Oman and the United Arab Emirates to the south, to the west by Qatar and Saudi Arabia, to the north by Kuwait and Iraq, and along the entire east coast by Iran. It was generally thought that the gulf had previously extended farther north and that sediment dropped by the Tigris, Euphrates, Karun, and Karkheh rivers filled the northern part of the gulf to create a great delta. But geologic investigations now indicate that the coastline has not moved and that the marshlands of the delta represent a sinking of the earth's crust as the Arabian land block pushes under Iran. The gulf waters have very slow currents and limited tidal range.
The Persian Gulf was an important transportation route in antiquity but declined with the fall of Mesopotamia. In succeeding centuries control of the region was contested by Arabs, Persians, Turks, and Western Europeans. In 1853, Britain and the Arab sheikhdoms of the Persian Gulf signed the Perpetual Maritime Truce, formalizing the temporary truces of 1820 and 1835. The sheikhs agreed to stop harassing British shipping in the Arabian Sea and to recognize Britain as the dominant power in the gulf. These sheikhdoms thus became known as the Trucial States. An international agreement among the major powers in 1907 placed the gulf in the British sphere of influence.
Although oil was discovered in the gulf in 1908, it was not until the 1930s, when major finds were made, that keen international interest in the region revived. Since World War II the gulf oil fields, among the most productive in the world, have been extensively developed, and modern port facilities have been constructed. Nearly 50% of the world's total oil reserves are estimated to be found in the Persian Gulf. It is also a large fishing source and was once the chief center of the pearling industry. In the late 1960s, following British military withdrawal from the area, the United States and the USSR sought to fill the vacuum. In 1971 the first U.S. military installation in the gulf was established at Bahrain.
The long-standing Arab-Persian conflict in the gulf, combined with the desire of neighboring states for control of large oil reserves, has led to international boundary disputes. Iraq and Iran argued over navigation rights on the Shatt al Arab, through which Iran's main ports and most productive oil fields are reached. Iran and the sheikhdom of Ras al-Khaima contested ownership of the oil-rich islands of Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunb at the entrance to the gulf. Iranian forces occupied these islands in Dec., 1971, infuriating Iraq. The much-contested rights over the Shatt al Arab led Iran and Iraq into an 8-year war in the 1980s (see Iran-Iraq War). In 1984 American and other foreign oil tankers in the gulf were attacked by both Iran and Iraq. The security of Persian Gulf countries was threatened throughout this war.
When Iraq invaded Kuwait in Aug., 1990, the Persian Gulf was once again a background for conflict. International coalition ground forces were stationed in Saudi Arabia and neighboring gulf countries in the Persian Gulf War (1991). Before Iraq was expelled from Kuwait in Feb., 1991, Iraqi soldiers set fire to over 500 Kuwaiti oil wells and dumped millions of barrels of oil into the Persian Gulf, causing an environmental crisis and threatening desalination plants throughout the area. The area again was the scene of warfare in 2003 when U.S. and British forces invaded Iraq. The Persian Gulf's vast oil reserves make the area a continuing source of international tension.
The Bay of Campeche (Bahía de Campeche), Mexico, and Apalachee Bay, Florida, are the Gulf's largest arms. Sigsbee Deep (12,714 ft/3,875 m), the Gulf's deepest part, lies off the Mexican coast. The shoreline is generally low, sandy, and marshy, with many lagoons and deltas. Chief of the many rivers entering the Gulf are the Mississippi, Alabama, Brazos, and Rio Grande. The U.S. Intracoastal Waterway follows the Gulf's northern coast.
Oil deposits from the continental shelf are tapped by offshore wells, especially near Texas and Louisiana. Most of the U.S. shrimp catch comes from the Gulf Coast; menhaden is also important. The discovery in the 1990s of a large oxygen-depleted "dead zone" off the Louisiana coast raised concerns about the effects of agricultural runoff on the Gulf. The chief ports are at Tampa and Pensacola, Fla.; Mobile, Ala.; New Orleans; Galveston and Corpus Christi, Tex.; Tampico and Veracruz, Mexico; and Havana, Cuba.
