Countries of the Persian Gulf

 

 

Persian Gulf, shallow marginal sea of the Indian Ocean that lies between the Arabian Peninsula and southwestern Iran. The sea has an area of about 93,000 square miles (241,000 square km). Its length is some 615 miles (990 km), and its width varies from a maximum of about 210 miles (340 km) to a minimum of 35 miles (55 km) in the Strait of Hormuz. It is bordered on the north, northeast, and east by Iran; on the southeast and south by part of Oman and by the United Arab Emirates; on the southwest and west by Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia; and on the northwest by Kuwait and Iraq. The term Persian Gulf (or Arabian Gulf, the name used by Arabs) sometimes is employed to refer not only to the Persian Gulf proper but also to its outlets, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman, which open into the Arabian Sea. This discussion, however, focuses primarily on the Persian Gulf proper.

In this basin vast quantities of sediments accumulate - mostly limestone and marls (a mixture of calcareous and silicate mud), together with evaporates and organic matter - which ultimately produced the area’s extensive oil resources.

The gulf has a notoriously unpleasant climate. Temperatures are high, though winters may be quite cool at the northwestern extremities. The sparse rainfall occurs mainly as sharp downpours between November and April and is higher in the northeast. Humidity is high. The little cloud cover is more prevalent in winter than in summer. Thunderstorms and fog are rare, but dust storms and haze occur frequently in summer. Squalls and waterspouts are common in autumn. Intense heating of the land adjacent to the coasts leads to gentle offshore winds in the mornings and strong onshore winds in the afternoons and evenings.

The small freshwater inflow into the gulf is mostly from the Tigris, Euphrates, and Kārūn rivers. Surface-water temperatures range from 24 to 32 °C in the Strait of Hormuz to 16 to 32 °C in the extreme northwest. These high temperatures and a low influx of fresh water result in evaporation in excess of freshwater inflow; high salinities result.

Since World War II the Persian Gulf and the surrounding countries have come to account for a significant proportion of the world’s oil production. In addition, the area has approximately two-thirds of the world’s estimated proven oil reserves and one-third of the world’s estimated proven natural gas reserves. The region thus has acquired considerable strategic significance for the world’s industrialized countries. Exploration has remained active, and new reserves are continually being discovered, both on land and offshore. Control of these reserves has led to numerous legal wrangles among states about exact territorial limits and has been at least partially responsible for major conflicts in the region: the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, the Persian Gulf War of the early 1990s, and the Iraq War of the early 21st century. Large amounts of oil are refined locally, but most is exported to northwestern Europe, East Asia, and other areas of the world. Petrochemical and other petroleum-based industries, as well as consumer industries, have been developing rapidly in the gulf region.

 

 Questions

1. Name all the countries of the Persian Gulf

2. What led to the oil reserves?

3. What is the climate in this region?

4. Where does fresh water come from?

5. What are the oil and gas reserves in the Persian Gulf?

6. What is responsible for the wars in the Gulf region?