{{Short description|Arabian Sea link to the Indian Ocean}} {{Pp|small=yes}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}} {{Infobox body of water | name = Gulf of Oman | native_name = {{Native name|ar|خليج عمان}} | image = | alt = center | caption = | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map_caption = | image_bathymetry = Gulf of Oman ETOPO 2022 (labeled).png | alt_bathymetry = | caption_bathymetry = Bathymetry of the Gulf of Oman | location = West Asia and South Asia | coordinates = {{Coord|25|N|58|E|type:waterbody_scale:5000000region:XI|display=inline,title}} | type = Sea | oceans = Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea | inflow = | rivers = | outflow = | catchment = | countries = {{collapsible list|Oman<br>Pakistan<br>Iran<br>United Arab Emirates}} | agency = | designation = | length = | width = {{convert|340|km|mi|abbr=on}} | area = {{convert|115000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} | depth = | max-depth = {{convert|3700|m|ft|abbr=on}} | volume = | residence_time = | salinity = | shore = | elevation = | frozen = | islands = | sections = | islands_category = | trenches = | benches = | cities = | website = | reference = | mapframe = yes | mapframe-stroke-width = 1 | mapframe-zoom = 4 | mapframe-wikidata = yes }} [[File:Jaz Murian satellite.jpg|thumb|A satellite view of Iran, Pakistan and the Gulf of Oman.]] [[File:Khorfakkan Port.jpg|thumb|Khor Fakkan, a city in the Emirate of Sharjah, has one of the major container ports in the eastern seaboard of the United Arab Emirates.]] [[File:Carriers Charles de Gaulle (R91) - Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) and Cavour (550) underway in the Gulf of Oman on 3 January 2014 (140103-N-CL550-634).jpg|thumb|U.S. Navy, French Navy, and Italian Navy aircraft carriers conduct operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility in the Gulf of Oman.]]
The '''Gulf of Oman''' or '''Sea of Oman''',{{efn|{{langx|ar|خليج عمان}} ''khalīj ʿumān''; {{langx|fa|دریای عمان}} ''daryâ-ye omân'')}} also known as '''Gulf of Makran''' or '''Sea of Makran''',{{efn|({{langx|ar|خلیج مکران}} ''khalīj makrān''; {{langx|fa|دریای مکران}} ''daryâ-ye makrān'')}} is a gulf in the Indian Ocean that connects the Arabian Sea with the Strait of Hormuz, which then runs to the Persian Gulf. It borders Iran and Pakistan on the north, Oman on the south, and the United Arab Emirates on the west.
==Extent== The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Gulf of Oman as follows:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://iho.int/uploads/user/pubs/standards/s-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf |title=Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd edition |year=1953 |publisher=International Hydrographic Organization |access-date=28 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008191433/http://www.iho.int/iho_pubs/standard/S-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf |archive-date=8 October 2011 }}</ref>
{{blockquote| * On the Northwest: A line joining Ràs Limah (25°57′N) on the coast of Arabia and Ràs al Kuh (25°48′N) on the coast of Iran (Persia). * On the Southeast: The Northern limit of the Arabian Sea [A line joining Ràs al Hadd, East point of Arabia (22°32'N) and Ràs Jiyùni (61°43'E) on the coast of Pakistan<nowiki>]</nowiki>.|author=|title=|source=}}
==Exclusive economic zone== Exclusive economic zones in Gulf of Oman:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.seaaroundus.org/data/#/eez|title=Sea Around Us | Fisheries, Ecosystems and Biodiversity|website=www.seaaroundus.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.seaaroundus.org/data/#/eez/968?chart=catch-chart&dimension=taxon&measure=tonnage&limit=10|title=Sea Around Us | Fisheries, Ecosystems and Biodiversity|website=www.seaaroundus.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.seaaroundus.org/data/#/eez/923?chart=catch-chart&dimension=taxon&measure=tonnage&limit=10|title=Sea Around Us | Fisheries, Ecosystems and Biodiversity|website=www.seaaroundus.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.seaaroundus.org/data/#/eez/512?chart=catch-chart&dimension=taxon&measure=tonnage&limit=10|title=Sea Around Us | Fisheries, Ecosystems and Biodiversity|website=www.seaaroundus.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.seaaroundus.org/data/#/eez/911?chart=catch-chart&dimension=taxon&measure=tonnage&limit=10|title=Sea Around Us | Fisheries, Ecosystems and Biodiversity|website=www.seaaroundus.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.seaaroundus.org/data/#/eez/586?chart=catch-chart&dimension=taxon&measure=tonnage&limit=10|title=Sea Around Us | Fisheries, Ecosystems and Biodiversity|website=www.seaaroundus.org}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:100%" |- !width=75|Number !width=250|Country !width=100|Area (Km<sup>2</sup>) |- | align=center|1 || '''{{OMA}}''' || align=center|108,779 |- | align=center|2 || '''{{IRI}}''' || align=center|65,850 |- | align=center|3 || '''{{UAE}}''' || align=center|4,371 |- | align=center|4 || '''{{PAK}}''' || align=center|2,000 |- |- !Total |'''Gulf of Oman''' || align=center|'''181,000''' |}
==Bordering countries== Coastline length of bordering countries:
# {{IRI}}: {{Convert|850|km|mi|abbr=on}} # {{OMA}}: {{Convert|750|km|mi|abbr=on}} # {{UAE}}: {{Convert|50|km|mi|abbr=on}} # {{PAK}}: {{Convert|50|km|mi|abbr=on}}
==Alternative names== {{Further|Makran|Makran Trench|Makran Division|Makran (princely state)|History of Oman#Late 19th and early 20th centuries}} thumb|The western part of the Indian Ocean, by Vincenzo Maria Coronelli, 1693 from his system of global gores the Makran coast [[File:MacedonEmpire-2.jpg|thumb|alt=Baluch and alexandar's empire|Paths that Alexander the Great took]]