The mysterious syndrome has sparked debate between veteran's groups, congressional investigators, and the military over questions of accountability, treatment, and compensation. Hypothesized causes have included parasites, biological and chemical warfare agents, prophylactic vaccines and medications given against biological and chemical warfare agents, fumes from oil well fires, and stress. In 1994 an advisory panel organized by the National Institutes of Health reported that the syndrome represented many illnesses and many causes; they deemed biological and chemical warfare agents unlikely as causes. Causes for the illnesses in many subsets of patients have been identified, e.g., some 30 veterans had leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease spread by sand flies, but in many instances the cause has not been identified.
In 1999 researchers said that brain scans of some sick veterans revealed signs of damage caused by exposure to toxic chemicals, and a study in 2004 suggested that some veterans may have been sensitive enough to otherwise low levels of poison gases to cause symptons associated with the syndrome. A committee appointed by Congress said in 2008 that evidence suggested that acetyl cholinesterase inhibitors, which include the nerve gas sarin, an anti-nerve-gas agent, and pesticides used against sand flies, and a genetic sensitivity to such chemicals may be the cause of the syndrome. Some medical historians have pointed out that syndromes of undiagnosable diseases have occurred after other wars, including World Wars I and II and the American Civil War.
See H. Stommel, The Gulf Stream (1977).
Any large coastal indentation, similar to a bay but larger. Most existing gulfs were formed or greatly extended as a result of the rise in sea level that accompanied the ending of the last ice age. Some, such as the Gulf of California and the Gulf of Oman, resulted from warping, folding, or downfaulting of the Earth's crust, which caused parts of the shoreline to drop below sea level. Most gulfs are connected with the sea by one or more straits. A gulf may have a group of islands at its mouth or may open into another gulf. Gulfs may differ from the adjoining sea in water properties and sedimentation.
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Arm of the South China Sea, between northern Vietnam and Hainan Island, China. It is 300 mi (500 km) long and 150 mi (250 km) wide. In 1964 the Vietnamese reportedly fired on U.S. ships there, leading the U.S. Congress to adopt the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that supported increased U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.
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Inlet of the South China Sea. Mostly bordering Thailand, though Cambodia and Vietnam form its southeastern shore, it is 300–350 mi (500–560 km) wide and 450 mi (725 km) long. Thailand's main harbours lie along its shores, its waters are important fishing grounds, and beaches along its coast are popular tourist attractions.
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Inlet of the Mediterranean Sea, north-central coast, Libya. It extends 275 mi (443 km). In August the gulf's water temperature reaches 88 °F (31 °C), the warmest in the Mediterranean. It was the scene of the Battle of Sirte in World War II (1939–45), during which a British naval convoy thwarted attacks by Italian warships and German bombers. In the early 1970s Libya laid claim to the entire gulf, prompting minor clashes with U.S. naval forces in the area.
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Gulf of the Aegean Sea, southeastern coast of Greece. Some 50 mi (80 km) long and 30 mi (50 km) wide, it separates Attica and the Peloponnese and is linked to the Gulf of Corinth by the Corinth Canal. It was the site of a major Athenian victory over the Persians in 480 BC (see Battle of Salamis). Its ports include Piraeus and Mégara.
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Triangular inlet of the Indian Ocean, southeastern Australia. It is on the coast of South Australia between Yorke Peninsula (west) and the mainland (east and southeast). About 90 mi (145 km) long and 45 mi (73 km) wide, it is linked to the ocean by Investigator Strait and Backstairs Passage. Kangaroo Island lies across the gulf's entrance. Adelaide and Port Adelaide Enfield (pop., 2004 est.: 103,830), South Australia's leading port, are on its eastern side.
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Deep gulf of the Atlantic Ocean off eastern Canada. It has an area of about 60,000 sq mi (155,000 sq km). It touches the shores of half of the provinces of Canada, providing a gateway to the interior of the entire North American continent. Its boundaries are the maritime estuary at the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River, the Strait of Belle Isle between Newfoundland and the mainland, and Cabot Strait. It has many islands, including Prince Edward Island and the Magdalen Islands.
