The Red Sea is an inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. It is connected to the ocean 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, which leads to the Suez Canal. The Red Sea occupies a part of the Great Rift Valley, where the Arabian and African tectonic plates are slowly pulling apart. This tectonic activity makes the Red Sea one of the youngest and saltiest bodies of water in the world. It is world-renowned for its spectacular coral reefs and diverse marine life, including over 1,200 species of fish, about 10% of which are found nowhere else. Its name may derive from seasonal blooms of a red-colored cyanobacterium called Trichodesmium erythraeum, which turns the blue-green water a reddish-brown color.