The Gulf of Oman historically and geographically has been referred to by different names by Arabian, Iranian, Indian, Pakistani, and European geographers and travelers, including Makran Sea and Akhzar Sea.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.persiangulfstudies.com/en/index.asp?p=pages&id=173|title=Makran Sea/Gulf of Oman|Mokran Sea or Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, Pars sea|website=www.persiangulfstudies.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kVwhcDDhHQkC&q=%5B%5BMakran%5D%5D+Sea&pg=PA29|title=Makran, Oman, and Zanzibar: Three-Terminal Cultural Corridor in the Western Indian Ocean, 1799-1856|first=Beatrice|last=Nicolini|date=1 January 2004|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9004137807}}</ref>
# Makran Sea # Akhzar Sea # Persian Sea (consists of the whole of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman)
Until the 18th century, it was known as Makran Sea and is also visible on historical maps and museums.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Esmaeili|first1=H.|last2=Mehraban|first2=Hamidreza|date=2017|title=New geographical record of the lined rockskipper, Istiblennius lineatus (Valenciennes, 1836) from the Iranian coast of the Makran Sea (Teleostei, Blenniidae)|journal=Check List |volume=13 |issue=6 |pages=743–746 |doi=10.15560/13.6.743|s2cid=90093756 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
==Major ports== * Port of Fujairah, Fujairah, United Arab Emirates * Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates * Port of Chabahar, Chabahar, Iran * Port Sultan Qaboos, Muttrah, Oman
== International trade == The Western side of the gulf connects to the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic route through which a third of the world's liquefied natural gas and 20% of global oil consumption passes from Middle East producers.<ref>{{cite news |title=2 oil tankers were damaged in possible attacks in the Gulf of Oman |url=https://www.vox.com/2019/6/13/18677289/oil-tankers-iran-gulf-oman-attack |work=Vox |date=13 June 2019}}</ref>
==Ecology== [[File:A Swirl of a Day for Phytoplankton (154086).jpg|thumb|250px|A bloom of phytoplankton in the Gulf of Oman, seen on 8 March 2025]] {{Further|Gulf of Oman desert and semi-desert|Persian Gulf#Wildlife}}
In 2018, scientists confirmed the Gulf of Oman contains one of the world's largest marine dead zones, where the ocean contains little or no oxygen and marine wildlife cannot exist. The dead zone encompasses nearly the entire {{convert|63700|sqmi|km2|order=flip|adj=on}} Gulf of Oman and equivalent to the size of Florida, United States of America. The cause is a combination of increased ocean warming and increased runoff of nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizers.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://e360.yale.edu/digest/scientists-confirm-florida-sized-dead-zone-in-the-gulf-of-oman |title=Scientists Confirm Florida-Sized Dead Zone in the Gulf of Oman |work=Yale Environment 360 |date=30 April 2018 |access-date=30 April 2018}}</ref>
==International underwater rail tunnel== In 2018, a rail tunnel under the sea was suggested to link the UAE with the western coast of India. The bullet train tunnel would be supported by pontoons and be nearly {{convert|2000|km|mi}} in length.<ref>[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/destinations/a-2000-km-long-underwater-rail-will-connect-mumbai-to-the-uae-very-soon/articleshow/66878629.cms "A 2,000-km-long underwater rail will connect Mumbai to the UAE very soon!"], ''Times of India'', 30 November 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2021.</ref><ref>[https://futurism.com/united-arab-emirates-underwater-bullet-train-india/amp "The UAE Wants an Underwater Bullet Train to India"], ''Futurism.com'', 5 December 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2021.</ref>
== See also == * Eastern Arabia * General Maritime Treaty of 1820 * History of the United Arab Emirates#Pearling and the subsequent section * Musandam Peninsula * Saeed bin Butti#Perpetual Maritime Truce * Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi#Perpetual Maritime Truce of 1853 * Incidents: ** Persian Gulf campaign of 1809 ** Persian Gulf campaign of 1819 ** May 2019 Gulf of Oman incident ** June 2019 Gulf of Oman incident
== Notes == {{notelist}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== Further reading == * ''The Book of Duarte Barbosa'' by Duarte Barbosa, Mansel Longworth Dames. 1989. p. 79. {{ISBN|81-206-0451-2}}. * ''The Natural History of Pliny''. by Pliny, Henry Thomas Riley, John Bostock. 1855. p. 117. * ''The Countries and Tribes of the Persian Gulf'' by Samuel Barrett Miles. 1966. p. 148. * ''The Life & Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, Mariner'' by Daniel Defoe. 1895. p. 279. * ''The Outline of History: Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind'' by Herbert George Well. 1920. p. 379. * ''The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge'' by Johann Jakob Herzog, Philip Schaff, Albert Hauck. 1910. p. 242.
{{List of seas}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Gulf of Oman Category:Bodies of water of Iran Category:Bodies of water of Oman Category:Bodies of water of Pakistan Category:Bodies of water of the Arabian Sea Category:Bodies of water of the United Arab Emirates Category:Gulfs of Iran Category:Iran–Pakistan border Category:Oman–United Arab Emirates border Category:Seas of Iran Oman Category:Western Indo-Pacific