What are the sea names. Map of the seas of the Mediterranean Sea: islands, countries, seas, water

Speaking of the seas, it is necessary to cover the entire hydrosphere as a whole, because water is something without which life on Earth is not only impossible, it would not even have originated on our planet.

Where did the water come from?

Scientists have not yet come to an unambiguous opinion as to where water on Earth came from. But the most popular and realistic today is the hypothesis according to which an asteroid, which consisted entirely of ice, once fell to Earth. This version looks quite scientific, since in the distant past our planet was repeatedly hit by meteorites and asteroids. It is likely that some of them contained water in the form of ice or a snow-like substance.

Another group of scientists believe that at first the Earth itself looked like a cold meteorite. In the process of ice melting, as a result of increased solar activity and a change in the inclination of the earth's axis, seas and oceans began to appear. And since the Sun heats the planet unevenly, it began in nature.

But there are also those who believe that the Earth, on the contrary, was at first like a hot ball. Then, when the surface of the planet began to cool, water stood out from under the mantle like sweat. But all these theories still do not answer the question of how many seas there are on Earth.

Our planet is unique. It has the largest mass of all such, in addition, the only planet known to man on which there is life. It was formed more than 5 billion years ago, pulling the moon to itself, which became the first and only satellite. The seas and depend on the lunar cycle. This dependence is seen in the example

When asked how many seas there are on Earth, textbooks write a number from 76 to 83. There are even data that there are only 49, or even 100. If you think about it, this is a lot. But in comparison with the total amount of water on Earth, even with the amount of land - both 76 and 83 seas - it is negligible. The spread in numbers is obtained because everyone interprets this concept differently. Someone considers only the coastal part of the ocean to be seas. But in this case, what to do with the inland seas? And with the inter-island, everything becomes generally incomprehensible. In addition, many seas are now called bays. So the reservoir is called by no means according to hydrogeographical demarcation, but according to tradition. For example, everyone knows about the Caspian Sea, although this huge lake with salty bitter water is not a sea.

What are the types of seas?

• Interisland. They are often not included in the total number of seas, because they are located between the islands, and not in the coastal zone of the ocean. These include Javanese, New Guinea.

How many seas on the planet are called open? Not so much. These include Sargasso, Ionian, Tyrrhenian.

Is everything taken into account?

Such a classification, of course, helps to systematize the expanses of water, but complicates the answer to the question of how many seas there are on planet Earth. Scholars do not always agree with this division. As a result, outside the attention of researchers are either marginal or open seas, which, in fact, have no coasts. The most famous is the Sargasso Sea, which is entirely composed of algae.

garbage seas

At the moment, due to the general deterioration of the planet's ecology, the question is: "How many seas are there on Earth?" requires drastic revision. For example, scientists identify three more, however, they do not consist of water, but of garbage. So, in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, entire floating continents made of plastic and polyethylene roam. Decomposing under the influence of the sun and water, all this floating garbage releases the products of chemical reactions of plastic into the waters of the oceans.

They disappear!

But another problem is the disappearance of water resources. For example, the once huge Aral Lake has practically disappeared due to human activities. Due to the large water intake from the donor rivers, the Aral Lake ceased to flow. As a result, the fauna that inhabited this sea-lake almost completely disappeared.

All of the above shows that the answer to the question of how many seas there are on Earth has yet to be given.

Today there are 81 seas.

All seas are divided according to their location in the following directions: Atlantic, Pacific, inland seas and seas, with the Southern Ocean, the North and Indian Ocean.

Sea views

Seas are traditionally divided into four groups:
- interisland,
- semi closed
- marginal,
- internal.

Inland seas are "inside" the continents, but may be connected to the ocean or other adjacent sea. Such seas are subject to a great influence of the land, the water in them may have a variable level. These seas include: the Dead Sea, the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea.

Some scientists and researchers consider the coastal sea, and therefore they do not include inland seas, interisland seas in the general list.

The marginal seas are located on the edge of the land and have direct access to the ocean, but the semi-enclosed seas are fenced off by the mainland, but partially.

Interisland seas, based on the basis of their name, are located between different islets. The inter-island seas include the following: Fiji, the Java Sea and the New Guinea Sea.

