Editing Sinai Peninsula (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Greatrift.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Image from [[Gemini 11]] spacecraft, featuring part of Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula in the foreground and the [[Levant]] in the background]]

Sinai is triangular in shape, with its northern shore lying on the southern [[Mediterranean Sea]], and its southwest and southeast shores on the [[Gulf of Suez]] and the [[Gulf of Aqaba]] of the [[Red Sea]]. It is linked to the African continent by the [[Isthmus of Suez]], {{convert|125|km}} wide strip of land, containing the [[Suez Canal]]. The eastern isthmus, linking it to the Asian mainland, is around {{convert|200|km}} wide. The peninsula is on the [[African Plate]] with the [[Arabian Plate]] on its eastern boundary.<ref>Homberg, Catherine and Martina Bachmann, ''Evolution of the Levant Margin and Western Arabia Platform Since the Mesozoic,'' The Geological Society of London, 2010, p 65 {{ISBN|978-1-86239-306-6}}</ref>

The southernmost tip is the [[Ras Muhammad National Park]].

Most of the Sinai Peninsula is divided among the two [[governorates of Egypt]]: [[South Sinai Governorate|South Sinai]] (Ganub Sina) and [[North Sinai Governorate|North Sinai]] (Shamal Sina).<ref name=Greenwood2010>{{cite book |author=Ned Greenwood |title=The Sinai: A Physical Geography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k5OhAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT4 |date=1 January 2010 |publisher=[[University of Texas Press]] |isbn=978-0-292-77909-9 |pages=4–}}</ref> Together, they comprise around 60,000 square kilometres (23,000 sq mi) and have a population (January 2013) of 597,000. Three more governates span the Suez Canal, crossing into African Egypt: [[Suez Governorate|Suez]] (el-Sewais) is on the southern end of the Suez Canal, [[Ismailia Governorate|Ismailia]] (el-Isma'ileyyah) in the centre, and [[Port Said Governorate|Port Said]] in the north.

The largest city of Sinai is [[Arish]], capital of the North Sinai, with around 160,000 residents. Other larger settlements include [[Sharm El Sheikh]] and [[El-Tor]], on the southern coast. Inland Sinai is arid (effectively a desert), mountainous and sparsely populated, the largest settlements being [[Saint Catherine, Egypt|Saint Catherine]] and [[Nekhel]].<ref name=Greenwood2010/>

===Climate===
Sinai is one of the coldest provinces in Egypt because of its high altitudes and mountainous topographies. Winter temperatures in some of Sinai's cities and towns reach {{convert|-16|°C}}.