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Large gulf of the Baltic Sea. Bounded by Latvia and Estonia, it covers about 7,000 sq mi (18,000 sq km). The gulf, icebound from December to April, has a maximum depth of 177 ft (54 m). The coasts are mostly low and sandy, and several important rivers, including the Western Dvina, reach the sea there. Several ports and resorts, including Riga, line its shores.
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(1990–91) International conflict triggered by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. Though justified by Iraqi leader
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Arm of the Arabian Sea. It is about 615 mi (990 km) long and rarely exceeds a depth of 300 ft (90 m). It is connected with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea through the Strait of Hormuz. It contains the island kingdom of Bahrain and is bordered by Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Iraq. It has long been a maritime trade route between the Middle East and South Asia; its modern economy is dominated by petroleum production.
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Inlet of the Pacific Ocean, northwestern coast of Costa Rica. It is formed by the protrusion of the Nicoya Peninsula from the mainland and extends north and northwest for about 50 mi (80 km). The Tempisque, Abangares, and Tárcoles rivers empty into the gulf. It has several islands, including Chira, the largest, and San Lucas. The largest town and port on the shores of the gulf is Puntarenas.
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Gulf, southeastern coast of North America, connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the Straits of Florida and to the Caribbean Sea by the Yucatán Channel. Covering an area of 600,000 sq mi (1,550,000 sq km), it is bounded by the U.S., Mexico, and Cuba. It has a maximum depth, in the Mexico Basin, of 17,070 ft (5,203 m). The Gulf Stream enters it from the Caribbean Sea and flows out to the Atlantic. The Mississippi and the Rio Grande are the major rivers draining into the gulf. Its major ports are Veracruz in Mexico, and Galveston, New Orleans, Pensacola, and Tampa in the U.S.
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Gulf of the Mediterranean Sea, extending along the coast of southern France from the Spanish border to Toulon. Major ports along the gulf are Marseille and Sète.
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Arm of the South China Sea, between northern Vietnam and Hainan Island, China. It is 300 mi (500 km) long and 150 mi (250 km) wide. In 1964 the Vietnamese reportedly fired on U.S. ships there, leading the U.S. Congress to adopt the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that supported increased U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.
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Inlet of the South China Sea. Mostly bordering Thailand, though Cambodia and Vietnam form its southeastern shore, it is 300–350 mi (500–560 km) wide and 450 mi (725 km) long. Thailand's main harbours lie along its shores, its waters are important fishing grounds, and beaches along its coast are popular tourist attractions.
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Inlet of the Mediterranean Sea, north-central coast, Libya. It extends 275 mi (443 km). In August the gulf's water temperature reaches 88 °F (31 °C), the warmest in the Mediterranean. It was the scene of the Battle of Sirte in World War II (1939–45), during which a British naval convoy thwarted attacks by Italian warships and German bombers. In the early 1970s Libya laid claim to the entire gulf, prompting minor clashes with U.S. naval forces in the area.
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Deep gulf of the Atlantic Ocean off eastern Canada. It has an area of about 60,000 sq mi (155,000 sq km). It touches the shores of half of the provinces of Canada, providing a gateway to the interior of the entire North American continent. Its boundaries are the maritime estuary at the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River, the Strait of Belle Isle between Newfoundland and the mainland, and Cabot Strait. It has many islands, including Prince Edward Island and the Magdalen Islands.
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Large gulf of the Baltic Sea. Bounded by Latvia and Estonia, it covers about 7,000 sq mi (18,000 sq km). The gulf, icebound from December to April, has a maximum depth of 177 ft (54 m). The coasts are mostly low and sandy, and several important rivers, including the Western Dvina, reach the sea there. Several ports and resorts, including Riga, line its shores.
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Inlet of the Pacific Ocean, northwestern coast of Costa Rica. It is formed by the protrusion of the Nicoya Peninsula from the mainland and extends north and northwest for about 50 mi (80 km). The Tempisque, Abangares, and Tárcoles rivers empty into the gulf. It has several islands, including Chira, the largest, and San Lucas. The largest town and port on the shores of the gulf is Puntarenas.