Lack of seas

Compared to land and land in general, the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe seas on the planet is small. There are even seas of garbage, which, due to the large amount of waste, turn into a floating garbage dump that pollutes. Such seas of plastic and other waste have been observed in the waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

It is worth mentioning the disappearing seas. For example, the huge Aral Sea, due to the influence of human economic activity, began to disappear, the water seemed to evaporate. And all this happened due to water intake from other rivers, so fresh water stopped flowing into the Aral Sea. As a result, all the fauna that lived in this once vast sea simply disappeared, the climate of the area changed: where gardens previously bloomed and the breeze blew, today there are only desert dunes and skeletons of ships rotted from time to time. This terrible tragedy of the region, which has not gone unnoticed in the world. Attempts were made to sea artificially, but they were in vain. After more than half a century, it became obvious that only natural forces are able to restore the original balance of water and land, today the sea is slowly coming to life.

The issue of the ecological situation and the issue of the preservation of water resources is becoming more acute every year: scientists suggest that climate change and the active expansion of man into the natural elements will wipe out more than one sea from the face of the planet, and war between peoples is not far off, not for territory, but for fresh and salt water.

All the water in the world is called the oceans. The sea is part of the world's oceans, a huge salty reservoir, which is isolated by land or conditional elevations of the underwater relief. Each sea has its own climatic and hydrological regime, its own flora and fauna.

Sea classification

Modern science uses several classifications of the seas:

• By isolation. There are intercontinental and interisland, marginal and inland seas,
• By temperature. There are polar, temperate and tropical,
• By salinity. The seas are divided into weakly and strongly saline,
• Indented coastline. Distinguish weakly and strongly indented coastline. This classification is very arbitrary, since some seas do not have a coastline at all, for example, Sargasso,
• On an oceanic basis. There are 4 oceans in the world - Pacific, Atlantic, Indian and Arctic (although recently many geographers have separately distinguished South ocean). Each sea is conventionally referred to as a basin of one of the oceans.

How many seas are there in the world?

So how many seas are there in the world? It is not easy to answer this question, since science has identified several classifications. Besides Caspian, Aral, Galilean, Dead many people know how the seas, but they are actually referred to as lakes. There are also some bays that would be more logical to refer to the seas. Small seas that are part of large ones, moreover, are often not taken into account. For example, Mediterranean Sea consists of 7 internal reservoirs, it is possible to cross from one reservoir to another on a ship without obstacles, but at the same time remain on the territory of the Mediterranean Sea.

In general, it is customary to count 94 seas on Earth. Of them

• Atlantic Ocean belongs to 32 seas, for example, Marmara, North, Aegean, Baltic.
• Pacific Ocean– 30 seas, such as the Yellow, Bering, Japanese, Okhotsk
• Basins of the Arctic Ocean belongs to 13 seas, such as the Kara, Barents, White, Chukchi
• South ocean also has 13 seas, for example, Cosmonauts, Ross, Lazarev. Indian Ocean - 6 seas, among them the Red is considered the largest.
• Indian Ocean- 6 seas, among them the Red is considered the largest.

Important! To date, the International Geographic Community has decided to distinguish 54 seas, while not taking into account bays and inland seas..

The Mediterranean Sea is considered the dirtiest, as at least 500 tons of various oil products enter it annually. Moreover, a great danger to the flora and fauna of the Mediterranean Sea is provided by plastic waste, which literally flooded the coastal areas.

The most dangerous sea is the Sea of ​​Marmara, which is located on the border of Asia and Europe and serves as a junction of the Aegean and Black Seas. The Sea of ​​Marmara is formed by a fault, subsequently filled with water, it sometimes has more than 1300 meters of depth. The danger is provided by frequent earthquakes and tsunamis. It is believed that this sea was disturbed by earthquakes at least 300 times.

Video

More than 70% of the Earth's surface is covered with water. This water is mainly enclosed in, as well as in many other reservoirs.

The sea is defined as a large object filled with and sometimes associated with . However, the sea does not have to be tied to the ocean, as there are inland or closed seas in the world, such as the Caspian Sea.

Since sea waters make up a significant part of it, it can be useful to know where the largest seas of our planet are located. This article provides a list, maps, photos and descriptions of the ten largest seas of the Earth, in descending order.

