Gulf of Aden - Definition and Overview

The Gulf of Aden is located in the Indian Ocean between Yemen on the south coast of the Arabian Peninsula and Somalia in Africa. In the northwest it connects with the Red Sea through the Bab el Mandeb sound.

The Gulf of Aden is an important waterway for Persian Gulf oil making it very important for the world ecomomy. It also has many varieties of fish, coral, and other living things since there is little pollution. The main ports for it are Aden, Yemen and Berbera, Somalia.

But it is also a very dangerous waterway, since both countries on its shore, Yemen and Somalia are very unstable. It is one of the main area of piracy, making it dangerous for sailing. It also is terrorist-prone, as the USS Cole bombing and a French oil tanker was also hit here by terrorists.