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Talks with Roger is a sponsored supplement to our free monthly e-newsletter, Notes from the Horn Book.

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FPS Foreign Affairs - Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation

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10 facts about migration you did not know yet

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Although migration is high on the agenda nowadays, a great deal of uncertainty remains. Find out more about this important topic below!

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What is the difference between a migrant and a refugee?

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The Migrant Worker Who Founded A Polytechnic

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Why rich countries are so dependent on migrant workers | CNBC Explains

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Location in Turtle of Oman - Google My Maps

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Omanis and expatriates in total population

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Omanis and expatriates in total population

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Oman on Britannica

940L

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Human Migration on Britannica

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Migrant Labor on Britannica

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The Sultanate of Oman is a country in the southwestern part of Asia, on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest, it also shares a marine border with Pakistan to the north-east. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea to the south and east, and the Gulf of Oman to the northeast.

The country is a monarchy. The capital of the Sultanate is Muscat.

Oman lies between latitudes 16° and 28° N, and longitudes 52° and 60° E. A vast gravel desert plain covers most of central Oman, with mountain ranges along the north (Al Hajar Mountains) and southeast coast (Qara or Dhofar Mountains), where the country's main cities are also located: the capital city Muscat, Sohar and Sur in the north, and Salalah in the south. Oman's climate is hot and dry in the interior and humid along the coast. During past epochs, Oman was covered by ocean, witnessed by the large numbers of fossilized shells existing in areas of the desert away from the modern coastline.

The peninsula of Musandam (Musandem) exclave, which has a strategic location on the Strait of Hormuz, is separated from the rest of Oman by the United Arab Emirates. The series of small towns known collectively as Dibba are the gateway to the Musandam peninsula on land and the fishing villages of Musandam by sea, with boats available for hire at Khasab for trips into the Musandam peninsula by sea.

Oman's other exclave, inside UAE territory, known as Madha, located halfway between the Musandam Peninsula and the main body of Oman, is part of the Musandam governorate, covering approximately 75 km ² (29 sq mi). Madha's boundary was settled in 1969, with the north-east corner of Madha barely 10 m (32.8 ft) from the Fujairah road. Within the Madha exclave is a UAE enclave called Nahwa, belonging to the Emirate of Sharjah, situated about 8 km (5 mi) along a dirt track west of the town of New Madha, and consisting of about forty houses with a clinic and telephone exchange. The central desert of Oman is an important source of meteorites for scientific analysis.

Oman has a hot climate and very little rainfall. Annual rainfall in Muscat averages 100 mm (3.9 in), falling mostly in January. Dhofar is subject to the southwest monsoon, and rainfall up to 640 mm (25.2 in) has been recorded in the rainy season from late June to October. While the mountain areas receive more rainfall, some parts of the coast, particularly near the island of Masirah, sometimes receive no rain at all within the course of a year. The climate generally is very hot, with temperatures reaching around 50 °C (122.0 °F) (peak) in the hot season, from May to September.

Flora and fauna

Desert shrub and desert grass, common to southern Arabia, are found in Oman, but vegetation is sparse in the interior plateau, which is largely gravel desert. The greater monsoon rainfall in Dhofar and the mountains makes the growth there more luxuriant during summer; coconut palms grow plentifully in the coastal plains of Dhofar and frankincense is produced in the hills, with abundant oleander and varieties of acacia. The Al Hajar Mountains are a distinct ecoregion, the highest points in eastern Arabia with wildlife including the Arabian tahr.

Indigenous mammals include the leopard, hyena, fox, wolf, hare, oryx, and ibex. Birds include the vulture, eagle, stork, bustard, Arabian partridge, bee eater, falcon, and sunbird. In 2001, Oman had nine endangered species of mammals, five endangered types of birds, and nineteen threatened plant species. Decrees have been passed to protect endangered species, including the Arabian leopard, Arabian oryx, mountain gazelle, goitered gazelle, Arabian tahr, green sea turtle, hawksbill turtle, and olive ridley turtle. However, the Arabian Oryx Sanctuary is the first site ever to be deleted from UNESCO's World Heritage List, due to the government's decision to reduce the site to 10% of its former size so that the remainder could be opened to oil prospectors.

In recent years, Oman has become one of newer hot spots for whale watching, highlighting the critically endangered Arabian humpback whale, the most isolated and only non- migratory population in the world, sperm whales, and pygmy blue whales.

Oman has a relatively diversified economy, but remains dependent on oil exports.

Tourism is the fastest-growing industry in Oman.

Oman's proved reserves of petroleum total about 5.5 billion barrels, 25th largest in the world. Oil is extracted and processed by Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), with proven oil reserves holding approximately steady, although oil production has been declining. The Ministry of Oil and Gas is responsible for all oil and gas infrastructure and projects in Oman. Following the 1970s energy crisis, Oman doubled their oil output between 1979 and 1985.

Between 2000 and 2007, production fell by more than 99%, from 972,000 to 714,800 barrels per day. Production has recovered to 816,000 barrels in 2009, and 930,000 barrels per day in 2012. Oman's natural gas reserves are estimated at 849.5 billion cubic meters, ranking 28th in the world, and production in 2008 was about 24 billion cubic meters per year.

Tourism in Oman has grown considerably recently, and it is expected to be one of the largest industries in the country. The World Travel & Tourism Council stated that Oman is the fastest growing tourism destination in the Middle East.