Sargasso Sea

Sargasso Sea on the map

According to some sources, the Sargasso Sea is considered the largest in the world. But unlike other seas, it does not wash land and does not have permanent borders and area (which varies from 4.0 to 8.5 million km²), so calling it the largest is rather controversial. The Sargasso Sea is located in the Atlantic Ocean and is limited by ocean currents: in the west by the Gulf Stream, in the north by the North Atlantic Current, in the east by the Canary Current, and in the south by the North Equatorial Current.

The Sargasso Sea was first mentioned by Christopher Columbus, who crossed it on his original voyage in 1492.

The sea reaches a depth of 1500-7000 m and is characterized by weak currents, low precipitation, high evaporation, light winds and warm salt water. These factors form a biological desert largely devoid of plankton, a staple food. The Sargasso Sea is distinguished from other parts of the Atlantic Ocean by its characteristic brown Sargassum algae. In addition, the water in the sea is transparent and visibility is maintained even at a depth of about 60 m.

Sargassum algae in the Sargasso Sea

This sea is home to an amazing variety of marine species. Turtles use algae to hide and feed their young. The Sargasso Sea also provides shrimp, crabs, fish and other marine species that are specially adapted to these floating algae. The sea is a spawning ground for endangered eels, as well as Atlantic white marlin, Atlantic herring shark and dolphins. migrate annually across the Sargasso Sea.

Philippine Sea

Philippine Sea on the map

The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea located northeast of the Philippine archipelago and in the western part of the North Pacific Ocean. It washes the Philippines and Taiwan in the west, Japan in the north, the Mariana Islands in the east, and the Palau archipelago in the south. The surface area is about 5.7 million km². The sea has a complex and varied underwater relief. The bottom was formed in the process of geological faults. A feature of the Philippine Sea is the presence, among which are the Philippine Trench and the Mariana Trench, which contains the deepest point on the planet. Numerous seamounts are located in the waters of the sea, and some of them are of volcanic origin.

Islands of the Palau archipelago in the Philippine Sea

Ferdinand Magellan was the first European to travel the Philippine Sea. This happened in 1521.

There is an exotic one in the Philippine Sea. In the waters of the sea there are about five hundred species of hard and soft corals, and 20% of well-known species. Here you can observe sea turtles, sharks, moray eels, and sea snakes, as well as numerous species of fish, including tuna. In addition, the Philippine Sea serves as a spawning ground for Japanese eel, tuna, and various species.

coral sea

Coral Sea on the map

The Coral Sea is a marginal sea located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. In the east it washes the coast of Australia and New Guinea, in the west - New Caledonia, and in the south - the Solomon Islands. This sea has a length of about 2250 km from north to south and covers an area of ​​4.8 million km². In the south, the Coral Sea merges with the Tasman Sea, in the north with the Solomon Sea and in the east with the Pacific Ocean; it is connected to the Arafura Sea to the west through the Torres Strait.

The sea was named for its many coral formations that formed the sea, stretching for 1900 km along the northeast coast of Australia. The sea has and is prone to typhoons, especially from January to April.

Bird's eye view of the Coral Sea reefs

The sea is home to many living organisms including anemones, worms, gastropods, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp and crabs. Red algae color many coral reefs purple-red, and green algae Halimeda, found throughout the Coral Sea.

In the northern part there are coastal plants, consisting of only 30-40 species, and. About 400 species of coral species live in the reefs, and there are also more than 1,500 species of fish. Five hundred species of seaweed precipitate corals, creating mini-ecosystems on their surface, comparable to a cover. The coral sea has also become home to a large number of fish species, and.

Arabian Sea

Arabian Sea on the map

The Arabian Sea is a marginal sea located in the northwestern part of the Indian Ocean. Its total area is about 3.86 million km². This sea is part of the main sea route between and India. It is bounded on the west by the Somali and Arabian Peninsulas, on the north by Iran and Pakistan, on the east by India, and on the south by the rest of the Indian Ocean. In the north, the Gulf of Oman connects the sea to the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz. In the west, the Gulf of Aden connects it to the Red Sea through the Bab el-Mandeb. The Arabian Sea has an average depth of 2734 m, with a maximum depth of 5803 m.

Island in the Arabian Sea

The sea is dominated by a monsoonal climate. During the rainy season, which occurs from April to November, the salinity of the water is less than 35‰, and during the dry season (November to March) it is over 36‰.

Vast deposits of oil and natural gas have been discovered in the Arabian Sea.

