List of bodies of water by salinity
Table:
Salinity, g/kg (‰)

Name

Type

Region or countries

Refs

433
Gaet'ale Pond
Salt lake
Ethiopia
[1][2]

338
Don Juan Pond
Salt lake
Antarctica
[3]

400
Lake Retba
Salt lake
Senegal
[citation needed]

350
Lake Vanda
Salt lake
Antarctica
[citation needed]

350
Garabogazköl
Lagoon
Turkmenistan
[4]

348
Lake Assal
Salt lake
Djibouti
[5]

337
Dead Sea
Salt lake
Israel, Jordan, West Bank
[6]

317
Great Salt Lake, North Arm
Salt lake
United States
[7]

300
Lake Baskunchak
Salt lake
Astrakhan Oblast, Russia
[8]

85–280
Lake Urmia
Salt lake
Iran
[9]

180
Little Manitou Lake
Salt lake
Canada
[10]

142
Great Salt Lake, South Arm
Salt lake
United States
[7]

120
Lake Abert
Salt lake
Great Basin, Oregon, United States
[11]

88
Mono Lake
Salt lake
United States
[12] (as of 2015)

66
Hamelin Pool
Lagoon
Australia
[13]

44
Salton Sea
Salt lake
United States
[14]

38
Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean sea
Southern Europe, Levant, North Africa

[15]

36–41
Red Sea
Mediterranean sea
Egypt, Sudan, Arabian Peninsula, Horn of Africa
[16]

30–40
Lake Natron
Salt lake
Tanzania
[17]

34–36
World Ocean
Ocean
Worldwide
[18]

From the accompanying table as well as the article excerpts provided at the end.

Provide an answer to this question: Which ocean borders the the country containing Little Manitou Lake northwards ? Provide just your answer in a JSON object {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Base your answer solely on the given information.