Oman has one of the most diverse environments in the Middle East with various tourist attractions and is particularly well known for adventure and cultural tourism. Muscat, the capital of Oman, was named the second best city to visit in the world in 2012 by the travel guide publisher Lonely Planet. Muscat also was chosen as the Capital of Arab Tourism of 2012.

Omani cuisine is diverse and has been influenced by many cultures. Omanis usually eat their main daily meal at midday, while the evening meal is lighter. During Ramadan, dinner is served after the Taraweeh prayers, sometimes as late as 11 pm. However, these dinner timings differ according to each family; for instance, some families would choose to eat right after maghrib prayers and have dessert after taraweeh.

Arsia, a festival meal served during celebrations, consists of mashed rice and meat (sometimes chicken). Another popular festival meal, shuwa, consists of meat cooked very slowly (sometimes for up to 2 days) in an underground clay oven. The meat becomes extremely tender and it is infused with spices and herbs before cooking to give it a very distinct taste. Fish is often used in main dishes too, and the kingfish is a popular ingredient. Mashuai is a meal consisting of a whole spit-roasted kingfish served with lemon rice.

Rukhal bread is a thin, round bread originally baked over a fire made from palm leaves. It is eaten at any meal, typically served with Omani honey for breakfast or crumbled over curry for dinner. Chicken, fish, and lamb or mutton are regularly used in dishes. The Omani halwa is a very popular sweet, basically consisting of cooked raw sugar with nuts. There are many different flavors, the most popular ones being black halwa (original) and saffron halwa. Halwa is considered as a symbol of Omani hospitality, and is traditionally served with coffee. As is the case with most Arab states of the Persian Gulf, alcohol is only available over-the-counter to non-Muslims. Muslims can still purchase alcoholic drinks. Alcohol is served in many hotels and a few restaurants.

Since 28 October 2011, Oman is divided into eleven governorates ( muhafazah):

Ad Dakhiliyah

Ad Dhahirah North

Al Batinah North

Al Batinah South

Al Buraimi

Al Wusta

Ash Sharqiyah North

Ash Sharqiyah South

Dhofar

Masqat

Musandam

Below the governorates, Oman is divided into provinces.

Related pages

Images for kids

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The Sultanate of Oman is a country in the southwestern part of Asia, on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest, it also shares a marine border with Pakistan to the north-east.

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High reading level but good connections.

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Muscat ( Arabic: مسقط‎ ) is the capital and largest city of The Sultanate of Oman. It is the largest city in the mintaqah ( governorate) of Muscat. The city of Muscat has a population of 1.28 million people (2015). The official language is Arabic and English is used as an additional language for many purposes, including business and tourism purposes. Muscat is located on the north east coast of Oman. The city is 3,500 km ² in size.

People started living in the Muscat area about 2300 years ago but the first writings of the city are about 1900 years old in the 1st century CE. Muscat developed into an important city in the 9th century CE because of business and trade at the port. Portugal, Persian (Iran) and Turkey had many wars for control over Muscat from the 1500s to the 1700s. The Al Bu Sa 'id tribe has ruled Muscat since then.

Climate and weather

Muscat is a hot and dry city. The average daytime temperature in summer can be as high as 40 °C. The winter is cooler and the average daytime temperature is between 19 °C and 22 °C. There is very little rain with only 10 cm per year.

Muscat has several tourist sites including seven museums, a fort, an old palace and a new opera house. The city has beaches with hotel resorts. People can do many water-sports including dolphin tours in the city's harbour. In 2016, 2.5 million tourists visited Muscat. According to an article in Times Of Oman, almost 500,000 people visited in February alone for the popular Muscat Festival.

Images for kids

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Muscat ( Arabic: مسقط‎ ) is the capital and largest city of The Sultanate of Oman. It is the largest city in the mintaqah ( governorate) of Muscat. The city of Muscat has a population of 1.28 million people (2015).

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(Videos linked below)

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A reader recently asked me if I knew of any web sites to help her kids learn about Oman. There were virtually no books at my library, and it was difficult to find information suitable for kids. I took up the challenge to research more about this small country on the Arabian Peninsula. When looking at the map of the peninsula, I tell my kids that if they can imagine a boot, Oman is near the toe. Oman has such a rich history, and many people know little about this small country with a long coastline on the Arabian Sea.
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1. Oman has been the center of frankincense trade since 5000 BC! It comes from the aromatic sap from the frankencense tree, and is mentioned both in the Bible (as one of the Wise Men's gifts), and in the legend of the Queen of Sheba.

2. In the 7th Century, Islam was introduced and embraced. Most all Omanis are Muslim, and belong to their own sect called Ibadi Islam.

3. Thousands of green turtles (and other species!) come onto the beaches of Oman in the late summer to lay their eggs. Less than two months later, tens of thousands of baby turtles hatch from their nesting sites and attempt to make their way into the Indian Ocean. The most famous place to watch sea turtles in Oman is the Ras Al Jinz Turtle Reserve.

4. While many of Oman's neighbors have their economies based on petroleum, Oman also trades fish, dates, and some agricultural products like limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables, and animals like camels and cattle.

5. Immigrants and expats make up almost half of the population in Oman! Top countries represented are Arabs from around the Middle East region, South Asians from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, and some Africans, especially from nearby East Africa.

6. The top-selling beverage in Oman is...... Mountain Dew!!! But everyone also loves strong coffee.

7. One tradition in Oman to greet a visitor with a bowl of dates, qahwa (special coffee with cardamom) and fruit! Omanis eat their largest meal of the day in the afternoon. This main meal usually includes a large serving of rice and a sauce made from tomato and fish or meat.

