To the south lies the Gulf of Suez, some 315 km long and 19–32 km wide, with amaximum
depth today of 75–80 m and an average of 40–60 m. in many parts. Therefore, much of the
floor of theGulfwould have been exposed during the drier stages of the Pleistocene, extending
the access into the Sinai peninsula from the Eastern Desert, but remaining a flooded barrier
during the wetter phases (Fig. 2).
Thus in climate like today’s there is a potential for land crossing out of Africa across
three zones totaling 70 km width, out of a total African coastline estimated variously from
30,500 km up to two and a half times that length. In the wetter periods of the Pleistocene
the coastal strip would not have existed, the marshy areas and lakes would have been fuller,
narrowing further the actual access routes between the Eastern Desert and Sinai. This is
important in contrasting movements “out of Africa” with movements within Africa and
within Eurasia.
Within and across Sinai, water is the limiting factor on human settlement so that
most population past and present is on the northern fringe. The major trade route since