A per mille ( from Latin per mīlle , in each thousand ) , also spelled per mil , per mill , permil , permill , or permille is a sign indicating parts per thousand . Per mil should not be confused with parts per million ( ppm ) . The sign is written ‰ , which looks like a percent sign . It is accessible in Windows using ALT+0137 , and is accessible via a compose key using% o . The term occurs so rarely in English that major dictionaries do not agree on the spelling or pronunciation even within a single dialect of English and some major dictionaries such as Macmillan and Longman do not even contain an entry . The term is more common in other European languages where it is used in contexts , such as blood alcohol content , that are usually expressed as a percentage in English-speaking countries .
Gaet'ale Pond is a small hypersaline lake located near the Dallol crater in the Danakil Depression ( Afar , Ethiopia ) . It is placed over a hot spring of tectonic origin and has no apparent inlet or outlet streams . The water of Gaet'ale Pond has a salinity of 43% , making it the saltiest water body on Earth ; the second is Don Juan Pond in Antarctica with a salinity of 338 ‰ = 33.8% .
A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts ( typically sodium chloride ) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes ( often defined as at least three grams of salt per litre ) . In some cases , salt lakes have a higher concentration of salt than sea water ; such lakes can also be termed hypersaline lakes . An alkalic salt lake that has a high content of carbonate is sometimes termed a soda lake . Saline lake classification :
Ethiopia ( /ˌiːθiˈoʊpiə/ ; Amharic : ኢትዮጵያ , ʾĪtyōṗṗyā , listen ( help·info ) , Tigrinya : ኢትዮጵያ , Oromo : Itiyoophiyaa , Somali : Itoobiya , Afar : Itiyoophiyaa ) , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia , is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa . It shares borders with Eritrea to the north , Djibouti to the northeast , Somalia , and the de facto state of Somaliland to the east , Kenya to the south , South Sudan to the west and Sudan to the northwest . With over 109 million inhabitants , Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world and the second-most populous nation on the African continent with a total area of 1,100,000 square kilometres ( 420,000 sq mi ) . Its capital and largest city is Addis Ababa , which lies a few miles west of the East African Rift that splits the country into the Nubian and Somali tectonic plates . Some of the oldest skeletal evidence for anatomically modern humans has been found in Ethiopia . It is widely considered as the region from which modern humans first set out for the Middle East and places beyond . According to linguists , the first Afroasiatic-speaking populations settled in the Horn region during the ensuing Neolithic era . Tracing its roots to the 2nd millennium BCE , Ethiopia 's governmental system was a monarchy for most of its history . Oral literature tells that the monarchy was founded by the Solomonic dynasty of the Queen of Sheba , under its first king , Menelik I . In the first centuries , the Kingdom of Aksum maintained a unified civilization in the region , followed by the Ethiopian Empire circa 1137 . During the late 19th-century Scramble for Africa , Ethiopia and Liberia were two nations that preserved their sovereignty from long-term colonisation by a European colonial power and many newly-independent nations on the continent subsequently adopted its flag colours . However , the country was later occupied by Italy in 1936 and became Italian Ethiopia ( part of Italian East Africa ) until it was liberated during World War II .
Don Juan Pond is a small and very shallow hypersaline lake in the western end of Wright Valley ( South Fork ) , Victoria Land , Antarctica , 9 kilometres ( 5.6 mi ) west from Lake Vanda . It is wedged between the Asgard Range to the south and the Dais Range to the north . On the west end is a small tributary and a rock glacier . With a salinity level of 33.8% , Don Juan Pond is the saltiest of the Antarctic lakes and the second saltiest body of water on earth behind the Gaet'ale Pond . This salinity allows the pond to remain liquid even at temperatures as low as −50 °C ( −58 °F ) due to the interference of salts with the bonding of water molecules . Don Juan Pond was discovered in 1961 by George H. Meyer . It was named for two helicopter pilots , Lt. Don Roe and Lt. John Hickey , who piloted the helicopter involved with the first field party investigating the pond .
Antarctica ( /ænˈtɑːrtɪkə/ or /æntˈɑːrktɪkə/ ( listen ) ) [ note 1 ] is Earth 's southernmost continent . It contains the geographic South Pole and is situated in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere , almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle , and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean . At 14,200,000 square kilometres ( 5,500,000 square miles ) , it is the fifth-largest continent and nearly twice the size of Australia . At 0.00008 people per square kilometre , it is by far the least densely populated continent . About 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice that averages 1.9 km ( 1.2 mi ; 6,200 ft ) in thickness , which extends to all but the northernmost reaches of the Antarctic Peninsula . Antarctica , on average , is the coldest , driest , and windiest continent , and has the highest average elevation of all the continents . Most of Antarctica is a polar desert , with annual precipitation of 200 mm ( 7.9 in ) along the coast and far less inland ; there has been no rain there for almost 2 million years , yet 80% of the world freshwater reserves are stored there . The temperature in Antarctica has reached −89.2 °C ( −128.6 °F ) ( or even −94.7 °C ( −135.8 °F ) as measured from space ) , though the average for the third quarter ( the coldest part of the year ) is −63 °C ( −81 °F ) . Anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 people reside throughout the year at research stations scattered across the continent . Organisms native to Antarctica include many types of algae , bacteria , fungi , plants , protista , and certain animals , such as mites , nematodes , penguins , seals and tardigrades . Vegetation , where it occurs , is tundra . Antarctica is noted as the last region on Earth in recorded history to be discovered , unseen until 1820 when the Russian expedition of Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev on Vostok and Mirny sighted the Fimbul ice shelf .
Lac Rose ( meaning Pink Lake ) lies north of the Cap Vert peninsula of Senegal , some 30 km ( 18 miles ) north-east of the capital , Dakar , in northwest Africa . It is named for its pink waters caused by Dunaliella salina algae and is known for its high salt content , up to 40% in some areas .
Senegal ( /ˌsɛnɪˈɡɔːl , -ˈɡɑːl/ ( listen ) ; French : Sénégal ; Wolof : Senegaal ) officially the Republic of Senegal ( French : République du Sénégal ; Wolof : Réewum Senegaal ) is a country in West Africa . Senegal is bordered by Mauritania in the north , Mali to the east , Guinea to the southeast , and Guinea-Bissau to the southwest . Senegal also surrounds The Gambia , a country occupying a narrow sliver of land along the banks of the Gambia River , which separates Senegal 's southern region of Casamance from the rest of the country . Senegal also shares a maritime border with Cape Verde . Senegal 's economic and political capital is Dakar . The unitary presidential republic is the westernmost country in the mainland of the Old World , or Afro-Eurasia , and owes its name to the Senegal River , which borders it to the east and north . Senegal covers a land area of almost 197,000 square kilometres ( 76,000 sq mi ) and has an estimated population of about 16 million . The climate is typically Sahelian , though there is a rainy season .
Lake Vanda is a lake in Wright Valley , Victoria Land , Ross Dependency , Antarctica . The lake is 5 km long and has a maximum depth of 69 m. On its shore , New Zealand maintained Vanda Station from 1968 to 1995 . Lake Vanda is a hypersaline lake with a salinity more than ten times that of seawater , more than the salinity of the Dead Sea , and perhaps even more than of Lake Assal ( Djibouti ) , which is the world 's most saline lake outside of Antarctica . ( Previous sentence , however , is not true according to List of bodies of water by salinity ) . Lake Vanda is also meromictic , which means that the deeper waters of the lake do n't mix with the shallower waters . There are three distinct layers of water ranging in temperature from 23 °C ( 73 °F ) on the bottom to the middle layer of 7 °C ( 45 °F ) and the upper layer ranges from 4-6 °C ( 39-43 °F ) . It is only one of the many saline lakes in the ice-free valleys of the Transantarctic Mountains . The longest river of Antarctica , Onyx River , flows West , inland , into Lake Vanda . There is a meteorological station at the mouth of the river .