8. There is virtually no crime in Oman. The country is also terrorism free!

9. While young people might wear jeans and tshirts, there is traditional clothing worn by men and women in Oman. Women wear hijab and abaya, a long, black cloak worn over clothes. Some women wear burqas, while some do not cover their heads. Omani often men wear an ankle length robe called "dishdasha."

10. One of the famous pastimes of Oman is horses: racing, breeding, and caring for them! Horses symbolize integrity and pride, and Oman is famous for its pure-bred Arabian horses.

One way to learn about Oman could be through cooking their delectable food. The Food of Oman: Recipes and Stories from the Gateway to Arabia, by Felicia Campbell is a new cookbook that features all of the traditional dishes from Oman, plus the author's connections with them.

The Global Table Adventure also explored Oman cuisine for a week: her frankincense ice cream looks divine!
Explore Oman with Mommy Maleta Kiddle Encyclopedia & Photos of Oman Gorgeous Photos of Oman from Wild Junket Ducksters Facts about Oman (great for a short history!) Touring Oman by Car Luxury Lodging at the Shangri-La Al Jissah Resort & Spa Visit Bahia's UNESCO Fort The Beautiful Musandam Peninsula Destination Guide- Oman
The Turtle of Oman, by Naomi Shihab Nye. A young boy named Aref Al-Amri must say good-bye to everything and everyone he loves in his hometown of Muscat, Oman, as his family prepares to move to Michigan. Beautiful written imagery of Oman!

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Let's Learn about Oman! Resources to Teach Kids

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A reader recently asked me if I knew of any web sites to help her kids learn about Oman. There were virtually no books at my library, and it was difficult to find information suitable for kids. I took up the challenge to research more about this small country on the Arabian Peninsula.

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A Country Full Of History, Wildlife and Traditions ~ Oman

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A Country Full Of History, Wildlife and Traditions ~ Oman

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A Country Full Of History, Wildlife and Traditions ~ Oman

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LIVING with BEDOUINES in the desert of OMAN (WAHIBA / SHARQIYA SANDS)

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LIVING with BEDOUINES in the desert of OMAN (WAHIBA / SHARQIYA SANDS)

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LIVING with BEDOUINES in the desert of OMAN (WAHIBA / SHARQIYA SANDS)

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Falconry (Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates) - Traditional Sports

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Traditional sports, culture and sport, cultural identity

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Everything to Know About Falconry in the Middle East

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You’re likely to encounter the bird at every turn during a visit to the region

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Ras Al Jinz is a fishing village located in the Ras Al Hadd, on the eastern shores of the Arabian Peninsula. The village features earth's raw beauty, with unique landscapes, and extraordinary animals, such as sea turtles, which Ras Al Jinz makes the perfect home for.

The Ras Al Jinz beach is world renown for the nesting endangered green turtle (Chelonia mydas), and probably the most important nesting concentration on the Indian Ocean. This is the only official place where the public can watch the unique nesting process of these amazing sea giants, and for that reason, it has an immense impact on tourism in Oman.

The Ras Al Jinz Turtle Reserve was established by Royal Decree in 1996. The Ras Al Jinz Turtle Centre, a truly eco-tourism project, was established in 2008 to help conserve the fascinating and amazing nesting processes of Oman sea turtles, considered as a priceless national treasure.

It's true that the Ras Al Jinz Turtle Centre cannot control the natural threats to marine turtles, such as birds, crabs, and fish preying on the hatchlings, adult turtles being attacked by sharks or foxes predating on the eggs and hatchlings. However, it collaborates with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs, to educate and control the human-induced threats, such as:

Commercial harvesting for sea turtle meat, habitat disturbance, and losing shells while nesting.

Litter and pollution such as plastic bags and bottles, glass bottles, soda cans, tissues, fishing lines, ropes, etc.

Other behaviors showing human carelessness are also controlled.

Throwing rubbish into the sea or onto the beach.

Splashing artificial lights by photography flashes, and car lights while driving.

The Ras Al Jinz Centre conducts guided excursions every night to view the turtles and witness the nesting process. All the Centre guides are knowledgeable, having a commitment to the preservation of the turtles. Ras Al Jinz Turtle Reserve is managed by Oman Tourism Development Company (Omran).

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Ras aljinz Turtle reserve | Hotel Services

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Ras Al Jinz is a fishing village located in the Ras Al Hadd, on the eastern shores of the Arabian Peninsula. The village features earth's raw beauty, with unique landscapes, and extraordinary animals, such as sea turtles, which Ras Al Jinz makes the perfect home for.

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A few weeks ago I heard a story about a child turning up at a school near a refugee camp and being turned away because there was no chair for her. She came back the next day with a broken chair and asked again. I can't remember where I heard the story but it's melded with all the other things I've heard over the last few months about refugee families and lone children.

The ideas and images have been running in my blood like a fever. But this week, with the government's response to children utterly alone in the world (when the Conservative party voted against the UK accepting 3000 unaccompanied child refugees from Syria) I couldn't ignore the story burning in my veins. All other work had to be put aside. So rough and ready as it is, here is my response to their policy:

The Day the War Came

The day war came there were flowers on the window sill
and my father sang my baby brother back to sleep.
My mother made my breakfast, kissed my nose
and walked with me to school.

