Persian Gulf

Extracted Attributes

• Length

  990 kilometers (615 miles)

• Location

  West Asia

• Coordinates

  Point(52.0 26.0)

• Surface Area

  241,000 square kilometers (93,000 square miles)

• Average Depth

  50 meters (164 feet)

• Maximum Depth

  90 meters (295 feet)

• Maximum Width

  340 kilometers (210 miles)

• Minimum Width

  55 kilometers (35 miles) at the Strait of Hormuz

• Alternative Name

  Arabian Gulf

• Geologic Basin Origin

  Cenozoic era

Timeline

• The current flooding of the Persian Gulf basin began due to rising sea levels caused by the Holocene glacial retreat. (Source: Wikipedia)

  13000-01-01 BC

• The Iran-Iraq War began in the region, during which both nations engaged in attacks on commercial oil tankers in the Persian Gulf. (Source: web_search_results)

  1980-09-22

• The Persian Gulf War began following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, leading to significant military operations in the gulf. (Source: web_search_results)

  1991-01-17

Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran (Persia). It is connected to the Gulf of Oman in the east by the Strait of Hormuz. The river delta of the Shatt al-Arab forms the north-west shoreline. The Persian Gulf has many fishing grounds, extensive reefs (mostly rocky, but also coral), and abundant pearl oysters; however, its ecology has been damaged by industrialization and oil spills. The Persian Gulf is in the Persian Gulf Basin, which is of Cenozoic origin and related to the subduction of the Arabian plate under the Zagros Mountains. The current flooding of the basin started 15,000 years ago due to rising sea levels of the Holocene glacial retreat.

Web Search Results

• Persian Gulf | Persian Touring

  MY ACCOUNT Mobile Menu Toggle Persian Touring ## Persian Gulf Home Persian Gulf # Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Indian Ocean (Gulf of Oman) through the Strait of Hormuz and lies between Iran to the northeast and the Arabian Peninsula to the southwest. The Shatt al-Arab river delta forms the northwest shoreline. The Persian Gulf was a battlefield of the 1980–1988 Iran–Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other’s oil tankers. It is the namesake of the 1991 Gulf War, the large air- and land-based conflict that followed Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. [...] The gulf has many fishing grounds, extensive coral reefs, and abundant pearl oysters, but its ecology has been damaged by industrialization and oil spills. The body of water is historically and internationally known as the “Persian Gulf”. Some Arab governments refer to it as the “Arabian Gulf” or “The Gulf”, but neither term is recognized internationally. The name “Gulf of Iran (Persian Gulf)” is used by the International Hydrographic Organization. The Persian Gulf is geologically very young, having been formed around 15,000 years ago

• Persian Gulf | Definition, Location, Map, Countries, Name, & Facts

  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 [...] ### What is the Persian Gulf and where is it located? The Persian Gulf is a shallow marginal sea of the Indian Ocean located in the Middle East, lying between Iran to the northeast and the Arabian Peninsula to the southwest. It covers about 93,000 square miles (241,000 square km) and extends roughly 615 miles (990 km) from northwest to southeast, with a width ranging from about 210 miles (340 km) to 35 miles (55 km) at the Strait of Hormuz, where it opens to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. ### Why is the Persian Gulf important for global oil and gas exports? [...] Tomb of Mohammed Bin Ali, Salalah, Oman. ## Geology The present-day Persian Gulf, together with its northwestern continuation now infilled by the deposits of the Mesopotamian rivers, is the remains of a once much larger basin of deposition aligned northwest to southeast that existed throughout much of geologic history. In this basin vast quantities of sediments accumulated—mostly limestone and marls (a mixture of calcareous and silicate mud), together with evaporites and organic matter—which ultimately produced the area’s extensive oil resources. ## Climate