The Garabogazköl Aylagy or Kara-Bogaz-Gol ( Turkmen : Garabogazköl , lit . black ( or mighty ) strait lake ) is a shallow inundated depression in the northwestern corner of Turkmenistan . It forms a lagoon of the Caspian Sea with a surface area of about 18,000 km2 ( 6,900 sq mi ) . It is separated from the Caspian Sea proper , which lies immediately to the west , by a narrow , rocky ridge having a very narrow opening in the rock through which the Caspian waters flow , cascading down into Garabogazköl , leading to the Turkmen language name of the bay , Mighty Strait Lake . The water volume of the bay fluctuates seasonally with the Caspian Sea ; at times it becomes a large bay of the Caspian Sea , while at other times its water level drops drastically . The city of Garabogaz ( formerly Bekdaş ) lies on the ridge , about 50 km ( 31 mi ) north of the channel between the main Caspian basin and the Garabogazköl lagoon . The town has a population of about 10,000 .
A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by barrier islands or reefs . Lagoons are commonly divided into coastal lagoons and atoll lagoons . They have also been identified as occurring on mixed-sand and gravel coastlines . There is an overlap between bodies of water classified as coastal lagoons and bodies of water classified as estuaries . Lagoons are common coastal features around many parts of the world .
Turkmenistan ( /tɜːrkˈmɛnɪstæn/ ( listen ) or /tɜːrkmɛnɪˈstɑːn/ ( listen ) ; Turkmen : Türkmenistan , pronounced [ tʏɾkmɛnɪˈθtɑn ] ) is a sovereign country in Central Asia , bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest , Uzbekistan to the north and east , Afghanistan to the southeast , Iran to the south and southwest , and the Caspian Sea to the west . Ashgabat is the capital and largest city of the country . The population of the country is 5.6 million , the lowest of the Central Asian republics . Turkmenistan is one of the most sparsely populated nations in Asia . Turkmenistan has been at the crossroads of civilizations for centuries . In medieval times , Merv was one of the great cities of the Islamic world and an important stop on the Silk Road , a caravan route used for trade with China until the mid-15th century . Annexed by the Russian Empire in 1881 , Turkmenistan later figured prominently in the anti-Bolshevik movement in Central Asia . In 1925 , Turkmenistan became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union , Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic ( Turkmen SSR ) ; it became independent after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 . Turkmenistan possesses the world 's fourth largest reserves of natural gas resources . Most of the country is covered by the Karakum ( Black Sand ) Desert . From 1993 to 2017 , citizens received government-provided electricity , water and natural gas free of charge . The sovereign state of Turkmenistan was ruled by President for Life Saparmurat Niyazov ( also known as Turkmenbashi ) until his death in 2006 .
Lake Assal ( Arabic : بحيرة عسل Buḥayrah ʿAsal , literally 'honey lake ' ) is a crater lake in central-western Djibouti . It is located at the western end of Gulf of Tadjoura in the Tadjoura Region , touching Dikhil Region , at the top of the Great Rift Valley , some 120 km ( 75 mi ) west of Djibouti city . Lake Assal is a saline lake that lies 155 m ( 509 ft ) below sea level in the Afar Triangle , making it the lowest point on land in Africa and the third-lowest point on Earth after the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea . No outflow occurs from the lake , and due to high evaporation , the salinity level of its waters is 10 times that of the sea , making it the third most saline body of water in the world behind Don Juan Pond and Gaet'ale Pond . Lake Assal is the world 's largest salt reserve , which is exploited under four concessions awarded in 2002 at the southeast end of the lake ; the major share of production ( nearly 80% ) is held by Société dExploitation du Lac and Société dExploitation du Salt Investment S.A de Djibouti . It is situated approximately 109 kilometres ( 68 miles ) west of the nation 's capital Djibouti City . The lake , considered a national treasure , is a protected zone under the law No . 45/AN/04/5L of the National Environmental Action Plan , 2000 . However , the law does not define the boundary limits of the lake . Since the exploitation of the salt from the lake was uncontrolled , the Plan has emphasized the need for managing the exploitation to avoid negative impact on the lake environment . The Government of Djibouti has initiated a proposal with UNESCO to declare the Lake Assal zone and the Ardoukoba volcano as a World Heritage Site .
Djibouti ( /dʒɪˈbuːti/ ( listen ) jih-BOO-tee ; Afar : Yibuuti , Arabic : جيبوتي Jībūtī , French : Djibouti , Somali : Jabuuti , officially the Republic of Djibouti ) is a country located in the Horn of Africa . It is bordered by Somalia in the south , Ethiopia in the south and west , Eritrea in the north , and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in the east . Across the Gulf of Aden lies Yemen , which does not share a land border with Djibouti . The country has a total area of 23,200 km2 ( 8,958 sq mi ) . The state of Djibouti is predominantly inhabited by two ethnic groups , the Somali and the Afar people , with the former comprising the majority of the population . In antiquity , the territory together with Somalia was part of the Land of Punt . Nearby Zeila , now in Somalia , was the seat of the medieval Adal and Ifat Sultanates . In the late 19th century , the colony of French Somaliland was established following treaties signed by the ruling Somali and Afar sultans with the French and its railroad to Dire Dawa ( and later Addis Ababa ) allowed it to quickly supersede Zeila as the port for southern Ethiopia and the Ogaden . It was subsequently renamed to the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas in 1967 . A decade later , the Djiboutian people voted for independence . This officially marked the establishment of the Republic of Djibouti , named after its capital city . The sovereign state joined the United Nations the same year , on 20 September 1977 In the early 1990s , tensions over government representation led to armed conflict , which ended in a power-sharing agreement in 2000 between the ruling party and the opposition .
The Dead Sea ( Hebrew : יָם הַמֶּלַח Yam ha-Melah lit . Sea of Salt ; Arabic : البحر الميت Al-Bahr al-Mayyit or Buhayrat , Bahret or Birket Lut , lit . Lake/Sea of Lot ) is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west . It lies in the Jordan Rift Valley , and its main tributary is the Jordan River . Its surface and shores are 430.5 metres ( 1,412 ft ) below sea level , Earth 's lowest elevation on land . It is 304 m ( 997 ft ) deep , the deepest hypersaline lake in the world . With a salinity of 342 g/kg , or 34.2% ( in 2011 ) , it is one of the world 's saltiest bodies of water - 9.6 times as salty as the ocean - and has a density of 1.24 kg/litre , which makes swimming similar to floating . This salinity makes for a harsh environment in which plants and animals can not flourish , hence its name . The Dead Sea 's main , northern basin is 50 kilometres ( 31 mi ) long and 15 kilometres ( 9 mi ) wide at its widest point . The Dead Sea has attracted visitors from around the Mediterranean Basin for thousands of years . It was one of the world 's first health resorts ( for Herod the Great ) , and it has been the supplier of a wide variety of products , from asphalt for Egyptian mummification to potash for fertilisers . The Dead Sea is receding at a swift rate ; its surface area today is 605 km2 ( 234 sq mi ) , having been 1,050 km2 ( 410 sq mi ) in 1930 .
