RED SKA 



RED WATER 



In ancient time* the Red Sea wan used as a 

 mi-Jin- of communication by the Plm-nii-mns anil 

 other maritime peoples, until the discovery of tin- 

 route round the Cii|><* nf (lixxl Hope diverted the 

 traffic into anotln-r channel, only to be revived, 

 however, on a much more extensive scale with the 

 construction of tin- Suez Canal. 



The tides are very variable, depending largely on 

 the direction and force of the winds, which also to 

 a great extent determine the direction and velocity 

 of the surface currents. The hot climate is due 

 to the almost cloudless sky, and consequent want 

 of rnin, the altitude of tin- -mi. ami the alieence 

 of rivers. The mean temperature of the air genei - 

 ally ranges ln'twcen 7H and 94 F. during the 

 day, though leadings of over 100 are often regis- 

 tered in the shade ; l>nt during tin- night tin- tcin- 

 perature may fall to the freezing-]Miint, owing to 

 radiation in the clear atmosphere. The prevailing 

 wind on shore is north-north-west almost univer- 

 sally, but from October to May south-south-east 

 winds prevail over the southern portions of the 

 sea, a lielt of calms and variable winds occurring in 

 the central region*, while in the northern portions 

 the usual north-north-west winds are met with. 

 Evaporation is very great, and the air over the 

 water is always very moist in the summer; hurri- 

 canes are unusual, but rain-squall* frequent I v occur 

 with the southerly winds, and moderate gales and 

 windstorms, called 'dragons' in the popular lan- 

 guage of the Arabs, an- not uncommon. 



The iin-aii temperature of the surface water in 

 the Itcd Sea varies at the northern end ltween 

 aliout 65 ami 79' F., in the central regions between 

 75 and 86, and at the southern end between 78 

 and 89 ; readings of over 100 have l>een recorded 

 at the south end of the sea. The temperature of 

 the water below the surface decreases down to a 

 depth of about 200 fathoms, from whence down to 

 the bottom a mean temperature of aliout 71 is 

 found all tin- year round ; this agrees with the 

 temperature conditions prevailing in the enclosed 

 seas of the East Indies, for instance, according to 

 the observations made on Imard the Challenger, 

 the depth at which the minimum temperature 

 occurs (i.e. 200 fathoms in the Red Sea) indicating 

 the depth of water over the barrier separating the 

 Sea from the open ocean. In winter, in the north- 

 ern part, the whole body of water from surface to 

 bottom usually has a mean temperature of 71. 



The salinity of the water is almost constant at 

 about 1-030 (ordinary ocean water is a bunt 1-026), 

 and this is due to the fact that no rivers flow into 

 it, little rain falls, and the evaporation is excessive. 

 It has been estimated that, were the Red Sea 

 entirely enclosed, it would become a solid mass of 

 salt in less than two thousand years, but this is 

 prevented by an inflow of water through tlie Strait 

 of Bab-el -Mandeb, and it is also known that a 

 current of very salt water flows out underneath the 

 iii'-oiiiiiig surface current. 



The greatest ilepth in the l{e<l Sea is alwut 1200 

 fathoms, and the mean depth of tin- wli-ile area 

 about 375 fathoms. From the point of greatest 

 depth, which is near the centre, the bottom rises 

 towards each end. Owing to the alwence of rivers 

 the deposit* approach in character those formed in 

 the open ocean, leing largely OOmpOMd of Foramin- 

 ifera, Pteropods, and other pelagic shells. The 

 marine fauna and flora are extensive, and have 

 been described by Haeckel and other iiatnrali-t- : 

 it has been show n that a migration of the Red Sea 

 and Mediterranean fauna- is taking place along 

 the Sin-/ ( 'anal. The origin of the name 

 the Lat Mare Rnbrnm and the (Ir. Erythra 

 Thalaxai is much disputed. The Hebrew name 

 to Yum Sii/ili. which (Jcsenius explains as the 'sea 

 of reed*.' The path by which the Israelites went 



out of Kgypt was along the course of the valley 

 called Widy Tnnieilnt, apparently an old arm of 

 the Nile now silted up. The Lake of Isniailieb 

 i Tun*,t/i I wa.s then most probably the head of the 

 Gulf of Suez, but the exact point of passage of this 

 arm of the sea still remains obscure, 



Redshank. See SANIH-II-KI;. 



Redstart (Riiticilln /i/"//<-r<0. a bird of the 

 family Sylviida-, ranging in Europe from the North 

 Cape to the wooded regions of central and southern 

 Knrope ; in Asia to the valley of the Yenesei in 

 summer, and to 1'alestine, Arabia, and Persia in 

 winter; in Africa from the Canaries and Madeira 

 and Senegal to Abyssinia in winter. In (!reat 

 Britain it is a summer visitor to most parts, though 

 unaccountably absent from some ; in Ireland it has 

 been very seldom recorded, but since the summer 

 of 1885 it has nested annually at Power'* Court, 

 County Wicklow. The male is al>out 5J inches 

 long, has the head, back, ami winff-ovMti slate- 

 gray ; the forehead and eye-streak white ; chin, 

 throat, and cheeks jet black: wings brown, with 

 pale outer edges; the tail and upper tail coverts 

 bright rufous chestnut ; the rest of the under parts 

 bull'; bill black ; legs and feet brown. The female 

 has the upper parts grayish brown, under parts 

 lighter, the tail less brilliant, and no bright colours 

 on the head. The redstart is a bin! of lively 

 manners. Its food consists of flies, gnats, small 



Redstart (Ituticilla phanieura). 



butterflies, and other insects ; the young are fed 

 largely on caterpillars. The nest is built of moss 

 and dry grass, lined with hair and feathers, in 

 holes in trees or walls ; the eggs are usually six in 

 number, and of a light blue colour. The song is 

 slight, but soft and melodious ; the alarm note is a 

 plaintive wheel. In some parts of the country this 

 bM is called the ' Fire tail,' start being derived 

 from the Anglo-Saxon steort, 'a tail.' The Itlack 

 Redstart ( 1!. fiti/x) is now a well-known visitor to 

 many parts of the English coasts, especially of 

 Devon and Cornwall, in autumn ami winter, and 

 also to the east and soul l> coasts of Ireland. It is 

 more rare in Scotland, but it has been found as 

 far north as the Pentland Skerries. It has hen: 

 recorded in Iceland, the Faroes, southern Scandi- 

 navia, and Denmark. From Holland southwards 

 it is abundant in spring. Its home is in southern 

 Europe and northern Africa, whence it range* 

 eastwards to the Ural Mountains, Palestine, and 

 Nubia. Other species of redstart are found, one 

 (R. mualrrni) in Cyprus, Asia Minor, and Persia; 

 another (the Indian Hedstnrt. /.'. rufirnitrix) from 

 Lebanon eastward : and a third (R. ochrurui) in 

 the Caucasus and Armenia. 

 Red Water (disease). See BLACK WATER. 



