Persian Gulf

Persian Gulf, or Arabian Gulf, arm of the Arabian Sea between Iran and Arabia. About 550 mi (855 km) long and 120 mi (193 km) wide, the gulf is entered from the Gulf of Oman by the Straits of Hormuz. The bordering regions of Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates contain more than half the world's oil and natural gas resources. The effects of the Persian Gulf War (1991) caused serious environmental damage to gulf waters because of enormous oil spills.