That morning I learned about volcanoes, I sang a song about how tadpoles turn at last to frogs.
I made a picture of myself with wings.
Then, just after lunch, while I watched a cloud shaped like a dolphin, war came.
At first, just like a spattering of hail
a voice of thunder...
then all smoke and fire and noise, that I didn't understand.

It came across the playground.
It came into my teacher's face.
It brought the roof down.
and turned my town to rubble.

I can't say the words that tell you
about the blackened hole that had been my home.

All I can say is this:

war took everything

war took everyone

I was ragged, bloody, all alone.

I ran. Rode on the back of trucks, in buses;
walked over fields and roads and mountains,
in the cold and mud and rain;
on a boat that leaked and almost sank
and up a beach where babies lay face down in the sand.

I ran until I couldn't run
until I reached a row of huts
and found a corner with a dirty blanket
and a door that rattled in the wind

But war had followed me.
It was underneath my skin,
behind my eyes,
and in my dreams.
It had taken possession of my heart.

I walked and walked to try and drive war out of myself,
to try and find a place it hadn't reached.
But war was in the way that doors shut when I came down the street
It was in the way the people didn't smile, and turned away.

I came to a school.
I looked in through the window.
They were learning all about volcanoes
And drawing birds and singing.

I went inside.
My footsteps echoed in the hall
I pushed the door and faces turned towards me
but the teacher didn't smile.
She said, there is no room for you,
you see, there is no chair for you to sit on,
you have to go away.

And then I understood that war had got here too.

I turned around and went back to the hut, the corner and the blanket
and crawled inside.
It seemed that war had taken all the world and all the people in it.

The door banged.
I thought it was the wind.
But a child's voice spoke
"I brought you this," she said "so you can come to school."
It was a chair. A chair for me to sit on and learn about volcanoes, frogs and singing
And drive the war out of my heart.

She smiled and said "My friends have brought theirs too, so all the children here can come to school"

Out of every hut a child came and we walked together,
on a road all lined with chairs.
Pushing back the war with every step.

When Jackie Morris read this poem by Nicola Davies she was immediately inspired to paint this beautiful, hauntingly sad picture of the chair that wasn't available to a refugee child who had already lost everything. Illustration: Jackie Morris

Jackie's beautiful illustration of a sad empty chair has prompted a Twitter campaign #3000chairs where illustrators, artists and ANYONE who wants to join in is invited to draw/paint/sketch an empty chair and post it on Twitter using #3000chairs. Use the hashtag to see the hundreds that have already been posted - and look out on the Guardian children's books site for a gallery of empty chair highlights soon.

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The Day the War Came - a poem about unaccompanied child refugees

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A few weeks ago I heard a story about a child turning up at a school near a refugee camp and being turned away because there was no chair for her. She came back the next day with a broken chair and asked again.

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MASIRAH: Turtles are one of the oldest marine animals in the world. The Sultanate has five of the seven species found in the world, four of which nest on the shores of the Sultanate. They are the Green Turtle, Loggerhead Turtle, Hawksbill Turtle, and the Olive Turtle. The Leatherback Turtle cruises the Sultanate's beaches searching for food only. Turtles are an important factor in the marine biological balance. They provide nutrients to the beaches through nests and eggs. Small turtles trapped on the shore are a cultural treasure of the Omani environment and a source of attraction for tourists and lovers of the marine environment.

The national interest in turtles and their numbering began in 1977 on the Masirah Island in order to know the spread and distribution of turtles in the sea, determining the migration and nesting lines, in addition to identifying the rate of growth and number of laying eggs in each season. There are ongoing patrols to monitor the site of turtles and the conservation of nesting beaches, in addition to awareness and education campaigns for their importance in various governorates of the Sultanate.

Among the turtle nesting on Masirah Island is the Loggerhead Turtle. They are more than 30,000 turtles. They are different from other turtles by having bigger head. They live in coral reefs and feed on shellfish, oysters, crabs and sea urchins. They lay about 125 eggs at a time.

The Olive Turtle is the smallest species of sea turtle and it is the smallest species of turtle nesting in the Sultanate. The number is estimated at 150 to 200 turtles nesting on Masirah Island and laying about 190 eggs at a time.

The Hawksbill Turtle is nesting densely in the reserve of Al Dimaniyat Islands. Their numbers are estimated at about 500 turtles in the lesser Al Dimaniyat archipelago. They nest in smaller numbers on the Masirah Island. The Hawksbill Turtle lays about 132 eggs at a time.

The Green Turtle, which nests in large numbers on most Omani beaches, estimated to number more than 20,000 turtles per year. It is the largest in the western Indian Ocean region. Ras Al Jinz in Ras Al Hadd Turtle Reserve, is the largest turtle nesting site in the world. The green turtle puts 132 eggs at a time. Finally, the Leatherback Turtle, which does not nest on the Omani coast, is present at sea for feeding and is usually found in Oman either dead on the beach or caught by fishing nets. - ONA

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The house of turtles! Sultanate has 5 of the 7 turtle species

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MASIRAH: Turtles are one of the oldest marine animals in the world. The Sultanate has five of the seven species found in the world, four of which nest...

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Oman remains to be a great destination for sea turtles experience

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Every year, a large number of turtles come to the beaches of the Arab Peninsula to lay their eggs. The peak season for turtle migration in Oman is…

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Some sea turtle species migrate thousand of miles. Learn more about the migration of sea turtles.