A large number of organisms live in the sea, but this is a periodic phenomenon in the Arabian Sea. This phenomenon is explained by the subsurface layer of water of tropical origin, which is poorly enriched in oxygen, but rich in phosphates. Under certain conditions, this layer comes to the surface, which leads to the death of fish due to lack of oxygen.

South China Sea

South China Sea on the map

The South China Sea is a marginal sea in the western Pacific Ocean, it washes the mainland of the Southeast. The sea is bounded in the northeast by the Taiwan Strait; in the east - the islands of Taiwan and the Philippines; in the southeast and south - Kalimantan, the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia; and in the west and north - Asia. The South China Sea covers an area of ​​about 3.69 million km², with an average depth of 1212 m and a maximum depth of 5016 m.

The climate in the sea is tropical and is largely shaped by the monsoons. The monsoons control the currents as well as the exchange of water between the South China Sea and adjacent bodies of water.

Landscape of the South China Sea

Large deposits of oil and natural gas have been discovered in the South China Sea. This sea provides some of the world's most important shipping lanes. As a rule, oil and minerals are concentrated in the north, while marine food and manufactured goods are concentrated in the south. Some areas in the central South China Sea are still poorly understood.

The shallow water marine life and flora of the Caribbean are centered around submerged fringed coral reefs that support a variety of fish and other marine life.

Tourism is an important part of the Caribbean economy, serving primarily the United States and Canada in the north, and Brazil and Argentina in the south. With a typically sunny climate and recreational resources, the Caribbean has become one of the world's major winter resorts.

Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea on the map

The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to Asia in the east, and separates Europe from. This sea has an area of ​​2.5 million km² and a coastline of about 46 thousand km, and is considered the largest inland sea on Earth. The Mediterranean Sea has an average depth of 1,500 m, and the deepest point recorded is 5,267 m, in the Ionian Sea. The Mediterranean Basin contains some of the most fertile, beautiful and therefore most desirable land on the planet. Typical is characterized by hot, humid and dry summers and mild, rainy winters. is one of the most populated and developed regions in the world. However, it is also one of the least protected regions in the world.

Great view of the Mediterranean Sea

This sea contains significant reserves of oil and natural gas. While Mediterranean oil and natural gas production is only a small part of the world's production, a significant part of the world's total oil refining takes place in the Mediterranean region. In addition, petroleum products are produced for domestic consumption and export.

The Mediterranean is stable due to the strong closed nature of the currents, which favorably affects even the smallest macroscopic organisms. The stable Mediterranean Sea and water temperatures provide a breeding ground for life at depth that allows organisms to thrive while maintaining a balanced aquatic ecosystem. The Mediterranean Sea has a rich variety of marine biota. Almost one third (about 12 thousand) species are endemic.

Commercial fishing is of great economic importance for the region. There is a strong demand for fish and seafood, and the total catch for consumption in Mediterranean countries - both inside and outside the region - is a significant proportion of the world catch.

tasman sea

Tasman Sea on the map

the Tasman Sea is a marginal sea located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, between the southeastern coast of Australia and Tasmania in the west, and New Zealand in the east; it merges with the Coral Sea in the north, and covers an area of ​​​​about 2.3 million km². The maximum depth exceeding 5200 m was recorded in the East Australian Basin.

The sea was named after the Dutch navigator Abel Tasman, who sailed across it in 1642.

Paradise Island in the Caribbean

The South Equatorial Current and prevailing winds feed the East Australian Current, which is dominant along the coast of Australia. From July to December, its effect is minimal, and colder waters from the south can penetrate far north. Lord Howe Island, located on this parallel, is the most southerly development of the modern coral reef. To the east, the water circulation is controlled by the current from the western Pacific Ocean from January to June and by colder subantarctic water moving north through the Cook Strait from July to December. These different currents tend to make the climate temperate in the south of the Tasman Sea and subtropical in the north.

The sea is traversed by shipping lanes between New Zealand and southeast Australia and Tasmania, and its economic resources include fishing and oil fields in the Gippsland Basin in eastern Bass Strait.

About 90% of the marine life of the Tasman Sea is found nowhere else, as it is the meeting point of three ocean currents. It serves as a habitat for a huge number of species; from microscopic life forms to a giant squid capable of forming rings the size of car tires.

