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The Persian Gulf (Persian: خليج فارس khalīj-e-Fārs; in Arabic: الخليج الفارسي al-khalīj al-fārisī), in the Southwest Asian region, is an extension of the Gulf of Oman located between Iran (Persia) and the Arabian Peninsula.

The Persian Gulf was the focus of the Iraq-Iran War that lasted from 1980 to 1988, with each side attacking the other's oil tankers. In 1991 the Persian Gulf again was the background for what was called the "Persian Gulf War" or "The Gulf War" when Iraq invaded Kuwait and was subsequently pushed back, despite the fact that this conflict was primarily a land conflict.

The natural environment of the Persian Gulf is very rich with good fishing grounds, extensive coral reefs, and abundant pearl oysters, but has become increasingly under pressure due to the heavy industrialisation and in particular the repeated major oil spillages associated with recent wars fought in the region.

Geography

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/Shatt al-Arab, which carries the waters of the Euphrates and the Tigris. Its length is 989 kilometres separating mainly Iran from Saudi Arabia with the shortest divide of about 56 kilometres in the Strait of Hormuz. The waters are overall very shallow and have a maximum depth of 90 metres, and an average depth of 50 metres.

Countries with a coastline on the Persian Gulf are (clockwise, from the north): Iran, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar on a peninsula off the Saudi coast, Bahrain on an island, Kuwait and Iraq in the northwest. Various small islands lie within the Persian Gulf.

Petroleum

The Persian Gulf and its coastal areas are the world's largest single source of crude oil and related industries dominate the region. Al-Safaniya, the world's largest offshore oilfield, is located in the Gulf.

The oil-rich countries (excluding Iraq) that have a coastline on the Persian Gulf are referred to as the Gulf States. They are Iran, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Iraq's egress to the gulf is narrow and easily blockaded consisting of the marshy river delta of Arvand/Shatt al-Arab, which carries the waters of the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers, where the left (East) bank is held by Iran.

Naming dispute

Arab nations refer to the Gulf as the Arabian Gulf (in Arabic: الخلیج العربي al-khalīj al-ʿarabī). However, it is not commonly used outside of the Arab world or recognized by the United Nations and other international organizations as historically the name is "Persian Gulf". "Arabian Gulf" is also an ancient name for the Red Sea.

British residency

From 1763 until 1971, the United Kingdom maintained varying degrees of political control over some Persian Gulf states, including the United Arab Emirates (originally called the "Trucial Coast States") and at various times Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar.

See also

• Persian Gulf War
• Persian Gulf naming dispute
• Cradle of Humanity
• Deluge (prehistoric)

External links

• The Persian Gulf, Information, history and resources of the Persian Gulf
• The Portuguese in the Arabian peninsula and in the Persian Gulf
• Persian Gulf Region
• Persian Gulf Pavillion of Tehran Int'l Book Fair
• Publication of Historical Maps of the Persian Gulf in Tehran
• Persian Gulf maps
• Factsheet on the Legal and Historical Usage of the "Persian Gulf" - ISG MIT
• The Persian Gulf: The Politics of Geographic Renaming
• UN GEGN – Historical, Geographical and Legal Validity of the Name: Persian Gulf

• Persian Gulf
• Gulfs
• Indian Ocean
• Middle East