Israel , formally known as the State of Israel ( Hebrew : מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל ) , is a country in Western Asia , located on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Red Sea . It has land borders with Lebanon to the north , Syria to the northeast , Jordan on the east , the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the east and west , respectively , and Egypt to the southwest . The country contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area . Israel 's economic and technological center is Tel Aviv , while its seat of government and proclaimed capital is Jerusalem , although the state 's sovereignty over Jerusalem has only partial recognition . [ fn 4 ] Israel has evidence of the earliest migration of hominids out of Africa . Canaanite tribes are archaeologically attested since the Middle Bronze Age , while the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah emerged during the Iron Age . The Neo-Assyrian Empire destroyed Israel around 720 BCE . Judah was later conquered by the Babylonian , Persian and Hellenistic empires and had existed as Jewish autonomous provinces . The successful Maccabean Revolt led to an independent Hasmonean kingdom by 110 BCE , which in 63 BCE however became a client state of the Roman Republic that subsequently installed the Herodian dynasty in 37 BCE , and in 6 CE created the Roman province of Judea . Judea lasted as a Roman province until the failed Jewish revolts resulted in widespread destruction , the expulsion of the Jewish population and the renaming of the region from Iudaea to Syria Palaestina . Jewish presence in the region has persisted to a certain extent over the centuries . In the 7th century CE , the Levant was taken from the Byzantine Empire by the Arabs and remained in Muslim control until the First Crusade of 1099 , followed by the Ayyubid conquest of 1187 .
Jordan ( Arabic : الأردن Al-ʾUrdunn [ al.ʔur.dunː ] ) , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan ( Arabic : المملكة الأردنية الهاشمية Al-Mamlakah al-Urdunniyyah Al-Hāshimiyyah ) , is an Arab country in Western Asia , on the East Bank of the Jordan River . Jordan is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south and the east , Iraq to the north-east , Syria to the north and Israel and the Palestinian West Bank to the west . The Dead Sea is located along its western borders and the country has a 26-kilometre ( 16 mi ) coastline on the Red Sea in its extreme south-west . Jordan is strategically located at the crossroads of Asia , Africa and Europe . The capital , Amman , is Jordan 's most populous city as well as the country 's economic , political and cultural centre . What is now Jordan has been inhabited by humans since the Paleolithic period . Three stable kingdoms emerged there at the end of the Bronze Age : Ammon , Moab and Edom . Later rulers include the Nabataean Kingdom , the Roman Empire , and the Ottoman Empire . After the Great Arab Revolt against the Ottomans in 1916 during World War I , the Ottoman Empire was partitioned by Britain and France . The Emirate of Transjordan was established in 1921 by the Hashemite , then Emir , Abdullah I , and the emirate became a British protectorate . In 1946 , Jordan became an independent state officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan , but was renamed in 1949 to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan after the country captured the West Bank during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and annexed it until it was lost to Israel in 1967 . Jordan renounced its claim to the territory in 1988 , and became one of two Arab states to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1994 .
The West Bank ( Arabic : الضفة الغربية aḍ-Ḍiffah l-Ġarbiyyah ; Hebrew : הגדה המערבית HaGadah HaMa'aravit or יהודה ושומרון Yehuda VeShomron ) is a landlocked territory near the Mediterranean coast of Western Asia , bordered by Jordan to the east and by the Green Line separating it and Israel on the south , west and north . The West Bank also contains a significant section of the western Dead Sea shore . The West Bank was the name given to the territory that was captured by Jordan in the aftermath of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War , and subsequently annexed in 1950 until 1967 when it was occupied by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War . The Oslo Accords , signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel , created administrative districts with varying levels of Palestinian autonomy within each area . Area C , in which Israel maintained complete civil and security control , accounts for over 60% of the territory of the West Bank . The West Bank , including East Jerusalem , has a land area of 5,640 km2 plus a water area of 220 km2 , consisting of the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea . As of July 2017 [ update ] it has an estimated population of 2,747,943 Palestinians , and approximately 391,000 Israeli settlers , and approximately another 201,200 Israeli settlers in East Jerusalem . The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank , including East Jerusalem , illegal under international law , though Israel disputes this . The International Court of Justice advisory ruling ( 2004 ) concluded that events that came after the 1967 occupation of the West Bank by Israel , including the Jerusalem Law , Israel 's peace treaty with Jordan and the Oslo Accords , did not change the status of the West Bank ( including East Jerusalem ) as occupied territory with Israel as the occupying power .
The Great Salt Lake , located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah , is the largest salt water lake in the Western Hemisphere , and the eighth-largest terminal lake in the world . In an average year the lake covers an area of approximately 1,700 square miles ( 4,400 km2 ) , but the lake 's size fluctuates substantially due to its shallowness . For instance , in 1963 it reached its lowest recorded size at 950 square miles ( 2,460 km² ) , but in 1988 the surface area was at the historic high of 3,300 square miles ( 8,500 km2 ) . In terms of surface area , it is the largest lake in the United States that is not part of the Great Lakes region . The lake is the largest remnant of Lake Bonneville , a prehistoric pluvial lake that once covered much of western Utah . The three major tributaries to the lake , the Jordan , Weber , and Bear rivers together deposit approximately 1.1 million tons of minerals in the lake each year . As it is endorheic ( has no outlet besides evaporation ) , it has very high salinity ( far saltier than seawater ) and its mineral content is steadily increasing . Due to the high density resulting from its mineral content , swimming in the Great Salt Lake is similar to floating . Its shallow , warm waters cause frequent , sometimes heavy lake-effect snows from late fall through spring . Although it has been called America 's Dead Sea , the lake provides habitat for millions of native birds , brine shrimp , shorebirds , and waterfowl , including the largest staging population of Wilson 's phalarope in the world .
The United States of America ( USA ) , commonly known as the United States ( U.S. or US ) or America , is a country consisting of 50 states , a federal district , five major self-governing territories , and various possessions . [ g ] At 3.8 million square miles ( 9.8 million km2 ) , it is the world 's third or fourth-largest country by total area [ b ] and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe . Most of the country is located in central North America between Canada and Mexico . With an estimated population of over 328 million , the U.S. is the third most populous country in the world . The capital is Washington , D.C. , and the most populous city is New York City . Paleo-Indians migrated from Siberia to the North American mainland at least 12,000 years ago . European colonization began in the 16th century . The United States emerged from the thirteen British colonies established along the East Coast . Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the colonies led to the American Revolutionary War lasting between 1775 and 1783 , leading to independence . The United States embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout the 19th century - gradually acquiring new territories , displacing Native Americans , and admitting new states - until by 1848 it spanned the continent . During the second half of the 19th century , the American Civil War led to the abolition of slavery in the United States . The Spanish-American War and World War I confirmed the country 's status as a global military power .
