ARABIAN BASIN

submarine basin of the southern Arabian Sea, rising to meet the submerged Carlsberg Ridge to the south, the Maldive Island chain to the southeast, India and Pakistan to the northeast, Iran to the north, and the Arabian Peninsula to the west. It has a maximum depth of 19,275 feet (5,875 m) and is separated by the Carlsberg Ridge from the deeper Somali Basin to the south and west. The sill depth between the Arabian and Somali basins is about 9,800 feet (3,000 m). The floor of the basin is covered by sediment deposited by the Indus River in the form of a great alluvial fan whose thickness diminishes to the south.