Makran (مکران) (pronounced [mæk'rɑːn]) is a semi-desert coastal strip in Balochistan, in Pakistan and Iran, along the coast of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. The name Makran derives from Maka, borne by an overlapping satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire. Another, older derivation is from the Makar, or sea dragon, after the humpback whales or whale sharks that abound in the north Arabian Sea.