Lake Baskunchak ( Russian : Баскунчак ; Kazakh : Басқұншақ , romanized : Basqunshaq ) is a salt lake of 115 km² in Astrakhan Oblast , Russia , located at 48°10′N 46°53′E / 48.167°N 46.883°E / 48.167 ; 46.883 , about 270 km north of the Caspian Sea , and 53 km east of the Volga . Since 1997 the area is protected as part of the Bogdinsko-Baskunchakski Nature Reserve . The surface elevation of the lake is 21 m below sea level . It is fed by a river that draws from an area of 11,000 km² . The salinity of the lake is about 300 g/l . Since the 8th century its salt was mined and traded along the Silk Road . Nowadays the lake 's salt of distinct purity ( 99.8% NaCl ) covers 80% of Russia 's salt production . Depending on demand , 1.5 million to 5 million tons of salt are mined per year . To the south of the lake , Mount Bolshoye Bogdo rises to 150 m above sea level , forming the highest elevation in the Caspian Depression . The hill is pushed up about 1 mm per year by a salt dome . Sinkholes , and Karst caves of up to 1.5 km length lead through the hill . It also is the only area in Europe where Triassic lagerstätten surface .
Astrakhan Oblast ( Russian : Астраха́нская о́бласть , Astrakhanskaya oblast ) is a federal subject of Russia ( an oblast ) located in southern Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Astrakhan . As of the 2010 Census , its population was 1,010,073 .
Russia ( Russian : Росси́я , tr . Rossiya , IPA : [ rɐˈsʲijə ] ) , or the Russian Federation , [ e ] is a European country located in Eastern Europe with a vast expanse of territory that stretches across Northern Asia . At 17,125,200 square kilometres ( 6,612,100 sq mi ) , it is by far the largest country in the world by area , covering more than one-eighth of the Earth 's inhabited land area , spanning eleven time zones , and bordering 16 sovereign nations . The territory of Russia extends from the Baltic Sea in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east , and from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Black Sea and the Caucasus in the south . With 146.7 million inhabitants living in the country 's 85 federal subjects as of 2020 , Russia is the most populous nation in Europe and the ninth-most populous nation in the world . Russia 's capital and largest city is Moscow ; other major urban areas include Saint Petersburg , Novosibirsk , Yekaterinburg , Nizhny Novgorod , Kazan and Chelyabinsk . The East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD . Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants , the medieval state of Rus arose in the 9th century . In 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire , beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium . Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of smaller states , until it was finally reunified by the Grand Duchy of Moscow in the 15th century . By the 18th century , the nation had greatly expanded through conquest , annexation , and exploration to become the Russian Empire , which was the third largest empire in history , stretching from Poland on the west to Alaska on the east . Following the Russian Revolution , the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic ( Russian SFSR ) became the largest and leading constituent of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( USSR/Soviet Union ) , the world 's first constitutionally socialist state .
Lake Urmia ( Persian : دریاچه ارومیه , Daryâche-ye Orumiye ) is an endorheic salt lake in Iran . The lake is located between the provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan in Iran , and west of the southern portion of the Caspian Sea . At its greatest extent , it was the largest lake in the Middle East and the sixth-largest saltwater lake on Earth , with a surface area of approximately 5,200 km2 ( 2,000 sq mi ) , a length of 140 km ( 87 mi ) , a width of 55 km ( 34 mi ) , and a maximum depth of 16 m ( 52 ft ) . By late 2017 , the lake had shrunk to 10% of its former size ( and 1/60 of water volume in 1998 ) due to persistent general drought in Iran , but also the damming of the local rivers that flow into it , and the pumping of groundwater from the surrounding area . This dry spell was broken in 2019 and the lake is now filling up once again . Lake Urmia , along with its approximately 102 islands , is protected as a national park by the Iranian Department of Environment .
Iran ( Persian : ایران Irān [ ʔiːˈɾɒːn ] ( listen ) ) , also called Persia , and officially the Islamic Republic of Iran ( Persian : جمهوری اسلامی ایران Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān ( listen ) [ dʒomhuːˌɾije eslɒːˌmije ʔiːˈɾɒn ] ) , is a country in Western Asia . With 82 million inhabitants , Iran is the world 's 18th most populous country . Its territory spans 1,648,195 km2 ( 636,372 sq mi ) , making it the second largest country in the Middle East and the 17th largest in the world . Iran is bordered to the northwest by Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan , [ a ] to the north by the Caspian Sea , to the northeast by Turkmenistan , to the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan , to the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman , and to the west by Turkey and Iraq . Its central location in Eurasia and Western Asia , and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz , give it geostrategic importance . Tehran is the political and economic center of Iran , and the largest and most populous city in Western Asia with more than 8.8 million residents in the city and 15 million in the larger metropolitan area . Iran is home to one of the world 's oldest civilizations , beginning with the formation of the Elamite kingdoms in the fourth millennium BCE . It was first unified by the Iranian Medes in the seventh century BCE , and reached its territorial height in the sixth century BCE under Cyrus the Great , whose Achaemenid Empire stretched from Eastern Europe to the Indus Valley , one of the largest empires in history . The empire fell to Alexander the Great in the fourth century BCE and was divided into several Hellenistic states . An Iranian rebellion established the Parthian Empire in the third century BCE , which was succeeded in the third century CE by the Sasanian Empire , a leading world power for the next four centuries . Arab Muslims conquered the empire in the seventh century CE , and the subsequent Islamization of Iran led to the decline of the once dominant Zoroastrian religion . Iran 's major contributions to art , philosophy , and science spread throughout the Muslim world and beyond during the Islamic Golden Age .
Little Manitou Lake is a small saltwater lake about 120 kilometres south-east of Saskatoon , Canada . The lake was formed by receding glaciers during the most recent ice age . It is fed by underground springs , and has a mineral content high in sodium , magnesium and potassium salts due to it being a terminal lake . The salt content of the water ( 180 g/L ) gives it a salinity about half of that of the Dead Sea ( 300-400 ppt ) , allowing bathers to float easily . There is no fishing , because the high salt content of the water supports little other than brine shrimp .
Canada is a country in the northern part of North America . Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean , covering 9.98 million square kilometres ( 3.85 million square miles ) , making it the world 's second-largest country by total area . Its southern border with the United States , stretching some 8,891 kilometres ( 5,525 mi ) , is the world 's longest bi-national land border . Canada 's capital is Ottawa , and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto , Montreal , and Vancouver . As a whole , Canada is sparsely populated , with most of its land area dominated by forest and tundra . Its population is highly urbanized , with over 80 percent of its inhabitants concentrated in large and medium-sized cities , and 70 percent residing within 100 kilometres ( 62 mi ) of the southern border . Canada 's climate varies widely across its vast area , ranging from Arctic climate in the north to hot summers in the southern regions , with four distinct seasons . Various indigenous peoples inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years before European colonization . Beginning in the 16th century , British and French expeditions explored and later settled along the Atlantic coast . As a consequence of various armed conflicts , France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 . In 1867 , with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation , Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces . This began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom .
Lake Abert ( also known as Abert Lake ) is a large , shallow , alkali lake in Lake County , Oregon , United States . It is approximately 15 miles ( 24 km ) long and 7 miles ( 11 km ) wide at its widest point . It is located 3 miles ( 4.8 km ) northeast of the small , unincorporated community of Valley Falls , Oregon . The lake was named in honor of Colonel John James Abert by explorer John C. Fremont during his 1843 expedition into Central Oregon . No fish live in the alkaline waters of the lake ; however , its dense population of brine shrimp supports a variety of shorebirds . The lake is also an important stop on the bird migration route known as the Pacific flyway .
