Egypt Underwater

The Red Sea is a very special place for those who like to SCUBA dive or snorkel. There are many highlights of Egypt underwater, including a large number of species which are found only here, or in the neighbouring Gulf of Aden, as well as a wide variety of animals which have a wider distribution. The main reason why there's so much unusual wildlife here is that the Red Sea is almost fully enclosed, except for a very narrow opening at its southern end. Very little water enters from the Indian ocean and this, combined with the tropical heat and the complete absence of any rivers flowing into this body of water makes the Red Sea saltier than most seawater. Although it gets very hot in summer, in winter the temperature dips quite deeply, and so the Red Sea is actually too cold for some types of marine life, such as sea snakes.

There's a wealth of colourful fish species here, many of them endemic to the area. One example of this is the different butterflyfishes which live here, such as the Red Sea melon butterflyfish, Red Sea raccoon butterflyfish, the red-backed butterflyfish and the masked or blue-cheek butterflyfish, all of which are found only in a restricted range centered around the Red Sea.