Bering Sea

Bering Sea on the map

The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of ​​the Pacific Ocean. Covering an area of ​​more than 2 million km², the sea borders in the west on the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Russian Far East; in the south - with the Aleutian Islands; in the east - with Alaska.

The sea ends in the Bering Strait, located south of the Arctic Circle. This strait is a narrow sea passage between the easternmost point of the Asian continent (Russia) and the westernmost point (Alaska).

The sea (and the strait) are named after the Danish-born Russian sailor Vitus Bering, who first saw the land of Alaska while exploring the area with a Kamchatka expedition in the mid-18th century.

Stormy Bering Sea

Although the Bering Sea is located at the same latitude as Great Britain, its climate is much more severe. The southern and western parts are characterized by cool, rainy summers with frequent fogs and comparatively warm snowy winters. Winters are extreme in the northern and eastern parts, with temperatures ranging from -35° to -45° C and strong winds. Summers in the north and east are cool, with comparatively low precipitation. January and February are the coldest months, July and August are the warmest. Severe storms, caused by centers of low atmospheric pressure, sometimes penetrate the southern part of the sea.

It is believed that oil and gas fields exist under the shelf of the Bering Sea, and along the edge - Kamchatka. However, the amount of potential reserves is unknown.

There are more than 300 species of fish in the Bering Sea, including 50 species that are deep-sea. The most important among them are salmon, herring, cod, flounder, halibut and pollock. Fur seals and sea otters are found on the islands. Walruses, seals and sea lions live in the northern regions. Several species of whales, especially gray whales, migrate to the Bering Sea to feed during the summer. Intensive fishing has drastically reduced some of the most valuable fish species and this has resulted in greater exploitation of other species.

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The Mediterranean Sea connects to the Atlantic Ocean in the west through the Strait of Gibraltar. This closed sea is surrounded on all sides by land. The ancient Greeks called the Mediterranean Sea - the sea in the middle of the Earth. At that time, this name was fully justified, because all the ancient European and North African civilizations appeared in the basin of this sea. And it was the Mediterranean Sea that served as the main route for contacts between them.

Interesting fact: they say that the Mediterranean Sea is the remnants of its former greatness. Previously, in its place was the ancient ocean Tethys. It extended far to the east and was much wider. Today, apart from the Mediterranean Sea, only the drying Aral and Caspian Seas, as well as the Black, Azov and Marmara Seas remain from Tethys. The last three seas are included in the Mediterranean basin.

In addition, inside the Mediterranean Sea, the Alboran, Balearic, Ligurian, Tyrrhenian, Adriatic, Ionian, Aegean, Cretan, Libyan, Cypriot and Levantine seas are distinguished as separate seas.

Detailed physical map of the seas of the Mediterranean Sea in Russian. To enlarge, just click on the picture.

The currents of the Mediterranean Sea are not quite usual. Under the influence of high temperatures, a lot of water evaporates and, therefore, the consumption of fresh water prevails over its arrival. This, of course, leads to a decrease in the water level and it has to be drawn from the Atlantic Ocean and the Black Sea. Interestingly, at a depth in more saline layers, the reverse process occurs and salt water flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

In addition to the above factors, the currents of the Mediterranean Sea are mainly caused by wind processes. Their speed in the open parts of the sea is 0.5-1.0 km/h, in the straits it can rise up to 2-4 km/h. (For comparison, the Gulf Stream moves to the North at a speed of 6–10 km/h.).

The tides are usually less than one meter, but there are places where, together with wind surges, it can reach up to four meters (for example, the northern coast of the island of Corsica or the Strait of Genoa). In narrow straits (Strait of Messina), tides can cause strong currents. In winter, waves reach their maximum and the height of the waves can reach 6-8 m.

The water of the Mediterranean Sea has an intense blue color and a relative transparency of 50-60 m. It belongs to the saltiest and warmest seas in the world. In summer, the water temperature varies from 19 to 25 degrees, while in the east it can reach 27-3°C. In winter, the average water temperature drops from north to south and varies between 8-17°C in the east and in the central part of the sea. At the same time, in the west, the temperature regime is more stable and the temperature is kept within 11-15°C.

There are many large and not very large islands in the Mediterranean Sea, and almost every one of them is an attraction for many tourists. To name just a few of them:

Majorca and Ibiza in Spain, Sardinia and Sicily in Italy, Corfu, Crete and Rhodes in Greece, Corsica in France, as well as Cyprus and Malta.