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America . It spans nearly all of Nevada , much of Oregon and Utah , and portions of California , Idaho , and Wyoming . It is noted for both its arid climate and the basin and range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin in Death Valley to the highest point of the contiguous United States , less than 100 miles ( 160 km ) away at the summit of Mount Whitney . The region spans several physiographic divisions , biomes , ecoregions , and deserts .
Oregon ( /ˈɒrɪɡən/ ( listen ) ORR-ih-gən ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region on the West Coast of the United States . The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon 's northern boundary with Washington , while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho . The parallel 42° north delineates the southern boundary with California and Nevada . Oregon was inhabited by many indigenous tribes before European traders , explorers , and settlers arrived . An autonomous government was formed in the Oregon Country in 1843 before the Oregon Territory was created in 1848 . Oregon became the 33rd state on February 14 , 1859 . Today , at 98,000 square miles ( 250,000 km2 ) , Oregon is the ninth largest and , with a population of 4 million , 27th most populous U.S. state . The capital , Salem , is the second most populous city in Oregon , with 169,798 residents . Portland , with 647,805 , ranks as the 26th among U.S. cities . The Portland metropolitan area , which also includes the city of Vancouver , Washington , to the north , ranks the 25th largest metro area in the nation , with a population of 2,453,168 . Oregon is one of the most geographically diverse states in the U.S. , marked by volcanoes , abundant bodies of water , dense evergreen and mixed forests , as well as high deserts and semi-arid shrublands . At 11,249 feet ( 3,429 m ) , Mount Hood , a stratovolcano , is the state 's highest point .
Mono Lake ( /ˈmoʊnoʊ/ MOH-noh ) is a saline soda lake in Mono County , California , formed at least 760,000 years ago as a terminal lake in an endorheic basin . The lack of an outlet causes high levels of salts to accumulate in the lake . These salts also make the lake water alkaline . This desert lake has an unusually productive ecosystem based on brine shrimp that thrive in its waters , and provides critical habitat for two million annual migratory birds that feed on the shrimp and alkali flies ( Ephydra hians ) . Historically , the native Kutzadika ' a people derived nutrition from the alkali flies ' pupae , which live in the shallow waters around the edge of the lake . When the city of Los Angeles diverted water from the freshwater streams flowing into the lake , it lowered the lake level , which imperiled the migratory birds . The Mono Lake Committee formed in response and won a legal battle that forced Los Angeles to partially replenish the lake level .
The Hamelin Pool Marine Nature Reserve is a protected marine nature reserve located in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Shark Bay in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia . The 127,000-hectare ( 310,000-acre ) nature reserve boasts the most diverse and abundant examples of living marine stromatolites in the world , monuments to life on Earth over 3,500 million years BP .
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia , is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent , the island of Tasmania , and numerous smaller islands . It is the largest country in Oceania and the world 's sixth-largest country by total area . The population of 26 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard . Australia 's capital is Canberra , and its largest city is Sydney . The country 's other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne , Brisbane , Perth , and Adelaide . Indigenous Australians inhabited the continent for about 65,000 years prior to the first arrival of Dutch explorers in the early 17th century , who named it New Holland . In 1770 , Australia 's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788 , a date which became Australia 's national day . The population grew steadily in subsequent decades , and by the time of an 1850s gold rush , most of the continent had been explored and an additional five self-governing crown colonies established . On 1 January 1901 , the six colonies federated , forming the Commonwealth of Australia . Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy , comprising six states and ten territories . Australia is the oldest , flattest , and driest inhabited continent , with the least fertile soils . It has a landmass of 7,617,930 square kilometres ( 2,941,300 sq mi ) .
The Salton Sea is a shallow , saline , endorheic rift lake located directly on the San Andreas Fault , predominantly in the U.S. state of California 's Imperial and Coachella valleys . The lake occupies the lowest elevations of the Salton Sink in the Colorado Desert of Imperial and Riverside counties in Southern California . Its surface is 236.0 ft ( 71.9 m ) below sea level as of January 2018 . The deepest point of the sea is 5 ft ( 1.5 m ) higher than the lowest point of Death Valley . The sea is fed by the New , Whitewater , and Alamo rivers , as well as agricultural runoff , drainage systems , and creeks . Over millions of years , the Colorado River has flowed into the Imperial Valley and deposited soil ( creating fertile farmland ) , building up the terrain and constantly changing the course of the river . For thousands of years , the river has alternately flowed into and out of the valley , alternately creating a freshwater lake , an increasingly saline lake , and a dry desert basin , depending on river flows and the balance between inflow and evaporative loss . The cycle of filling has been about every 400-500 years and has repeated many times . Around 700 AD , a major shift in the river 's course caused a flow of water into the basin , creating Lake Cahuilla , which at its peak was 115 miles ( 185 km ) long , as much as 35 miles ( 56 km ) wide , and 314 feet ( 96 m ) deep , making it one of the largest lakes in North America . The lake existed for over 600 years , until silt blocked the entry channel , creating a closed basin which dried up in around 50 years . The sudden existence of a lake in the arid Salton basin , during a time of an extended severe drought , was fortuitous for the hunter-gatherers who lived there , as it brought fish and waterfowl to the area ; however , the water itself was too saline to drink . The latest natural cycle occurred around 1600-1700 AD , according to Native Americans who spoke with the first European settlers .
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean , surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land : on the north by Southern Europe and Anatolia , on the south by North Africa and on the east by the Levant . Although the sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean , it is usually referred to as a separate body of water . Geological evidence indicates that around 5.9 million years ago , the Mediterranean was cut off from the Atlantic and was partly or completely desiccated over a period of some 600,000 years ( the Messinian salinity crisis ) before being refilled by the Zanclean flood about 5.3 million years ago . It covers an area of about 2,500,000 km2 ( 970,000 sq mi ) , representing 0.7% of the global ocean surface , but its connection to the Atlantic via the Strait of Gibraltar - the narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa - is only 14 km ( 9 mi ) wide . In oceanography , it is sometimes called the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea or the European Mediterranean Sea to distinguish it from mediterranean seas elsewhere . The Mediterranean Sea has an average depth of 1,500 m ( 4,900 ft ) and the deepest recorded point is 5,267 m ( 17,280 ft ) in the Calypso Deep in the Ionian Sea . It lies between latitudes 30° and 46° N and longitudes 6° W and 36° E. Its west-east length , from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Gulf of Iskenderun , on the southeastern coast of Turkey , is about 4,000 kilometres ( 2,500 mi ) . The sea was an important route for merchants and travellers of ancient times , facilitating trade and cultural exchange between peoples of the region . The history of the Mediterranean region is crucial to understanding the origins and development of many modern societies . The countries surrounding the Mediterranean in clockwise order are Spain , France , Monaco , Italy , Slovenia , Croatia , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Montenegro , Albania , Greece , Turkey , Syria , Lebanon , Israel , Egypt , Libya , Tunisia , Algeria , and Morocco ; Malta and Cyprus are island countries in the sea . In addition , the Gaza Strip and the British Overseas Territories of Gibraltar and Akrotiri and Dhekelia have coastlines on the sea .
