Living on land, we often dream of going to the sea. For some, this is a dream, but someone sees the sea every day and may not even swim in it during the summer. About 60% of the world's people live twenty minutes from the shores of the sea or ocean.
Why are the seas so attractive? We like to watch the sun rise or set over the horizon in the sea waves. We can stand for a long time and look at the surf, calming and bewitching.
We dream of the sea, with little thought that on the Earth there are more than 60 seas. They, like all objects of our planet, are different. Large and small, salty and not very strong, surrounded around the coast or not at all.
Every sea is amazing. For example, not a single river flows into the Red Sea, and the cleanest is located off the coast of Antarctica and is called Weddell. But Azov is the smallest. The Caspian Sea is sometimes called a lake, because it does not belong to the basin of a single ocean, but is a closed land reservoir in Russia. But Baikal, on the contrary, is sometimes called the sea.
I would like to consider the sea and take as a criterion their area, depth and location. We will take our virtual journey along the largest and other amazing seas of the planet Earth.
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Sea of Okhotsk
The sea, which is part of the Pacific Ocean basin and washes the shores of two countries - Russia and Japan. The area of the Sea of Okhotsk is 160 thousand km². The sea got its name from the Okhota River, which flows into the sea near the city of Okhotsk. Evenki in the old days called the Lam Sea from the Even “sea”. But what is interesting, the name “Okhotsk” is not connected with hunting, but comes from the word “okat”, which in Even means “river”.
Previously, the sea was called Kamchatka, since it is Kamchatka that separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. The deepest place in the Sea of Okhotsk is the Kuril Basin (3,916 meters).
The Sea of Okhotsk is a special economic zone of two states. There is also a special area where fishing and shelf development are prohibited. The reason is that many valuable fish species spawn there: various species of salmon, chinook salmon, sockeye salmon, chum salmon.
The sea is pretty cool. The average water temperature in winter is from -1.8 to + 2.0 ° C, and in summer it warms up to + 18 ° C.
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Sea Skosh
The Skosha Sea, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, in the west connects through the Drake Strait to the Pacific Ocean. The area of this sea is almost 1,250,000 km². In the middle depths it is the deepest sea in the world. The greatest depth reaches 6,022 meters.
In 1932, the Scots on the ship "Scotia" equipped here a research expedition. On this ship and called the sea.
The sea is very turbulent. Permanent westerly winds contribute to frequent storms. Icebergs, which arise among the ices of the Skosha Sea, are also dangerous for ships. You can learn about the largest icebergs in history on TheBiggest in this article.
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South China Sea
The sea, as part of the Pacific and Indian Ocean, is a semi-enclosed sea and washes the shores of Asia and the islands of Oceania.
Relatively large in area (3,537,289 km²), this sea is one of the most saline on Earth. The salinity of the South China Sea is 32–34%.
The location of the sea also determined the structure of its bottom. It is mostly silt and sand off the coast of the Asian continent, coral off the coast of islands and reefs, and there is also a rocky bottom.
The warm southern sea undergoes a northern invasion every winter. Northern winds bring cold air, which significantly lowers the surface temperature of sea water.
In this calm sea, the main trade routes used by major countries of the world are laid.
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Bering Sea
In the North Pacific Ocean between Russia and the United States the Bering Sea is comfortably located. The Aleutian and Commander Islands are its southern coasts, albeit intermittent. But in the north, through the Bering Sea of the same name, it connects its waters with the Chukchi Sea.
The area of the Bering Sea is 2,315,000 km² and it is the largest sea in Russia. And the remoteness of the deepest point of the bottom from the surface of the water is 4,151 meters.
The sea belongs to the marginal category, separating the American and Asian continents. For a long time, the water area of the sea was the subject of a dispute between the USSR and the USA, and only in 1990 the dividing line agreement was signed. This line was named after the names of the foreign ministers of the two countries “the Shevarnadze-Baker line”.
The Bering Sea is covered almost all year round with ice, but its waters have been chosen by more than 240 species of fish and marine animals for their habitation.
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Mediterranean Sea
Probably the most famous sea in the history of mankind. It was from the Mediterranean Sea that the Phoenicians and Greeks began to explore the world.
The sea separates two continents - Eurasia and Africa and belongs to the basin of the Atlantic Ocean, connecting with the Strait of Gibraltar. It was here that the mythical Heracles pillars were located. The Greeks were afraid to go out into the open ocean and swam only along the coast. No other sea on the planet immediately washed three parts of the world.