• Iran Tour - The forever Persian Gulf

  The Persian Gulf is the most important port between Asia, the Middle East, and the Arabic countries, which opens the sea to the western countries. It has many islands surrounding it and is a great provider of sea life, oil, and gas. It is renowned for its beautiful coral hills. For a time it was usurped by the Portuguese but the local people turned up against this action and took it back. In the time of ancient Persia, the gulf used to be used as part of the ‘silk road’ which was the major trading center between the East and West. Hormoz channel at the border of the Persian Gulf used to be a pay toll port for foreign ships. You have most probably witnessed different wars that took place around this region, including the Iran-Iraq war in 1980 and the Persian Gulf war in 1991. [...] A vast majority of the Persian Gulf belongs to Iran and some to the Arabian countries. It consists of two parts the Amman sea and the Persian Gulf. The Persian Gulf is a crescent-shaped groove. It is located in the southwest of the Asian region and is an extension of the Indian Ocean. The Persian Gulf ‘Khalijeh Fars’ is an extension of the Gulf of Oman between the Arab Peninsula and Iran. This inland sea of some 233,000 km2 is connected to the Gulf of Oman in the east by the Strait of Hormuz, and its western end is marked by the major river delta of Arvand - Rud, which carries the waters of the Euphrates and Tigris. It has an area of about 241,000 square kilometers. Its length is 989 kilometers separating mainly Iran from Saudi Arabia with the shortest divide of about 56 kilometers in [...] Gulf region is home to some of the world’s most exotic cities. With rapid development brought about by oil wealth, many cities have grown into major economic hubs. The islands and cities on the verge of the Persian Gulf include Badar Abbas, Bushehr, Kish, Umm Qasr, Kuwait City, Manama, Doha, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi. The Persian Gulf is a waterway that stretches far back into history, it was from its shores that the mighty Persian Empire, the world's first and greatest civilization, rose to conquer what was then, the known world. By its shores, the ships of the ancient world traded and paid homage to the mighty empire for whom this Gulf was named. When the armies of the Macedonian Kind Alexander rampaged through the orient, he stopped at the Persian Gulf and believed it to be the end of the

• Political Map of Persian Gulf - Nations Online Project

  The Persian Gulf is an arm of the Indian Ocean, located between the mountainous coast of southwestern Iran and the rather flat coast of the Arabian Peninsula. The gulf is about 1,000 km long and 200 to 300 km wide. It covers an area of approximately 250,000 km² (97,000 sq mi) that is somewhat larger than the size of the UK or about the size of the U.S. state of Michigan. The inland sea is connected to the Gulf of Oman in the east by the Strait of Hormuz, a critical bottleneck between the Iranian coast and the Omani Musandam Peninsula for oil shipments from the Persian Gulf.. Persian Gulf Countries Eight countries border the Persian Gulf: Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman (at the Musandam exclave), Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. [...] The Persian Gulf has been a critical maritime route since antiquity, connecting the Arabian Peninsula with Persia (now Iran), India, East Africa, and Southeast Asia. After the rise of Islam in the 7th century, Arab traders and sailors used this corridor to spread the new faith beyond Arabia. Ports like Basra, Hormuz, Muscat, and Bahrain became centers of trade and Islamic scholarship. Muslim merchants carried not only goods like pearls, incense, and spices, but also ideas, including Islam, to distant shores. [...] The Persian Gulf is fed in the northwest by the Shatt al-Arab, a major river created by the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Some minor Iranian rivers, such as the Mond River, the Zohreh, and the Helleh River, also empty into the gulf. The Gulf is a relatively shallow body of water, with a maximum depth of 90 meters (approximately 295 feet). Its average depth is around 50 meters (164 feet). The Gulf is located in a very hot and dry region and experiences significant evaporation, leading to increased salinity and density of its water. This dense and salty water sinks and forms a distinct water mass known as Persian Gulf Water (PGW).

• Strait of Hormuz - About the Persian/Arabian Gulf - Strauss Center

  Our People Our Purpose Ambassador Robert S. Strauss Contact Employment Donate texas # Strait of Hormuz – About the Persian/Arabian Gulf The Persian Gulf is the body of water bordering Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Oman. The Gulf covers area of approximately 87,000 square miles, with a maximum depth of about 330 feet and an average depth of about 115 feet.[i] The only maritime outlet from the Persian Gulf into the Gulf of Oman, the Indian Ocean, and the rest of the world is through a narrow chokepoint, the Strait of Hormuz. [...] about_persian_gulf_map #### Persian Gulf The region has historically been known as the Persian Gulf, named after the Persian Empire (present-day Iran). Since the 1960s, rivalry between Persians and Arabs, along with the growth of Arab nationalism and evolving Western political and economic interests, has prompted an increasing use of the term “Arabian Gulf” when referring to the region’s body of water. This website uses the term Persian Gulf with no political significance intended. footer-logo ###### Keep up to date with the Strauss Center ###### Programs ###### For Students ###### Events ###### Media ###### About ©2026 Strauss Center for International Security and Law. All Rights Reserved. ###### Connect [...] The Persian Gulf region produces nearly one third of the world’s oil and holds over half of the world’s crude oil reserves as well as a significant portion of the world’s natural gas reserves. Oil and natural gas from the Persian Gulf are exported to consumers everywhere, especially to Asia, Western Europe, and the United States. ### RESOURCES about_persian_gulf_map about_persian_gulf_map #### Persian Gulf

• Image

  

• Country

  Bahrain

• Instance Of

  Q165

• Coordinates

  Lat: 26.0, Lon: 52.0