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Gulf, southeastern coast of North America, connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the Straits of Florida and to the Caribbean Sea by the Yucatán Channel. Covering an area of 600,000 sq mi (1,550,000 sq km), it is bounded by the U.S., Mexico, and Cuba. It has a maximum depth, in the Mexico Basin, of 17,070 ft (5,203 m). The Gulf Stream enters it from the Caribbean Sea and flows out to the Atlantic. The Mississippi and the Rio Grande are the major rivers draining into the gulf. Its major ports are Veracruz in Mexico, and Galveston, New Orleans, Pensacola, and Tampa in the U.S.
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Gulf of the Mediterranean Sea, extending along the coast of southern France from the Spanish border to Toulon. Major ports along the gulf are Marseille and Sète.
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Great inlet of the Atlantic Ocean on the western African coast. It includes the Bights of Benin and Biafra, and its major tributaries are the Volta and Niger rivers. Its natural resources include offshore oil deposits and metal ore deposits. Its coastline forms part of the western edge of the African tectonic plate and corresponds remarkably to the continental margin of South America from Brazil to the Guianas, providing one of the clearest confirmations of the theory of continental drift.
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Inlet of the Pacific Ocean, Central America. Bounded by El Salvador to the northwest, Honduras to the northeast, and Nicaragua to the southeast, it reaches inland about 40 mi (65 km) and widens to about 50 mi (80 km). Its entrance, marked by Cape Amapala in El Salvador and Cape Cosigüina in Nicaragua, is about 20 mi (32 km) across. The shores are covered by mangrove swamps except where Conchagua Volcano rises sharply in the west.
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Arm of the Yellow Sea off the northern China coast. With the Gulf of Liaodong (generally considered part of the Bo Hai), its maximum dimensions are 300 mi (480 km) northeast-southwest and 190 mi (306 km) east-west. The Liao River and Huang He (Yellow River) empty into it.
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Gulf, northeastern Australia. An inlet of the Arafura Sea, it is bordered by the Northern Territory and by Cape York Peninsula and extends north-south about 375 mi (600 km) and east-west 310 mi (500 km). It was explored by the Dutch 1605–28; its western coasts were discovered by Abel Janszoon Tasman in 1644. Neglected for centuries, it became economically significant from the late 20th century for its bauxite and manganese deposits and for its prawn-rich waters.
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Gulf separating Baja California from the rest of Mexico. Its area is about 59,000 sq mi (153,000 sq km). Its waters were coloured by red plankton when 16th-century Spanish explorers named it Mar Bermejo (“Vermilion Sea”). Some geologists hold that the gulf is structurally part of the Pacific Ocean; others claim Baja California is pulling away from the continent as it moves north along the San Andreas Fault, allowing the gulf to form.
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Northern arm of the Baltic Sea. Extending between Sweden and Finland, it covers about 45,200 sq mi (117,000 sq km). It is 450 mi (725 km) long and 50–150 mi (80–240 km) wide, with an average depth of 200 ft (60 m). Because many rivers drain into it, its salinity is very low; annual ice cover consequently lasts up to five months.
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Northeastern arm of the Red Sea, between Saudi Arabia and the Sinai Peninsula. It varies in width from 12 to 17 miles (19 to 27 km) and is 100 miles (160 km) long. Its head touches Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. Its only sheltered harbour is Dhahab (Dahab), Egypt; Jordan and Israel created the ports of Al-aynAqabah and Elat, respectively, as outlets to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
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Arm of the Indian Ocean between the Arabian Peninsula and Somalia. To the west, it narrows into the Gulf of Tadjoura; its eastern limit is the meridian of Cape Guardafui. In these terms it is about 550 mi (885 km) long; geologically, it extends a total of 920 mi (1,480 km), to the eastern limits of the continental shelf beyond the Khuriyyā Muriyyā islands to the north and the island of Socotra to the south. Its marine life is rich in quantity and variety. Its coastline lacks large-scale fishing facilities but supports many fishing towns, as well as the major ports Aden and Djibouti.
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Cluster of illnesses in veterans of the Persian Gulf War (1990–91). These illnesses are characterized by variable and nonspecific symptoms such as fatigue, muscle and joint pains, headaches, memory loss, and posttraumatic stress reactions. It is believed to be caused by exposure to chemicals called anticholinesterases, which are found in nerve toxins, insecticides, and prophylactic anti-nerve toxin drugs. The disorder does not appear to be fatal but can be associated with considerable distress and disability.
