خلیج فارس یا دریای پارس آبراهی است که در امتداد دریای عمان و در میان ایران و شبه جزیره عربستان قرار دارد. نام تاریخی این خلیج، در زبان‌های گوناگون، ترجمه عبارت «خلیج فارس» یا «دریای پارس» بوده است.
مساحت آن ۲۳۳٬۰۰۰ کیلومتر مربع است، و پس از خلیج مکزیک و خلیج هودسن سومین خلیج بزرگ جهان بشمار می‌آید. خلیج فارس از شرق از طریق تنگه هرمز و دریای عمان به اقیانوس هند و دریای عرب راه دارد، و از غرب به دلتای رودخانه اروندرود، که حاصل پیوند دو رودخانهٔ دجله و فرات و پیوستن رود کارون به آن است، ختم می‌شود.
The Persian Gulf, in the Southwest Asian region, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.[1] Historically and commonly known as the Persian Gulf, this body of water is sometimes controversially referred to as the Arabian Gulf or simply The Gulf by most Arab states[2], although neither of the latter two terms is recognized internationally. The name Persian Gulf (Gulf of Iran) is used by the International Hydrographic Organization[3].
The Persian Gulf was a focus of the 1980-1988 Iraq-Iran War, in which each side attacked the other’s oil tankers. In 1991, the Persian Gulf again was the background for what was called the “Persian Gulf War” or the “Gulf War” when Iraq invaded Kuwait and was subsequently pushed back, despite the fact that this conflict was primarily a land conflict.
The Persian Gulf has many good fishing grounds, extensive coral reefs, and abundant pearl oysters, but its ecology has come under pressure from industrialization, and in particular, petroleum spillages during the recent wars in the region.
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