Major Gulfs of the world | SSC CGL Tier 2 - Study Material, Online Tests, Previous Year PDF Download

Important Gulfs of the World- the Ultimate list for UPSC

Gulfs

• A gulf is a body of water that is connected to a sea or ocean and is surrounded or penetrated by land.
• The gulf is almost completely surrounded by land.  Gulfs vary greatly in size, shape, and depth.
• They are generally larger and more deeply indented than bays. Like bays, they often make excellent harbors.
• Many important trading centers are located on gulfs.
• The world’s largest gulf is the Gulf of Mexico.
• Examples of other gulfs include the Gulf of California, Gulf of Aden (between the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea), and the Persian Gulf (between Saudi Arabia and Iran).
• The Persian Gulf is important with respect to world energy because petroleum is transported through its waters in oil tankers.

Important Gulfs of the World

➤ Gulf of Mexico

• It is the largest gulf in the world.
• It is bordered by the United States, Mexico, and the island nation of Cuba.
• It has a coastline of about 5,000 km.

➤ Gulf of Oman

• The Gulf of Oman connects the Arabian Sea with the Strait of Hormuz, which then runs to the Persian Gulf.
• The gulf borders Pakistan and Iran on the north, Oman on the south, and the United Arab Emirates on the west.

➤ Gulf of Aden

• The Gulf of Aden is located in the Arabian Sea between Yemen and Somalia.
• In the northwest, it connects with the Red Sea through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait.
• The waterway is part of the important Suez canal shipping route between the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Sea in the Indian Ocean.

➤ The Persian Gulf

• It is located in Western Asia between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.
• The Persian Gulf is an extension of the Indian Ocean (Gulf of Oman) through the Strait of Hormuz.
• Countries with a coastline on the Persian Gulf are (clockwise, from the north): Iran, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Iraq.

➤ Gulf of Carpentaria

• It is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea.
• The Arafura Sea is the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea.

➤ Gulf of Bothnia

• The Gulf of Bothnia is part of the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Finland.
• It is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea.

Gulf of Riga

• The Gulf of Riga is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia.
• Gulf of Riga and the Baltic Sea are connected by the Irbe Strait.

Gulf of Alaska

• The Gulf of Alaska is an arm of the Pacific Ocean.
• The entire shoreline of the Gulf is a rugged combination of forest, mountain, and a number of tidewater glaciers.
• Alaska’s largest glaciers, the Malaspina Glacier and Bering Glacier spill out onto the coastal plain along the Gulf of Alaska.

Gulf of Finland

• The Gulf of Finland is located between the southern coast of Finland and the northern coast of Estonia in the Baltic Sea.
• It extends all the way to Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. The eastern parts of the Gulf of Finland belong to Russia.
• The area of the gulf is 30,000 km2. The length from the Hanko Peninsula to Saint Petersburg is 400 km.

Gulf of Mannar

• The Gulf of Mannar lies between the southeastern tip of India and the west coast of Sri Lanka.
• It is a large shallow bay forming part of the Laccadive Sea in the Indian Ocean. 
• Adam’s Bridge, also called Ramsethu, which includes Mannar Island, separates the Gulf of Mannar from Palk Bay, which lies to the north between India and Sri Lanka.
• In 1986, a group of 21 islets lying off the Tamil Nadu coast between Thoothukudi and Dhanushkodi was declared the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park. The park and its 10 km buffer zone were declared a Biosphere Reserve in 1989.

Gulf of Martaban

• The Gulf of Martaban or the Gulf of Mottama is an arm of the Andaman Sea in the southern part of Burma.
• The gulf is named after the port city of Mottama (formerly known as Martaban). The Sittaung, Salween, and Yangon rivers empty into it.

Gulf of Panama

• The Gulf of Panama is a gulf in the Pacific Ocean, near the southern coast of Panama.
• It has a maximum width of 250 km, a maximum depth of 220 m, and a size of 2,400 km².
• The Panama Canal connects the Gulf of Panama with the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

Gulf of Suez

• Gulf of Suez connects the Arabian Sea with the Strait of Hormuz, which then runs to the Persian Gulf.
• The gulf borders Pakistan and Iran on the north, Oman on the south, and the United Arab Emirates on the west.

Gulf of Thailand

• The Gulf of Thailand was formerly known as the Gulf of Siam.
• The Gulf of Thailand is bordered by Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
• The northern tip of the gulf is the Bay of Bangkok at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River.
• The gulf covers roughly 320,000 km².

Gulf of Gabes

• Gulf of Gabes is a gulf on Tunisia’s east coast in the Mediterranean Sea, off North Africa.
• The gulf borders Libya and Tunisia.