The area of the Mediterranean Sea with all inland seas is 2,500,000 km². In the Central Basin, the largest sea depth is 5,121 meters.
Since ancient times, the Mediterranean Sea is mentioned in myths and legends, described in the works of Greek, Roman and Persian geographers. Three large islands of Sicily, Cyprus and Crete became centers of the origin of the most ancient civilizations on Earth. In Crete, the famous Knossos Palace with the labyrinth of the Minotaur is located.
For a long time on the maps of the world there were no exact outlines of the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Only at the end of the 19th century did Captain Gauthier finally explore the entire coast. On the basis of his drawings were made a clear outline of the coast.
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The Caribbean
The Caribbean is known to many thanks to Hollywood films. And indeed, in the Middle Ages it was a place of concentration of pirates. And now, adventurers are digging islands in search of pirate treasures. But the name of the sea received from the Indian tribe of the Caribbean, who lived on its shores.
The Caribbean is marginal, partially separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Greater and Lesser Antilles, and from the west it washes the shores of North and Central America. But with the Pacific Ocean, a man connected the sea, a breakthrough of the Panama Canal. There is an interesting article about the largest man-made channels of the planet on thebiggest.ru.
The Caribbean is 2,753,000 km². This is one of the deepest seas on Earth, its greatest depth is about 8 thousand meters.
The sea is striking in the variety of fish and animals that live in its depths and on the islands. Some representatives of flora and fauna are found only in this part of the world. In the Caribbean, 9% of the world's corals are concentrated.
Warm climate, exotic flora and comfortable beaches attract tourists from all over the world. On average, 18 million people visit the Caribbean annually. Travel agencies widely use the pirate theme in attracting tourists, as well as a variety of local cultural traditions.
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Weddell Sea
One of the most unique seas on the earth's surface. It is located in the southern Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Antarctica.
The area of this sea is 2 920 000 km ², the average depth of 3 thousand meters. Once every 22–25 years, large icebergs break off the southern coast of ice shelves and begin their journey along the waters of the southern outskirts of the Atlantic. The thickness of the drifting ice of the Weddell Sea is about 2 meters. Thanks to the climate, this sea is the most transparent in the world. The highest transparency was recorded in 1986 and amounted to 79 meters, which is almost identical to the transparency of distilled water.
Due to icebergs and ice compression, the sea is unsuitable for shipping. Research vessels only occasionally enter it. Whales and seals live in the depths, and penguins have chosen the rocky shores of the sea.
Do you know the difference between the Arctic and the Antarctic? If not, then you are here.
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Kara Sea
For justice, having considered the southernmost sea, it is necessary to write about the northernmost sea. The Kara Sea received its name in 1736, where under this name it was indicated on the maps of the Great Northern Expedition. The main version on behalf of the Kara river. Until the beginning of the XVIII century, the sea was called Nyarzomsky.
The Kara Sea is the marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean and is located in the northernmost latitudes of the planet. Relatively small in area (893,400 km²), the sea is the coldest sea in Russia. The average winter temperature near the sea surface is close to -1.8 ° C.
On the territory of the Kara Sea, the Great Arctic Reserve is located. The problem of the ecology of the sea is connected with the fact that it is being polluted by heavy metals, which the river Ob and Yenisei bring with them. In the Soviet period, it was in the Kara Sea that nuclear waste was buried.
The Kara Sea is distinguished by a rich ichthyofauna among all the northern seas. About 114 species of fish are found in the sea. The fauna is also widely represented. Seals, walruses, and polar bears have chosen the ice and water of the sea.
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Tasman Sea
Between Australia, New Zealand and the island of Tasmania, the Tasman Sea is conveniently located, part of the Pacific Ocean basin. Like the island of the same name, it was named after the Dutch navigator Abel Tasman.
The sea was thoroughly investigated by James Cook. It is limited by the coast of the islands and if we conditionally draw borders on the water, the sea area is 2,300,000 km². The sea is quite deep, in the Tasman Basin to the bottom of the water surface about 6 thousand meters.
The sea is relatively calm, but has large tides up to 5 meters. Another unique feature is that the Tasman Sea is located in three climatic zones. This circumstance contributes to the diversity of the animal world. Interestingly, the southern and northern extremities of the sea differ sharply in the composition of fish, algae and animals.
