The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman ( ''khalīj ʿumān''; ''daryâ-ye omân''), also known as Gulf of Makran or Sea of Makran ( ''khalīj makrān''; ''daryâ-ye makrān''), is a

gulf A gulf is a large inlet from an ocean or their seas into a landmass, larger and typically (though not always) with a narrower opening than a bay (geography), bay. The term was used traditionally for large, highly indented navigable bodies of s ...

in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

that connects the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

with the

Strait of Hormuz The Strait of Hormuz ( ''Tangeh-ye Hormoz'' , ''Maḍīq Hurmuz'') is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and is one of the world's most strategica ...

, which then runs to the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

. It borders

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

on the north,

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

on the south, and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

on the west.

Extent

The

International Hydrographic Organization The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) (French: ''Organisation Hydrographique Internationale'') is an intergovernmental organization representing hydrography. the IHO comprised 102 member states. A principal aim of the IHO is to ...

defines the limits of the Gulf of Oman as follows:

Exclusive economic zone

Exclusive economic zones An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources, including e ...

in Gulf of Oman:

Bordering countries

Coastline length This article contains a list of countries by length of coastline, in kilometers. Though the coastline paradox stipulates that coastlines do not have a well-defined length, there are various methods in use to measure coastlines through ratios and ...

of bordering countries: # - 850 km coastline # - 750 km coastline # - 50 km coastline # - 50 km coastline

Alternative names

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 Makran (), also mentioned in some sources as ''Mecran'' and ''Mokrān'', is the southern coastal region of Balochistan. It is a semi-desert coastal strip in the Balochistan province in Pakistan and in Iran, along the coast of the Gulf of Oman. I ...

Sea and Akhzar Sea. # 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.

Major ports

Port of Fujairah Port of Fujairah (), also called Fujairah Port, is a deep port located in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arab ...

Fujairah Fujairah City () is the capital of the emirate of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. It is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, seventh-largest city in UAE, located on the Gulf of Oman (part of the Indian Ocean). It is the only Em ...

, United Arab Emirates *Khor Fakkan Container Terminal,

Khor Fakkan Khor Fakkan () is a city and an exclave of the Emirate of Sharjah, located on the east coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), facing the Gulf of Oman, and geographically surrounded by the Emirate of Fujairah. The city, the second largest on ...

, United Arab Emirates *

Port of Chabahar Chabahar Port () is a seaport located in Chabahar in southeastern Iran, on the Gulf of Oman. It serves as Iran's only oceanic port, and consists of two separate ports named ''Shahid Kalantari'' and ''Shahid Beheshti'', each of which has five ber ...

Chabahar Chabahar ( (); ) is a city in the Central District (Chabahar County), Central District of Chabahar County, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. It is ...

, Iran *

Port Sultan Qaboos Port Sultan Qaboos (previously known as Mina Qaboos) is the largest port in Muscat, Oman. Originally developed as part of a "Greater Muttrah" plan initiated by Qaboos bin Said al Said's predecessor, Said bin Taimur, the port’s construction was ...

Muttrah Muttrah, () administratively a province, is located in the Muscat Governorate of Oman. Before the discovery of oil in Oman, Muttrah was the center of commerce in Oman (Muscat). It is still a center of commerce as one of the largest seaports of ...

, Oman

International trade

The Western side of the gulf connects to the

, a strategic route through which a third of the world's

liquefied natural gas Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volume o ...

and 20% of global

oil consumption Peak oil is the point when global oil production reaches its maximum rate, after which it will begin to decline irreversibly. The main concern is that global transportation relies heavily on gasoline and diesel. Adoption of electric vehicles ...

passes from

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

producers.

Ecology

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 Gulf of Oman and equivalent to the size of Florida, United States of America. The cause is a combination of increased

ocean warming Ocean heat content (OHC) or ocean heat uptake (OHU) is the energy absorbed and stored by oceans, and is thus an important indicator of Climate change, global warming. Ocean heat content is calculated by measuring ocean temperature at many differe ...

and increased runoff of nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizers.

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 in length."The UAE Wants an Underwater Bullet Train to India", ''Futurism.com'', 5 December 2018
Retrieved 2 November 2021

Pop culture

In the ''

Battlefield A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troop ...

'' video game series, the Gulf of Oman is a map used in ''

Battlefield 2 ''Battlefield 2'' is a 2005 first-person shooter game developed by Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows. It was released in June 2005 as the third game in the ''Battlefield'' franchise. Players fight ...

'', ''

Battlefield 3 ''Battlefield 3'' is a 2011 first-person shooter game developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts. It is the sixth main installment in the '' Battlefield'' series and a follow-up to '' Battlefield 2'' (2005). The game was released on Micr ...

'', ''

Battlefield Play4Free ''Battlefield Play4Free'' was a first-person shooter video game developed by Easy Studios and published by Electronic Arts. Based on the ''Battlefield'' series, the game featured a modern warfare battlefield setting. ''Play4Free'' is built on a ...

'' and ''

Battlefield 4 ''Battlefield 4'' is a 2013 first-person shooter game developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts. The game was released in October and November for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, and is the sequ ...

'' with the United States Marines Corps (USMC) invading the shore of Oman with the fictional Middle Eastern Coalition (MEC) defending it in Battlefield 2, and with

Russian Ground Forces The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

defending it in Play4Free, Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4.