With reference to the Red Sea, consider the following statements: 1. It does not receive water from any permanent rivers. 2. The Bab el-Mandeb Strait connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. 3. It lies on a divergent plate boundary formed by the separation of the African Plate and the Arabian Plate. How many of the above statements are correct? |ForumIAS

[A] Only one statement

[B] Only two statements

[C] All three statements

[D] None of the statements

Answer: B

Notes:

Explanations

Statement 1 is correct: The Red Sea is situated in an extremely arid region between the Sahara and Arabian deserts. It receives very little precipitation and is completely unique among large bodies of water for having no permanent (perennial) rivers that drain into it.
Statement 2 is incorrect: The Bab el-Mandeb Strait connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden (and subsequently the Indian Ocean) in the south. The Red Sea is connected to the Mediterranean Sea in the north via the man-made Suez Canal.
Statement 3 is correct: Geologically, the Red Sea is a classic example of an axial trough. It sits in a rift depression formed by a divergent plate boundary, where the African (or Nubian) Plate and the Arabian Plate are pulling apart from one another.