A mediterranean sea /ˌmɛdɪtəˈreɪniən/ is , in oceanography , a mostly enclosed sea that has limited exchange of water with outer oceans and with water circulation dominated by salinity and temperature differences rather than winds . The eponymous Mediterranean Sea , for example , is almost completely enclosed by Europe , Asia , and Africa .
Southern Europe is the southern region of the European continent . Most definitions of Southern Europe , also known as Mediterranean Europe , include Italy , Malta , Greece , Croatia , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Montenegro , Albania , Slovenia , Spain , East Thrace of European Turkey and Cyprus . Also often included despite not having a coast in the Mediterranean are Portugal , Serbia , North Macedonia , Andorra , San Marino and Vatican City . Some definitions may also include Southern France ( Corsica , Occitanie and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur ) and Monaco , which are otherwise considered parts of Western Europe , and Bulgaria , which is otherwise considered part of Eastern Europe . Different methods can be used to define Southern Europe , including its political , economic , and cultural attributes . Southern Europe can also be defined by its natural features - its geography , climate , and flora . Politically , seven of the Southern European states form the EU Med group .
The Levant ( Arabic : شَام , Shām , English /ləˈvænt/ ) is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia . In its narrowest sense , it is equivalent to the historical region of Syria , which included present-day Syria , Lebanon , Jordan , Israel and Palestine . In its widest historical sense , the Levant included all of the Eastern Mediterranean with its islands ; that is , it included all of the countries along the Eastern Mediterranean shores , extending from Greece to Cyrenaica in eastern Libya . The term entered English in the late 15th century from French . It derives from the Italian Levante , meaning rising , implying the rising of the sun in the east , and is broadly equivalent to the term al-Mashriq ( Arabic : ٱلْمَشْرِق , [ ʔal.maʃ.riq ] ) , meaning the eastern place , where the sun rises . In the 13th and 14th centuries , the term levante was used for Italian maritime commerce in the Eastern Mediterranean , including Greece , Anatolia , Syria-Palestine , and Egypt , that is , the lands east of Venice . Eventually the term was restricted to the Muslim countries of Syria-Palestine and Egypt . In 1581 , England set up the Levant Company to monopolize commerce with the Ottoman Empire . The name Levant States was used to refer to the French mandate over Syria and Lebanon after World War I . This is probably the reason why the term Levant has come to be used more specifically to refer to modern Syria , Lebanon , Palestine , Israel , Jordan , and Cyprus . Some scholars mistakenly believed that it derives from the name of Lebanon . Today the term is often used in conjunction with prehistoric or ancient historical references .
North Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent . There is no singularly accepted scope for the region , and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in the west , to Egypt 's Suez Canal and the Red Sea in the east . Others [ Like whom ? ] have limited it to the countries of Algeria , Morocco , and Tunisia , a region that was known by the French during colonial times as Afrique du Nord and is known by Arabs as the Maghreb ( West , The western part of Arab World ) . The most commonly accepted definition includes Morocco , Algeria , Tunisia , Libya , Egypt , and Sudan , the 6 countries that shape the top North of the African continent . Meanwhile , North Africa , particularly when used in the term North Africa and the Middle East , often refers only to the countries of the Maghreb and Libya . Egypt , being also part of the Middle East , is often considered separately , due to being both North African and Middle Eastern at the same time . North Africa includes a number of Spanish and Portuguese possessions , Plazas de soberanía , Ceuta and Melilla and the Canary Islands and Madeira . The countries of North Africa share a common ethnic , cultural and linguistic identity that is unique to this region . Northwest Africa has been inhabited by Berbers since the beginning of recorded history , while the eastern part of North Africa has been home to the Egyptians . Between the A.D. 600s and 1000s , Arabs from the Middle East swept across the region in a wave of Muslim conquest . These peoples , physically quite similar , formed a single population in many areas , as Berbers and Egyptians merged into Arabic and Muslim culture .
The Red Sea ( Arabic : البحر الأحمر Al Baḥr al aḥmar ) is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean , lying between Africa and Asia . The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden . To the north lie the Sinai Peninsula , the Gulf of Aqaba , and the Gulf of Suez ( leading to the Suez Canal ) . The Red Sea is a Global 200 ecoregion . The sea is underlain by the Red Sea Rift which is part of the Great Rift Valley . The Red Sea has a surface area of roughly 438,000 km2 ( 169,100 mi2 ) , is about 2250 km ( 1398 mi ) long and , at its widest point , 355 km ( 220.6 mi ) wide . It has a maximum depth of 3,040 m ( 9,970 ft ) in the central Suakin Trough , and an average depth of 490 m ( 1,608 ft ) . However , there are also extensive shallow shelves , noted for their marine life and corals . The sea is the habitat of over 1,000 invertebrate species , and 200 soft and hard corals . It is the world 's northernmost tropical sea .
Egypt ( /ˈiːdʒɪpt/ ( listen ) EE-jipt ; Arabic : مِصر Miṣr , Egyptian Arabic : مَصر Maṣr , Coptic : Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ Khēmi ) , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt , is a country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula . Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip ( Palestine ) and Israel to the northeast , the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea to the east , Sudan to the south , and Libya to the west . Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan , across the Red Sea lies Saudi Arabia , and across the Mediterranean lie Greece , Turkey and Cyprus , although none share a land border with Egypt . Egypt has one of the longest histories of any country , tracing its heritage back to the 6th-4th millennia BCE . Considered a cradle of civilisation , Ancient Egypt saw some of the earliest developments of writing , agriculture , urbanisation , organised religion and central government . Iconic monuments such as the Giza Necropolis and its Great Sphinx , as well the ruins of Memphis , Thebes , Karnak , and the Valley of the Kings , reflect this legacy and remain a significant focus of scientific and popular interest . Egypt 's long and rich cultural heritage is an integral part of its national identity , which has endured , and often assimilated , various foreign influences , including Greek , Persian , Roman , Arab , Ottoman Turkish , and Nubian . Egypt was an early and important centre of Christianity , but was largely Islamised in the seventh century and remains a predominantly Muslim country , albeit with a significant Christian minority . From the 16th to the beginning of the 20th century , Egypt was ruled by foreign imperial powers : The Ottoman Empire and the British Empire . Modern Egypt dates back to 1922 , when it gained nominal independence from the British Empire as a monarchy . However , British military occupation of Egypt continued , and many Egyptians believed that the monarchy was an instrument of British colonialism . Following the 1952 revolution , Egypt expelled British soldiers and bureaucrats and ended British occupation , nationalized the British-held Suez Canal , exiled King Farouk and his family , and declared itself a republic .