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Warm ocean current, part of a general clockwise-rotating system of currents in the North Atlantic. A major contribution of the Gulf Stream is its warming effect on the climates of adjacent land areas. In winter, the air over the ocean west of Norway is more than 40°F (22°C) warmer than the average for that latitude, one of the greatest temperature anomalies in the world. Winters in southwestern England are extraordinarily mild for this northern latitude because of the Gulf Stream. Regions of the Gulf Stream, such as the Grand Banks, have been among the most productive commercial fishing grounds in the world.
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Triangular inlet of the Indian Ocean, southeastern Australia. It is on the coast of South Australia between Yorke Peninsula (west) and the mainland (east and southeast). About 90 mi (145 km) long and 45 mi (73 km) wide, it is linked to the ocean by Investigator Strait and Backstairs Passage. Kangaroo Island lies across the gulf's entrance. Adelaide and Port Adelaide Enfield (pop., 2004 est.: 103,830), South Australia's leading port, are on its eastern side.
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Great inlet of the Atlantic Ocean on the western African coast. It includes the Bights of Benin and Biafra, and its major tributaries are the Volta and Niger rivers. Its natural resources include offshore oil deposits and metal ore deposits. Its coastline forms part of the western edge of the African tectonic plate and corresponds remarkably to the continental margin of South America from Brazil to the Guianas, providing one of the clearest confirmations of the theory of continental drift.
Learn more about Guinea, Gulf of with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Inlet of the Pacific Ocean, Central America. Bounded by El Salvador to the northwest, Honduras to the northeast, and Nicaragua to the southeast, it reaches inland about 40 mi (65 km) and widens to about 50 mi (80 km). Its entrance, marked by Cape Amapala in El Salvador and Cape Cosigüina in Nicaragua, is about 20 mi (32 km) across. The shores are covered by mangrove swamps except where Conchagua Volcano rises sharply in the west.
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Gulf, northeastern Australia. An inlet of the Arafura Sea, it is bordered by the Northern Territory and by Cape York Peninsula and extends north-south about 375 mi (600 km) and east-west 310 mi (500 km). It was explored by the Dutch 1605–28; its western coasts were discovered by Abel Janszoon Tasman in 1644. Neglected for centuries, it became economically significant from the late 20th century for its bauxite and manganese deposits and for its prawn-rich waters.
Learn more about Carpentaria, Gulf of with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Gulf separating Baja California from the rest of Mexico. Its area is about 59,000 sq mi (153,000 sq km). Its waters were coloured by red plankton when 16th-century Spanish explorers named it Mar Bermejo (“Vermilion Sea”). Some geologists hold that the gulf is structurally part of the Pacific Ocean; others claim Baja California is pulling away from the continent as it moves north along the San Andreas Fault, allowing the gulf to form.
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Northern arm of the Baltic Sea. Extending between Sweden and Finland, it covers about 45,200 sq mi (117,000 sq km). It is 450 mi (725 km) long and 50–150 mi (80–240 km) wide, with an average depth of 200 ft (60 m). Because many rivers drain into it, its salinity is very low; annual ice cover consequently lasts up to five months.
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Northeastern arm of the Red Sea, between Saudi Arabia and the Sinai Peninsula. It varies in width from 12 to 17 miles (19 to 27 km) and is 100 miles (160 km) long. Its head touches Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. Its only sheltered harbour is Dhahab (Dahab), Egypt; Jordan and Israel created the ports of Al-aynAqabah and Elat, respectively, as outlets to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
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Arm of the Indian Ocean between the Arabian Peninsula and Somalia. To the west, it narrows into the Gulf of Tadjoura; its eastern limit is the meridian of Cape Guardafui. In these terms it is about 550 mi (885 km) long; geologically, it extends a total of 920 mi (1,480 km), to the eastern limits of the continental shelf beyond the Khuriyyā Muriyyā islands to the north and the island of Socotra to the south. Its marine life is rich in quantity and variety. Its coastline lacks large-scale fishing facilities but supports many fishing towns, as well as the major ports Aden and Djibouti.
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