The Red Sea

The Red Sea is formed from a massive fault line that separates the African tectonic plate from the Arabian plate to the east. The Red Sea lies along the northern section of this huge geological cleft called the Great Rift Valley.  The sea is a 2235 km section of a huge depression, which is flooded by the waters of the Indian Ocean entering through a shallow opening at its southern end.

Most of the Red Sea coastline is shared between Egypt and Saudi Arabia. On all sides , the Red Sea is surrounded by a terrain of lowland dessert backed by rugged mountain slopes, which can only be seen on exceptionally clear days or as a background to a spectacular sunset.

The expedition will be leaving from Hurghada and the map below shows the position of this point with respect to the rest of the Red Sea. More detailed maps will be displayed as the expedition continues.