Sudan ( /suːˈdɑːn/ ; Arabic : السودان as-Sūdān ) , officially the Republic of the Sudan ( Arabic : جمهورية السودان Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān ) , is a country in northeastern Africa . It is bordered by Egypt to the north , Libya to the northwest , Chad to the west , the Central African Republic to the southwest , South Sudan to the south , Ethiopia to the southeast , Eritrea to the east , and the Red Sea to the northeast . Sudan has a population of 43 million ( 2018 estimate ) and occupies 1,886,068 square kilometres ( 728,215 square miles ) , making it Africa 's third-largest country and also the third-largest in the Arab world . Before South Sudan 's secession from Sudan on 9 July 2011 , the united Sudan was the largest country in Africa and the Arab world by area . Sudan 's predominant religion is Islam , and its official languages are Arabic and English . The capital is Khartoum , located at the confluence of the Blue and White Nile . Since 2011 , Sudan has been the scene of an ongoing military conflict in its southern states . Sudan 's history goes back to the Pharaonic period , witnessing the kingdom of Kerma ( c. 2500 BC-1500 BC ) , the subsequent rule of the Egyptian New Kingdom ( c. 1500 BC-1070 BC ) and the rise of the kingdom of Kush ( c. 785 BC-350 AD ) , which would in turn control Egypt itself for nearly a century . After the fall of Kush , the Nubians formed the three Christian kingdoms of Nobatia , Makuria and Alodia , with the latter two lasting until around 1500 . Between the 14th and 15th centuries much of Sudan was settled by Arab nomads . From the 16th-19th centuries , central and eastern Sudan were dominated by the Funj sultanate , while Darfur ruled the west and the Ottomans the far north . This period saw extensive Islamisation and Arabisation .
The Arabian Peninsula , or simply Arabia ( /əˈreɪbiə/ ; Arabic : شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة shibhu l-jazīrati l-ʿarabiyyah , 'Arabian peninsula ' or جَزِيرَةُ الْعَرَب jazīratu l-ʿarab , 'Island of the Arabs ' ) , is a peninsula of Western Asia situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian plate . From a geographical perspective , it is considered a subcontinent of Asia . It is the largest peninsula in the world , at 3,237,500 km2 ( 1,250,000 sq mi ) . The peninsula consists of the countries Yemen , Oman , Qatar , Bahrain , Kuwait , Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates . The peninsula formed as a result of the rifting of the Red Sea between 56 and 23 million years ago , and is bordered by the Red Sea to the west and southwest , the Persian Gulf to the northeast , the Levant to the north and the Indian Ocean to the southeast . The peninsula plays a critical geopolitical role in the Arab world due to its vast reserves of oil and natural gas . The most populous cities on the Arabian Peninsula are Riyadh , Dubai , Jeddah , Abu Dhabi , Doha , Kuwait City , Sanaʽa , Mecca and Muscat . Before the modern era , it was divided into four distinct regions : Red Sea Coast ( Tihamah ) , Central Plateau ( Al-Yamama ) , Indian Ocean Coast ( Hadhramaut ) and Persian Gulf Coast ( Al-Bahrain ) . Hejaz and Najd make up most of Saudi Arabia . Southern Arabia consists of Yemen and some parts of Saudi Arabia ( Najran , Jizan , Asir ) and Oman ( Dhofar ) . Eastern Arabia consists of the entire coastal strip of the Persian Gulf .
The Horn of Africa ( Somali : Geeska Afrika , Oromo : Gaaffaa Afriikaa , Amharic : የአፍሪካ ቀንድ , romanized : yäafrika qänd , Tigrinya : ቀርኒ ኣፍሪቃ } , romanized : qärnī afīrīqa , Arabic : القرن الأفريقي , romanized : al-qarn al-'afrīqī ) ( shortened to HoA ) is a peninsula in Africa . It extends hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden . The area is the easternmost projection of the African continent . Referred to in ancient and medieval times as the land of the Barbara and Habesha , the Horn of Africa denotes the region containing the countries of Djibouti , Eritrea , Ethiopia , and Somalia . It covers approximately 2 million km2 ( 770 thousand sq mi ) and is inhabited by roughly 115 million people ( Ethiopia : 96.6 million , Somalia : 15.4 million , Eritrea : 6.4 million , and Djibouti : 0.81 million ) . Regional studies on the Horn of Africa are carried out , among others , in the fields of Ethiopian Studies as well as Somali Studies .
Lake Natron is a salt or soda lake in Arusha Region in Tanzania . It is in the Gregory Rift , which is the eastern branch of the East African Rift . The lake is within the Lake Natron Basin , a Ramsar Site wetland of international significance .
Tanzania ( /ˌtænzəˈniːə/ , [ note 2 ] Swahili : [ tanzaˈni.a ] ) , officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( Swahili : Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania ) , is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region . It borders Uganda to the north ; Kenya to the northeast ; Comoro Islands and the Indian Ocean to the east ; Mozambique and Malawi to the south ; Zambia to the southwest ; and Rwanda , Burundi , and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west . Mount Kilimanjaro , Africa 's highest mountain , is in northeastern Tanzania . Many important hominid fossils have been found in Tanzania , such as 6-million-year-old Pliocene hominid fossils . The genus Australopithecus ranged all over Africa 4 to 2 million years ago ; and the oldest remains of the genus Homo are found near Lake Olduvai . Following the rise of Homo erectus 1.8 million years ago , humanity spread all over the Old World , and later in the New World and Australia under the species Homo sapiens . Homo sapiens also overtook Africa and absorbed the older archaic species and subspecies of humanity . One of the oldest known ethnic groups still existing , the Hadzabe , appears to have originated in Tanzania , and their oral history recalls ancestors who were tall and were the first to use fire , medicine , and lived in caves , much like Homo erectus or Homo heidelbergensis who lived in the same region before them . Later in the Stone and Bronze Age , prehistoric migrations into Tanzania included Southern Cushitic speakers who moved south from present-day Ethiopia ; Eastern Cushitic people who moved into Tanzania from north of Lake Turkana about 2,000 and 4,000 years ago ; and the Southern Nilotes , including the Datoog , who originated from the present-day South Sudan-Ethiopia border region between 2,900 and 2,400 years ago . : page 18 These movements took place at about the same time as the settlement of the Mashariki Bantu from West Africa in the Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika areas . They subsequently migrated across the rest of Tanzania between 2,300 and 1,700 years ago . German rule began in mainland Tanzania during the late 19th century when Germany formed German East Africa .
The World Ocean or Global Ocean ( colloquially the sea or the ocean ) is the interconnected system of Earth 's oceanic waters , and comprises the bulk of the hydrosphere , covering 361,132,000 square kilometres or 139,434,000 square miles ( 70.8% ) of Earth 's surface , with a total volume of roughly 1,332,000,000 cubic kilometres ( 320,000,000 cubic miles ) .
An ocean ( from Ancient Greek Ὠκεανός , transc . Okeanós ) is a body of water that composes much of a planet 's hydrosphere . On Earth , an ocean is one of the major conventional divisions of the World Ocean . These are , in descending order by area , the Pacific , Atlantic , Indian , Southern ( Antarctic ) , and Arctic Oceans . The phrases the ocean or the sea used without specification refer to the interconnected body of salt water covering the majority of the Earth 's surface . As a general term the ocean is mostly interchangeable with the sea in American English , but not in British English . Strictly speaking , a sea is a body of water ( generally a division of the world ocean ) partly or fully enclosed by land . Saline seawater covers approximately 361,000,000 km2 ( 139,000,000 sq mi ) and is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas , with the ocean covering approximately 71% of Earth 's surface and 90% of the Earth 's biosphere . The ocean contains 97% of Earth 's water , and oceanographers have stated that less than 20% of the World Ocean has been mapped . The total volume is approximately 1.35 billion cubic kilometers ( 320 million cu mi ) with an average depth of nearly 3,700 meters ( 12,100 ft ) . As the world ocean is the principal component of Earth 's hydrosphere , it is integral to life , forms part of the carbon cycle , and influences climate and weather patterns . The World Ocean is the habitat of 230,000 known species , but because much of it is unexplored , the number of species that exist in the ocean is much larger , possibly over two million .