Gulf of Oman

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GULF OF OMAN

The northwest arm of the Arabian Sea, measuring 350 miles (560 km) in length.

The Gulf of Oman forms the only entrance to the Persian Gulf from the Indian Ocean. It is bounded by Iran on the north, Oman on the south, and the United Arab Emirates on the west. The gulf is relatively shallow because of its origin as a fissure in the mountain spine now divided between Iran and Oman. Two hundred miles (320 km) wide at its outer limit, it narrows to 35 miles (56 km) at the Strait of Hormuz. Roughly one-third of the world's oil is exported via the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. Iran's Revolutionary Guards attacked oil tankers in the waterway during the IranIraq War but were never able to disrupt shipping. Environmental concerns have grown in recent years because of an increase in oil spills and the emptying of ballast by oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman before entering the strait.

See also persian (arabian) gulf; revolutionary guards.


Bibliography

Lorimer, J. G. "Oman (Promontory and Gulf of)." In Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman, and Central Arabia, Vol. 2B: Geographical and Statistical. Calcutta, 19081915. Reprint, Farnsborough: Gregg, 1970.

U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Indian Ocean Atlas. Washington, DC, 1976.

j. e. peterson

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