Red Sea Vanished Completely 6.2-M Years Ago, Scientists Claim

Researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have confirmed that the Red Sea once completely dried up around 6.2 million years ago, only to be suddenly refilled by a catastrophic influx of water from the Indian Ocean.

The Red Sea was initially connected from the north to the Mediterranean through a shallow sill.

Their work places a precise timeline on a remarkable event that reshaped the basin’s history, SciTechDaily reported.

By combining seismic imaging, microfossil analysis, and geochemical dating, the team discovered that this transformation occurred within just 100,000 years—an exceptionally short span in geological terms.

During this period, the Red Sea shifted from being linked to the Mediterranean to becoming a desolate salt basin.

The dry phase ended when a powerful flood cut through volcanic ridges, opening the Bab el-Mandab Strait and restoring the Red Sea’s connection to the global oceans.

“Our findings show that the Red Sea basin records one of the most extreme environmental events on Earth—when it dried out completely and was then suddenly reflooded about 6.2 million years ago,” said lead author Dr. Tihana Pensa of KAUST.

“The flood transformed the basin, restored marine conditions, and established the Red Sea’s lasting connection to the Indian Ocean.”

The Red Sea was initially connected from the north to the Mediterranean through a shallow sill. This connection was later severed, drying the Red Sea into a barren salt desert.

In the south, near the Hanish Islands, a volcanic ridge separates the sea from the Indian Ocean.

Around 6.2 million years ago, seawater from the Indian Ocean surged across this barrier in a catastrophic flood. The torrent carved a 320-kilometer-long submarine canyon that is still visible today on the seafloor.

The flood rapidly refilled the basin, drowning the salt flats and restoring normal marine conditions in less than 100,000 years. This event occurred nearly a million years before the Mediterranean was refilled by the famous Zanclean flood, giving the Red Sea a unique story of rebirth.