Persian Gulf

Persian Gulf

Persian Gulf, arm of the Arabian Sea, south-western Asia, between the Arabian Peninsula on the south-west and Iran on the north-east. The gulf extends north-west about 965 km (600 mi) from the Strait of Hormuz to Shatt Al Arab, a river formed by the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The gulf is connected to the Arabian Sea by the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. The Persian Gulf varies in width from 47 to 370 km (29 to 230 mi). The area is about 233,000 sq km (90,000 sq mi) and the greatest depth is about 90 m (300 ft). The chief islands in the gulf are Qeshm and Bahrain. The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait are on the south-western shore; Iraq is on the northern tip; and Iran is on the north-eastern shore (see Persian Gulf States).
The Iranian shore tends to be mountainous and fringed with cliffs, while sandy beaches border the Arabian shore, broken by many small islands and lagoons. Large banks of pearl-producing molluscs are found on the Arabian shore. Spectacular cliffs rise from the shore around the Musandam Peninsula near the Strait of Hormuz. The Tigris, Euphrates, and Kārūn rivers deposit large amounts of silt as they empty into the gulf in the north-west. The area is known for its high temperatures, uncomfortable humidity, and low rainfall.
The kidney-shaped Persian Gulf and the surrounding areas contain about 68 per cent of the world’s proven reserves of petroleum and about 34 per cent of total natural gas reserves (2000 estimate), and new reserves are still being found, both on land and offshore. Large amounts of oil are refined in the area, and oil tankers carry oil from marine terminals to all parts of the world. Major offshore oil fields include Khafji, Hout, and Safaniyah, the largest oil field in the world (Saudi Arabia); main offshore gas fields belong to Qatar (North Dome Field), Saudi Arabia (Dorra), and Iran (South Pars). In 2000 the Persian Gulf states produced amost 28 per cent of the world's oil. The principal ports on the Persian Gulf include Kuwait, in Kuwait; Basra, in Iraq; Ad Dammām and Al Jubayl, in Saudi Arabia; Ābādān and Būshehr, in Iran; and Mīnā’ Salmān, near Manama, in Bahrain. Major oil spills in 1983, during the Iran-Iraq war, and in 1991, during the Gulf War, have adversely affected the gulf environment, as has oil pollution from routine tanker operations.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® Encyclopedia 2003.

Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf

Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf

Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council, an organization founded in May 1981 to promote solidarity and economic, political, and social cooperation between the oil-producing states of the Arabian Peninsula. Members are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The supreme council, comprising heads of state, meets annually to decide policy based on the recommendations of the ministerial council, which comprises the foreign ministers of the member states. The secretariat, based at the GCC headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is responsible for budgeting and helping members implement recommendations. Implemented policies include the abolition of customs duties on domestically produced items in intra-GCC trade; the harmonization of banking regulations; the free movement of people and vehicles between member states; the coordination of trade, development, and major industrial projects; and the improvement of transport and telecommunications. Policies under discussion include plans to integrate the transport, telecommunications, and electricity supply networks of the six GCC members. Members launched a customs union in January 2003 and are working towards reaching agreement over monetary union by 2005. Their intention is to have a single currency by 2010.
Defence was not mentioned in the original agreement setting up the GCC, but there have been efforts to coordinate defence purchases. During the 1980s members decided to establish a joint rapid deployment force, and in 1987 the supreme council agreed that aggression against one member was aggression against all. Following the 1990 invasion of Kuwait, the rapid deployment force formed a part of the UN-authorized military coalition against Iraq. In March 1991, under the Treaty of Damascus, GCC member states agreed to set up a regional peacekeeping force with Syria and Egypt—the two other Arab states that had been most active in the coalition against Iraq. Subsequently the GCC set up an aid fund to promote development in Arab countries that had helped to liberate Kuwait. See also Gulf War.

Microsoft ® Encarta ® Encyclopedia 2003.