<Tr> <Th> Water volume </Th> <Td> 233,000 km (56,000 cu mi) </Td> </Tr> <P> The Red Sea (also the Erythraean Sea) is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia . The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden . To the north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez (leading to the Suez Canal). The Red Sea is a Global 200 ecoregion . The sea is underlain by the Red Sea Rift which is part of the Great Rift Valley . </P> <P> The Red Sea has a surface area of roughly 438,000 km (169,100 mi), is about 2250 km (1398 mi) long and, at its widest point, 355 km (220.6 mi) wide . It has a maximum depth of 3,040 m (9,970 ft) in the central Suakin Trough, and an average depth of 490 m (1,608 ft). However, there are also extensive shallow shelves, noted for their marine life and corals . The sea is the habitat of over 1,000 invertebrate species, and 200 soft and hard corals . It is the world's northernmost tropical sea . </P> <P> The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Red Sea as follows: </P>

What is the average depth of the red sea