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The State of the World's Sea Turtles | SWOT

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Sea turtles have survived on Earth for more than 100 million years, yet today their future hangs in the balance. In this comprehensive, expert-written guide, we cover everything you need to know about sea turtles. Most importantly, you'll also learn all about sea turtle conservation issues and how you can help save sea turtles. From fun facts to the latest science, conservation issues, and frequently asked questions, we've got you covered!

To help you find what you're looking for, here is a complete list of topics that we cover on this page. In each section, you'll find links to reputable content for further reading.
Jump to topics covered on this page:
This page is updated regularly with new information. Let us know if we missed anything!

Sea Turtle Species

There are seven species of sea turtles found worldwide today. Six of them are hardshell species belonging to the family Cheloniidae:

Perhaps the most iconic sea turtle species (e.g. Crush in Finding Nemo), the green turtle also has the most numerous and widespread nesting sites of the seven species. Green turtles are found throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world and in all major ocean basins. They are often found among coral reefs and in other shallow water habitats, including among seagrasses, which are a key component of their diet. Green turtles are also found basking on beaches in Hawaii (where they are known as honu), and in a few other locations like the Galápagos Islands. Green turtles were once extensively hunted for their body fat, a key ingredient in the once popular delicacy 'turtle soup.' Although it has become illegal to hunt sea turtles in most parts of the world, green turtles and their eggs continue to be consumed. Learn more about green sea turtles .

Loggerhead turtles are named for their large heads, with jaws powerful enough to crush an adult queen conch and other mollusks and crustaceans that make up a key component of their diet. Like some other sea turtle species, loggerheads are famed for their vast migrations . They are found worldwide, with major nesting areas in the southeast U.S., Brazil, the Mediterranean Sea, Cabo Verde, South Africa, the Middle East, Japan, and Australia. As a species that may travel thousands of miles across ocean basins, loggerheads are exposed to a wide range of threats including pollution, habitat loss, and incidental capture by fishermen. Learn more about loggerhead sea turtles .

Olive ridleys are the most abundant sea turtle species and yet also one of the smallest, second only to the closely related Kemp's ridley. They are also widespread, and are found nesting on every continent and many islands across the globe. But don't mistake the olive ridley's wide range for ordinariness! These unique animals are also responsible for one of nature's greatest spectacles, called an arribada, Spanish for 'arrival,' during which thousands of olive ridleys come ashore simultaneously to nest. It is still a mystery as to how or why the turtles synchronize, though it's hypothesized that the mass nesting overwhelms predators and allows more baby turtles to make it to the ocean. Olive ridleys are increasingly threatened by trawling and coastal development throughout their range. Learn more about olive ridley sea turtles.

The only endemic sea turtle species, flatback turtles nest solely along the northern coast of Australia and inhabit the continental shelf between Australia, southern Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. Until the late 1980s, the flatback was thought to be a subspecies of the green turtle. Now we know that flatbacks are in fact one of the most unique hardshell sea turtle species, sporting distinct features like a flattened carapace with winged edges made up of thinner, more delicate scutes. Learn more about flatbacks.

The seventh sea turtle species is the sole member of the unique family Dermochelyidae:

The leatherback turtle's branch on the evolutionary tree split from the other species of turtles about 100 million years ago. They have since evolved a variety of unique characteristics that set them apart, including a soft, flexible shell that is covered in a layer of leathery skin, a lack of scales, the ability to regulate their body temperatures, and their enormous size. The largest of the sea turtles, leatherbacks can reach more than 1.8 meters (6 feet) in length and weigh more than 640 kg (1,410 lbs). During their spectacularly long migrations , leatherbacks regularly dive to depths greater than 1,000 meters (3,281 feet) in search of gelatinous zooplankton (aka jellyfish) to eat. Leatherbacks are rapidly declining in some areas of the world as a result of fishing , habitat loss and degradation, egg consumption, and pollution. Learn more about leatherback turtles .

Sea Turtle Life Cycle

Adult turtles

Male and female sea turtles will make migrations , sometimes thousands of miles, from their feeding habitats to their natal beaches, usually close to or on the beach from which they hatched. Upon arrival, turtles will congregate in coastal waters and mate with multiple partners.

After a few weeks of mating, female turtles emerge onto the nesting beaches to lay between 50 and 150 eggs, a process that they will usually repeat between 3 and 7 times during the season at intervals of 1-2 weeks, though the exact number of times depends on the species, population, and individual turtle.

Male turtles, once they have mated with as many females as they can and are unable to find any more mates, return to their feeding grounds, leaving the females to continue laying their final clutches of eggs.

The migration back to the feeding grounds can take months, and female turtles, especially, must replenish all of the energy they expended while nesting and migrating. They will spend up to three years feeding and restocking their fat and energy reserves before they return to nest again.

Hatchling turtles

Sea turtle eggs incubate in the nest chamber beneath the sand for 6 to 8 weeks. Sea turtles do not tend to their nests or eggs; eggs are left to incubate on their own in the sand. Once the embryos fully develop, the baby sea turtles will break through their eggshells and, as a group, dig their way up to the surface. This process can take a few days.

The hatchlings usually fully emerge from the nest en masse at night when they can better avoid detection by predators, and crawl rapidly to the sea. Once they make it to the water, the hatchlings enter a multi-day "frenzy state" in which they swim constantly to deeper offshore waters using the energy left over from their yolk.

