Places in News: Red Sea

Context:

Recently, an India-bound cargo ship was seized by the Houthis in the Red Sea.

Geography: The Red Sea is a semi-enclosed, inlet (or extension) of the Indian Ocean between the continents of Africa from Asia.

Red Sea

- It is the world’s northernmost tropical sea. It is a Global 200 Ecoregion, and underlying it is the Red Sea Rift, which makes it a part of the Great Rift Valley.
Connectivity and Waterways: It is connected to the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean to the south through the Gulf of Aden and the narrow strait of Bab el Mandeb.
- The northern portion of the Red Sea is bifurcated by the Sinai Peninsula into the Gulf of Aqaba and the Gulf of Suez, where it is connected to the Mediterranean Sea via the famous Suez Canal.
Bordering Countries: Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, and Djibouti.
Distinct Features: Due to seasonal blooms of a red-colored cyanobacteria alga -Trichodesmium erythraeum the sea is a reddish-brown color.
- Islands: Farasan Islands, Dahlak Archipelago

The Red Sea, stretching from Egypt’s Suez Canal to the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait separating the Arabian Peninsula from Africa, remains a key trade route for global shipping and energy supplies.

Who are the Houthis?

Houthis: The Houthis are a large clan belonging to the Zaidi Shia sect, with roots in Yemen’s northwestern Sa’dah province.
Houthi Movement: It began in the 1990s against the dictatorship of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Global 200 Ecoregion: