The Jewel of the Red Sea: Unearthing the Secrets and Beauty of Zabargad Island

Zabargad Island, located off the southern coast of Egypt in the Red Sea, is known for its rich peridot gemstones. This island, with an area of 1.74 km2, is the largest in the archipelago in the Gulf of Foul. Despite its lack of fresh water and biodiversity, the island is rich in geology, with peridotite, a coarse-grained igneous rock, containing beautiful blue peridot gemstones.

In ancient times, peridot gemstones from Zabargad Island were collected and used as jewelry for Mediterranean kings. Evidence of mining on the island dates back more than 3,500 years to ancient Egypt. While the Greeks believed the island was the source of topaz and called it “Topazios,” scientists have identified the rock as peridotite, rich in olivine and pyroxene. Inside the peridotite layer, olivine can form the gemstone peridot, known for its brilliant yellow-green color.

Peridotite forms deep in the Earth’s upper mantle, at depths of over 150 km, and was pushed to the surface through geological processes millions of years ago. Due to its proximity to the Red Sea Narrows, an area of tectonic activity, the island remains above