After the frenzy state wears off, hatchlings float passively with ocean currents that take them to open-ocean habitats where they will live amid flotsam such as sargassum seaweed mats, driftwood, and other debris (increasingly including ocean plastic pollution ). During this stage, which can last anywhere between a few years and decades, the small turtles will have an omnivorous diet.

Once they have grown large enough to better avoid predators, juvenile turtles will join adult turtles in food-dense coastal waters. After they have reached full maturity, which can take a few years to decades, the adult turtles will make their first migration to their breeding/nesting areas.

Sea turtles must grow up on their own, without any parental care. They are guided entirely by their instincts.

Distribution and Habitat

Leatherback Distribution and Habitat

Leatherbacks are considered the widest ranging sea turtle species , because they regularly cross entire ocean basins to feed or nest and have logged the longest migration of any sea turtle . They are unique from other species for their ability to inhabit waters as cold as 7.5º C (45.5 ºF), for example off of Canada and Greenland. At the same time, they nest on beaches in the tropics and subtropics like most other sea turtles. (West Africa) and (Caribbean) are home to the largest populations of nesting leatherbacks today.

Green Turtle Distribution and Habitat

Green turtles are a widely distributed and highly migratory species that nests on every continent besides Antarctica and, excluding the Arctic, can be found in every ocean basin as well as in the Mediterranean and Red Seas. They generally stick to waters above 20º C (68º F) and seek calm seagrass beds for their feeding grounds. Here you can see a global map of green turtle nesting and in-water distribution .

Loggerhead Distribution and Habitat

Hawksbill Distribution and Habitat

Hawksbill turtles are globally distributed and their range, both nesting and migratory, is highly tropical. While hawksbills can be found in all of the ocean basins excluding the Arctic, they tend to make only short, coastal migrations between their nesting beaches and their coral reef foraging grounds.

Olive Ridley Distribution and Habitat

Olive ridleys nest on tropical beaches around the world and migrate into the waters of temperate regions. They are considered the most abundant sea turtles in the world and they come ashore simultaneously by the hundreds and thousands to nest in events called "arribadas", which means "arrival" in Spanish.

Kemp's Ridley Distribution and Habitat

Kemp's ridleys have the most restricted geographic range of all sea turtle species. They nest exclusively in Rancho Nuevo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and in Texas in the U.S. Their non-nesting range extends between the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean.

Flatback Distribution and Habitat

Flatbacks are the least studied of the sea turtles, but we do know that flatbacks spend their entire lives on the continental shelf north of Australia and nest only on the northern coast of Australia .

Taxonomy and Evolution

The seven sea turtle species that grace our oceans belong to a unique evolutionary lineage that dates back at least 110 million years. Sea turtles fall into two main subgroups: the unique family Dermochelyidae, which consists of a single species, the leatherback, and the family Cheloniidae, which comprises six species of hard-shelled sea turtles.

Ecology of Sea Turtles

The ecological importance of sea turtles is undeniable. Sea turtles are found in habitats from sandy beaches and shallow coastlines to the abyss, and they range in their oceanic movements from the tropics to polar waters. Sea turtles are a food source for marine, terrestrial, and airborne predators and even for some people. They are major consumers of sea life, and their lifestyles and waste products make them ecosystem engineers through their effects on coral reefs, seagrass pastures, sea bottom habitats, and possibly oceanographic forces. Their reproductive routines make sea turtles a dynamic link between land and sea, resulting in the transfer of vast amounts of energy and matter from the oceans to the nesting beaches that affect the ecology of terrestrial consumers from raccoons to soil microbes.

Sea turtles are important for healthy ecosystems

There are many ways that sea turtles are known to contribute to healthy ocean ecosystems (and likely many ways that are still unknown!). Some of the ways sea turtles are important to healthy ecosystems include:

Sea turtle predators

There are many predators of sea turtles that range throughout their life cycle. Even before hatching from the nest, sea turtle eggs are in danger of being dug up and predated by raccoons, foxes, dogs, wild pigs, crabs, and countless forms of microbes, insects, mites, and more. As hatchlings, sea turtles experience extreme predation both during their brief time on land as they make their way to the ocean, as well as once they enter the water. Once emerging from the nest, hatchlings must avoid birds like vultures, hawks, frigatebirds, and herons, as well as crabs, raccoons, dogs, and more. Once in the water, baby turtles are in danger of being eaten from both above, by birds, and below, by fish and sharks. It is estimated that only 1 in 1,000 eggs will produce an adult sea turtle .

Once a turtle meets adulthood, it has few natural predators. In the water, a turtle may face large sharks and, depending on the location of the nesting beach, nesting female turtles sometimes fall prey to Jaguars .

Sea turtle diet

Sea turtles' diets vary greatly by species.

During all life stages, leatherback turtles subsist entirely on gelatinous zooplankton, namely jellies and jelly-like organisms and as adults often dive to depths of up to 1,000 meters to pursue their prey.

Sea Turtle Physiology

Diving physiology

Sea turtles' flat, elongated shells and long, paddle-like flippers make them extremely hydrodynamic and highly effective swimmers and divers. In fact, turtles are some of the longest and deepest diving marine vertebrates, spending significantly more time beneath the water than at the surface. Leatherbacks, which are the deepest diving of the turtle species, routinely reach depths beyond 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) and have registered dives of up to five hours long. The deepest recorded dive by a leatherback was 4,409 feet (1,344 meters).

The ability to dive so deep and for such extended periods is largely thanks to sea turtles' unique oxygen management and storage adaptations. For example, sea turtle lungs are extremely large, which means that each breath they take provides a large volume of oxygen to use during shorter dives. During longer dives, turtles use oxygen that is stored in the hemoglobin found in their red blood cells and the myoglobin of their muscles. Sea turtles have unusually high levels of myoglobin and red blood cell counts, meaning that there is more oxygen available to sustain them during longer dives.

Turtles also have slower baseline metabolisms than warm-blooded animals, meaning that they require less oxygen for their normal body functions. In addition, they can further reduce their heart rates in preparation for long dives, thereby reducing the oxygen they use while diving.

In addition, sea turtles can withstand the extreme pressure they experience at depth because their shells have flexible connective tissue that allows them to compress slightly under pressure. Leatherbacks have even more unique physiology, detailed below.

Osmoregulation

Living in the ocean poses a variety of challenges to sea turtles, one of which is maintaining homeostasis in an environment that is three times saltier than their internal fluids. To maintain their internal salinity levels when consuming saltwater and salty food sources, they must constantly excrete excess salt. They achieve this thanks to specialized lachrymal salt glands located behind the eyes that secrete a sodium chloride solution.

Thermoregulation

In terms of temperature regulation, sea turtles are living oxymorons: thermoregulating ectotherms. Ectotherms are animals whose body temperature is the same as or similar to their surrounding environments, and they do not expend energy on maintaining a stable internal temperature. On the other hand, thermoregulating animals do maintain their body temperature regardless of the external temperatures.

While turtles do not have the same thermoregulating system as true endotherms, they can, to some extent, maintain their body temperature thanks to a few key adaptations.

One such adaptation is their large body size. Larger animals have a smaller surface area to volume ratio, meaning that they lose body heat from their skin at a slower rate than smaller animals. Turtles also have lots of adipose tissue, or brown fat insulating the core of their bodies, which allows them to retain a large amount of body heat.

Leatherback turtles, for example, are the largest species of turtle and also have the greatest amount of fatty tissue, which allows them to thermoregulate very effectively and thus occupy very cold water.

Navigation

Sea turtles are incredible navigators that can migrate thousands of miles from their feeding grounds and still find the same beach where they hatched, an ability that until recently was a . However, scientists now know that a turtle's incredible navigation capability is largely due to an internal magnetic compass that senses the sun and the Earth's magnetic fields. Each location has a signature magnetic "address" and a turtle imprints the address of the beach where they hatch so they can find it when they return, even decades later.

Temperature-dependent sex determination

The sex of a sea turtle is determined during the egg incubation process by the temperature of the sand. Warmer temperatures during incubation will produce more females and cooler sand temperatures will produce more males. More precisely, a nest that incubates at 27.7ºC or lower will produce male turtles and at 31ºC or higher will produce all females. Between these temperatures, both male and female turtles will hatch from the nest.

As temperatures increase due to climate change, researchers in some areas note that nests are producing higher proportions of female hatchlings, a conservation concern as populations become more and more skewed. For example, Raine Island, an important nesting beach for green turtles, is producing 90% female hatchlings .

The unique physiology of leatherback turtles

Evolutionarily, leatherbacks diverged from the other six species of sea turtles about 100 million years ago, which means they have developed a variety of unique characteristics that set them apart. For example, they are the largest sea turtle species, they have a soft, flexible shell that is covered in a layer of leathery skin, and they do not have scales.

A leatherback's homeothermic ability to regulate and maintain its internal body temperature independent of the external temperature sets it apart from other ectothermic reptiles. This ability is possible due to a combination of very unique adaptations. Their dark coloring attracts heat from the sun, which they can retain thanks to a thick adipose, or fat, layer and their large body size, which retains heat better than smaller animals that have a higher surface area-to-volume ratio. In addition, leatherbacks have a specialized blood circulation mechanism called countercurrent heat exchange in which warm blood is directed toward the extremities, warming the colder blood returning to the heart. All of these unique characteristics enable leatherbacks to inhabit colder waters than the other species of turtles.

In addition to a wider longitudinal range, leatherbacks are also able to dive deeper than any other sea turtles, regularly reaching depths beyond 1,000 meters. The evolutionary traits that make such depths accessible to leatherbacks include: large oxygen stores in their muscles and blood; a slowed heart rate that consumes less oxygen; collapsible lungs that prevent decompression sickness; and, a flexible shell that contracts under high pressure.

How You Can Help Sea Turtles

We live in a world of interconnectedness; the threats that endanger sea turtles and other marine species-fishery impacts, coastal development, poaching, pollution, and global warming-result from human behaviors that we all have the power to change. There are a variety of simple actions that you can take in your everyday life that will help turtles:

Choose sustainable seafood options to minimize fishery impacts. For U.S. residents, Seafood Watch provides helpful resources to identify sustainable seafood specific to your location.

To decrease your contribution to climate change consider reducing the electricity used in your home, changing the way you get around, and making sustainable food choices such as reducing meat consumption.

To reduce the effect of coastal development, when vacationing on a sea turtle nesting beach, confirm that your accommodations have taken steps to ensure the safety of nesting and hatching sea turtles. If you live near a sea turtle nesting beach, follow best practices to reduce light pollution and minimize other disturbances to nesting and hatching turtles.

The Cultural Significance of Sea Turtles

Sea turtles have held immense cultural significance in various human communities since the early days of humanity, as evidenced by the depictions of sea turtles that have been found in cave paintings throughout the , , Oceania, and Southeast Asia, as well as the current popularity of sea turtle photography , iconography, and even bumper stickers.