Gulf of Saint Lawrence

• Gulf of Saint Lawrence is the world’s largest estuary.
• The gulf is the outlet of the North American Great Lakes via the Saint Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean.
• The Gulf of Saint Lawrence is bounded on the north by the Labrador Peninsula and Quebec, to the east by Newfoundland Island, to the south by the Nova Scotia peninsula and Cape Breton Island, and to the west by the Gaspe Peninsula, New Brunswick, and Quebec.

Gulf of Aqaba

• The Gulf of Aqaba or Gulf of Eilat is a large gulf located at the northern tip of the Red Sea, east of the Sinai Peninsula, and west of the Arabian mainland.
• Its coastline is divided between four countries: Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.
• The Gulf of Aqaba is one of the world’s premier sites for diving.

Amundsen Gulf

• The Amundsen Gulf is a gulf located in Canadian Northwest Territories, between Banks Island and Victoria Island, and the mainland.
• The gulf is 400 km in length.
• The Amundsen Gulf was explored by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen.

Gulf of Tonkin

• Gulf of Suez connects the Arabian Sea with the Strait of Hormuz, which then runs to the Persian Gulf.
• The gulf borders Pakistan and Iran on the north, Oman on the south, and the United Arab Emirates on the west.

Gulf of Kutch

• It is situated on the coast of the state of Gujrat near the Kutch region.
• It is an inlet into the Arabian Sea from the west coast of India.
• The maximum depth of the Gulf of Kutch is 402 ft and its width is around 150 to 160 Kms.
• The First Coral garden will be set up in the Gulf of Kutch.

Gulf of Khambhat

• This is located south of the Gulf of Kutch and is also an extension of the Arabian sea along the western coast of India around the state of Gujrat’s Kathiawar region.
• India’s major east-flowing rivers – Narmada and Tapti flow into the Gulf of Khambhat. 
• It also is known as the Gulf of Cambay.

Gulf of Guinea

• The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean.
• The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in this gulf.
• Among the many rivers that drain into the Gulf of Guinea are the Niger and the Volta.

➤ Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea

• Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea affects a number of countries in West Africa as well as the wider international community making it becoming an issue of global concern.
• Pirates here are often part of heavily armed criminal enterprises, who employ violent methods to steal oil cargo.
• The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has recently described the Gulf of Guinea as the most dangerous area in the world for shipping.
• According to its estimations, 73 percent of all sea kidnappings and 92 percent of hostage-takings occur there, with pirates normally taking sailors for ransom.

➤ Causes of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea

• Youth unemployment and widespread poverty are one of the main triggering factors for piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, and as admitted by the UN Security Council during a meeting set to discuss a mission to the region ‘any comprehensive anti-piracy strategy might also need to take into account root causes, including high levels of youth unemployment.
• Severe political disputes are considered another reason contributing to the rise of piracy in the area, and in some cases directly feeding into the piracy activity itself.
• Of particular relevance are the activities of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, in the south of Nigeria; this organization has publicly stated to steal and smuggle oil ‘as a form of re-appropriation of wealth and as a form of protest’.
• Another major and relevant controversy has involved the governments of Cameroon and Nigeria; the two countries have been in dispute about the sovereignty over the Bakassi Peninsula, which has caused a lack of cooperation between the governments resulting in poor control over illegal activities.
• Corruption is another major contributing factor, especially with regards to the case of Nigeria. Attention has been called towards the political protection that some of those who attack installations and personnel of oil companies, especially in the Niger Delta, enjoy protection from certain local authorities.

Difference between gulfs and bays

A gulf is said to be a large body of water that is surrounded by land and having only a narrow entrance along a strait. A bay is also a large body of water that is surrounded by land but not as enclosed as a gulf.

Bays

• A bay is a small body of water that is set off from a larger body of water generally where the land curves inward.
• In simple words, bay is a water body surrounded on three sides by land with the fourth side (mouth) wide open towards oceans. (In Gulfs, the mouth is narrow).
• A bay is usually smaller and less enclosed than a gulf.
• Example: The Bay of Pigs (Cuba), Hudson Bay (Canada), Bay of Bengal etc.
• An example of a bay at a river’s mouth is New York Bay, at the mouth of the Hudson River (Hudson Estuary).

Guantánamo Bay

• Guantánamo Bay is a sheltered inlet within the Caribbean Sea.
• During the Spanish-American War in 1898, the United States gained access to the outer harbor of Guantánamo Bay.
• Through an agreement signed with Cuba in 1903, the United States obtained the right to maintain a naval base at Guantánamo Bay.
• In 1934, a treaty reaffirmed the U.S. right to lease the site. The treaty gave the United States a perpetual lease on Guantánamo Bay.
• The most infamous Guantánamo Bay prison is here.