Tourists are attracted by the variety of shapes and beauty of coral reefs off the coast of Australia and New Zealand.
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Coral sea
Off the coast of Australia is another amazing and one of the deepest - the Coral Sea. In the south, it washes the shores of the smallest continent on Earth, and from the northeast it is bounded by New Guinea and New Caledonia.
The surface area of the sea is 4,791,000 km² and the maximum depth is 9,140 meters. The peculiarity of this sea is given by a large number of coral reefs and islands. On most islands there are no places of permanent residence of a person, and they are used only for research purposes.
The diverse underwater world has become the hallmark of the Coral Sea and attracts millions of tourists to this part of the Pacific Ocean.
The sea has its own record. The Great Barrier Reef located in the sea reaches 2.5 thousand km in length, and its area exceeds the size of Great Britain.
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Arabian Sea
The sea, surrounded by two peninsulas - the Arabian and Hindustan Peninsulas, is located in the northern Indian Ocean. This is the largest sea basin in the ocean and has an area of 3,862,000 km². The legendary Indus River flows into this sea.
At different times, the peoples inhabiting the coast of the sea called it differently: the Eritrean Sea, the Sindhu Sagar Sea, the Persian Sea. These names were also transmitted to Europeans, but in the end in the 19th century its modern name was fixed.
The directivity of the surface currents of the Arabian Sea is unique. In the summer they move east, in the winter in a westerly direction. This feature of the sea was noted by the first Spanish and Portuguese navigators, and used it effectively.
The sea is quite warm. Water surface temperature from + 22 ° C to + 27 ° C, heating to + 30 ° C is maximally recorded. The warm climate contributed to the species diversity of the inhabitants of the sea depths and vegetation.
The Arabian Sea is one of the most saline in the oceans. At a depth of more than 1,500 meters, its salinity is 35%.
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Philippine Sea
Defining the category of this sea, you can get confused, because it is oceanic, inter-island, and also coastal. In the latter category, it is the largest coastal sea in the world. Its area is 5 726 000 km². And it’s the deepest on the planet. In the Mariana Basin, the bottom of the earth’s surface is almost 11,000 km away.
The uniqueness of the sea is not only in its area and depth, but also in the behavior of the waters. So, between the sea and the Pacific Ocean due to currents, active water exchange occurs. Active vertical movement of water occurs in the sea. One of the strong currents of the North Passat is bifurcated in the area of the island of Taiwan, giving life to a new current, but already extending beyond the Philippines.
Despite the small variety of marine fauna, the sea is actively used by humans for whaling and fishing.
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Sargasso Sea
A coastless sea is the largest sea in the world. Scientists determine its area in more than 6,000,000 km². And it owes its name to the sargassum algae. The entire surface of the sea is covered with these plants, which distinguishes it from a number of other seas. Algae are held to the surface by gas bubbles. Such formations are very reminiscent of grapes, so the first Spaniards who reached these waters called these sargazo algae by the name of the small grape variety.
How to determine the size of the sea? In this, ocean currents help scientists and ordinary people. The border of the western part of the sea is warm in the west - the Gulf Stream, in the north the borders are defined by the North Atlantic Current, in the east the water of the sea carries the Canary Current, in the south the border is defined by the Northern Passat Current. The currents determine the area of the sea, changing, they either increase or decrease its size.
There is a negative factor by the sea. Currents drove into the sea not only the largest reserves of algae on earth, but also plastic. A garbage stain from plastic and other human waste is concentrated in the central part of the Sargasso Sea.
On the problem of pollution of the oceans by plastic, we strongly recommend that you look at a short article on our website. You will be very surprised how much people pollute our planet.
Finally
The sea can be affectionate, or, on the contrary, can bring death and destruction. The seas are unpredictable in their behavior, they have their own amazing, peculiar disposition. The seas live their own, special lives, they have both waterfalls and underwater currents. Mankind has not fully studied the ichthyofauna of the seas. Every year, new species of marine life open up.
We still know very little about the seas. These amazing objects of geography are able to keep their secrets and do not like aggressive and shameless interference in their lives. But man has learned, but for the most part, is still learning to live in harmony with the sea. And when it is possible to agree, the sea is happy to share its wealth with man and delights with gentle waves.
Article author: Valery Skiba