The cultural value of sea turtles has been especially significant in coastal communities and indigenous societies worldwide, and sea turtles have been revered by many cultures for centuries, serving as symbols of longevity, wisdom, and resilience. In some cultures, sea turtles are believed to be the earthly manifestations of spiritual beings, and their presence is associated with divine connections and protection. For example, in some Indigenous American cultures, the leatherback sea turtle is considered a symbol of creation and is often featured in origin myths . Similarly, in Hindu mythology, the turtle is associated with Lord Vishnu and the churning of the cosmic ocean , symbolizing the cycle of creation, preservation, and destruction.

In addition, sea turtles' role in maintaining healthy ecosystems, such as seagrass beds and coral reefs, has an impact on the livelihoods of coastal communities. And in recent decades, sea turtles have also been central to the development of sustainable ecotourism and conservation efforts in many areas. The conservation of sea turtles has become a cultural imperative in many societies, which recognize the immeasurable value of healthy sea turtle populations.

Learn more about the cultural significance of sea turtles in the following articles:

Sea Turtle Facts and FAQs

Sea turtles are remarkable animals. Even after many thousands of years of human-sea turtle coexistence and more than 60 years of modern sea turtle research, there are many things that we still do not know about sea turtles. In this section, we'll explore some of the many amazing facts about sea turtles and explore some frequently asked questions (FAQs) about sea turtles.

How many sea turtles are there?

Can sea turtles hear?

How do sea turtles navigate?

How long do sea turtles live?

Therefore, most longevity estimates have been conducted on captive sea turtles and suggest that turtles live between 30 and 80 years depending on the species. Learn more about how long sea turtles live .

What are the most endangered sea turtles?

Of the seven sea turtle species, Kemp's ridleys and hawksbills are listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, making them the most endangered sea turtle species. However, species-level classifications for sea turtles don't always paint an accurate picture, as some populations within a species may be increasing whereas others may be extremely threatened.

Therefore, the IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group has taken a finer-scale approach and evaluated the status of sea turtle populations. In 2012, the group named the 11 most threatened populations of sea turtles in the world:

1. East Atlantic Hawksbills

2. East Pacific Hawksbills

3. Northeast Indian Ocean Hawksbills

4. West Pacific Hawksbills

5. East Pacific Leatherbacks

6. Northeast Atlantic Loggerheads

7. Northeast Indian Ocean Loggerheads

8. North Pacific Loggerheads

9. Northeast Indian Ocean Olive ridleys

10. West Indian Ocean Olive ridleys

How many eggs does it take to make an adult sea turtle?

How can I tell a male sea turtle from a female sea turtle?

In adult turtles, determining the sex of an individual turtle is relatively easy - a male has a long tail that extends well beyond the carapace whereas a female has a short tail. With hatchlings and sub-adult turtles, it's not possible to determine their sex simply by looking at them; they are not sexually dimorphic, meaning that they do not have any external features to distinguish males from females.

Where do baby sea turtles go when they leave the beach?

Very little is known about sea turtles' lives from the time they depart their nesting beaches as hatchlings until they return to shallower coastal waters years later as larger "teenage" turtles. In fact, so little was historically known about this period in sea turtles' lives that it has been dubbed the "lost years."

Today, newer, smaller satellite tags are becoming available that allow researchers to track younger turtles for longer distances. As more turtles are tagged in more regions and more oceans, we are finding that we can't assume that baby turtles in different areas are behaving in the same way.

The answer to where baby sea turtles go depends on where in the world the question is asked. What we do know is: (a) that little sea turtles are surface-dwelling oceanic creatures that actively orient and actively swim and (b) that we have a long way to go until we fully understand the sea turtle's lost years.

Still have a sea turtle question?

Let us know if we missed something!

More Reading & Resources

We've tried to cover every possible topic in this guide to sea turtles, but we have only scratched the surface of available information about each one. We've linked out to high-quality sources of additional information throughout the guide and we encourage you to click those and explore them in greater depth. In addition, here are a few resources for more learning about sea turtles:

Sea Turtle Species - An overview of the seven sea turtle species, with detailed information, photos, facts, and maps for each species.

Sea Turtle Life Cycle - A detailed look at the life cycle of sea turtles with an illustrated life cycle diagram.

Threats to Sea Turtles - Learn about the threats that endanger sea turtles.

Sea Turtles and Plastic Pollution - An educational video and guide to the impacts of plastic on sea turtles

How You Can Help Save Sea Turtles - Learn about ways that you can help save sea turtles every day.

Articles from The State of the World's Sea Turtles Reports - Dozens of free articles written annually by global experts in sea turtle biology and conservation since 2006.

The State of the World's Sea Turtles (SWOT) Report - Our free annual magazine with up-to-date articles, maps, and information about sea turtle biology and conservation.

Interactive Online Sea Turtle Map and Database - Our comprehensive interactive map of sea turtle nesting, satellite tracking, genetics, and more, featuring data contributed by hundreds of partners worldwide.

Static Maps of Sea Turtle Nesting, Migrations, Distribution, and More - View and download maps of sea turtle biogeography that have been created for and published in past volumes of SWOT Report.

Directory of Sea Turtle Research and Conservation Projects - Discover sea turtle research and conservation programs worldwide, find sea turtle volunteer opportunities, sea turtle tourism programs and more as you explore The Sea Turtle Directory, our global interactive map of sea turtle research and conservation projects.

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