All existing seas. How many seas are there on earth?

The oceans and seas of the Earth are the theme of our story. The world's oceans are divided into large parts - oceans: Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic. Previously, they also added Southern Ocean, located around Antarctica, but scientists have now divided these waters between three other oceans. It was too inconvenient to look for the border beyond which the Southern Ocean ended and others began!

Oceans and seas of the Earth - boundaries

In fact, the remaining oceans can be separated from each other at least by a map. The Pacific Ocean is connected to the Arctic Ocean only by a narrow Strait, the Bering Strait, along which the border passes. It's a little wider Pacific Ocean with the Atlantic - along the Strait of Magellan and the Drake Passage, but it is also clearly visible.

The Indian Ocean is not so lucky; its natural “fence” from its neighbors is only in the east, and even then it is not complete: it passes through the islands of Indonesia, Australia, and already south of the island Tasmania has nothing at all. Therefore, we had to draw a conventional line from Tasmania south to Antarctica itself. The same conventional line runs from the southern edge of Africa and separates the Indian Ocean from the Atlantic.

And here is the border Atlantic Ocean with the Arctic is clearly visible, but not immediately and not on every map. Only on the one where different shades of blue and light blue are indicated depths of the sea, - the lighter, the smaller.

A light strip of shallow depths runs from Norway to the Faroe Islands (just north of Great Britain), then to Iceland and to the covered ice cap the largest island in the world - Greenland.

Further, the boundary of the oceans does not pass across the strait, as usual, but along it - this is the Hudson Strait between the Canadian coast and Baffin Island. The Great Hudson Bay is considered part of the Atlantic, and all waters to the north are considered to be the Arctic Ocean.

Oceans and seas of the Earth - the size of the oceans

Most big ocean- Quiet. Previously, it was also called the Great, and this is not surprising: it occupies almost the same area - 180 million km - as all the other oceans together! Such a huge territory could accommodate all the continents and islands, and there would be quite a lot left free space. This same ocean is also the deepest, because its average depth is neither more nor less - 4280 m.

The smallest and shallowest ocean is the Arctic Ocean. It fully lives up to its name - in winter almost its entire surface is covered with ice. In summer, the boundary of the ice fields moves closer to the pole, and a strip of relatively clean water, along which ships can pass. Passing across the entire ocean, across the pole, is only possible under water (more precisely, under ice) or on the most powerful icebreakers - nuclear ones.

Oceans and seas of the Earth - how much water

The oceans share almost all the world's water. After all, most rivers flow into the sea - independently or by joining a more powerful flow. Thus, Siberian rivers flow into the North Seas Arctic Ocean, European - to the Atlantic. The part of the continent from which an ocean is replenished with water is called the drainage zone of that ocean by scientists.

Caspian Sea

There are, however, also places that do not want to share moisture with others - drainless zones that have no communication with the oceans. For example, the Caspian Sea - the world's largest lake - in prehistoric times connected with the World Ocean, but then lost this connection, separated and now “uses” the Volga and many other rivers alone.

In general, the Caspian is the strangest of seas. Or is it from the lakes? According to strict geographical rules, the sea is a part of the ocean that is separated from it by land or underwater elevations - shallows, ridges, chains of islands. Each sea differs in some way from its neighbors - for example, in temperature or salinity of water, but is also similar to them. After all, they are relatives, they came from the same ocean. What about the Caspian?

The water in it is sea water: it is just as salty, and its composition is similar to that of the ocean. In ordinary salt lakes there may be the same substances, but only in different ratios: some more, and some not at all. The Caspian Sea has retained the composition that it inherited from its father, the ocean. But which ocean exactly did it separate from?

If you look at the map, everything is almost clear: the Black Sea is nearby, very close to it, and there is a suitable depression on land - the Kumo-Manychskaya. Many scientists believe that it was at this place that there once was a strait. This means that the Caspian is a descendant of the Atlantic, isn’t it?

“Not like that!” - said other scientists. If the Caspian Sea had simply separated from the Black Sea, then the same fish and other animals would have been found in them. But it turns out just the opposite: in the Black Sea there are dolphins, but in the Caspian there are no dolphins, but there are seals.

Atlantic fish such as sardines and mullet are caught in the Black Sea, but almost none sturgeon fish, for which the Caspian Sea is famous. But there are a lot of sturgeon in Siberian rivers... On the other hand, there are still fish common to both seas...

History of the Earth's seas

Several million years ago, neither the Caspian nor the Black Seas existed, but there was a huge Sarmatian Sea, larger than the current Mediterranean. Of course, no one called him that in those days - simply because there was no one to call him. The man has not yet appeared. But these days scientists have given this sea is the name of one of the ancient peoples. And they found out that sea ​​waves could walk in the open space from the Aral Sea to modern Hungary and Austria. The Caucasus and Crimean mountains were then a long chain big islands, and the Carpathians were a peninsula, slightly reminiscent of Italy in shape.

This sea was not very salty: many rivers flowed into it, and straits to other seas appeared and disappeared in different eras. Living creatures have adapted to brackish water and frequent visits to rivers, but the inhabitants of the ocean did not penetrate into the Sarmatian Sea. However, over time, the land began to gradually rise - mainly in the Caucasus and the Balkan Peninsula.

Gradually, two large depressions, or basins, as they are also called, formed - the Black Sea and the Caspian-Aral. They either connected with each other and with the Mediterranean Sea, then separated again. And then the great glaciation began: the climate became colder and a huge glacier advanced from the north, covering almost half of Eurasia. All of Siberia and northern Europe were under a kilometer-thick layer of ice...

Not all animals of the Sarmatian Sea adapted to the cold; many species became extinct. But warming came, the glacier melted, retreated to the north, new hills, rivers and lakes formed... and the level of the World Ocean rose. The Black Sea finally received a permanent connection with the Mediterranean, and the Caspian and Aral were separated.

But in parting, the glacier gave these seas an interesting “gift”, Through the rivers and lakes formed during the melting ice mountains, they included some animals that previously lived in the Arctic Ocean basin. It is believed that it was then that seals and some species of fish, such as salmon, appeared in the Caspian Sea.

Therefore, geographers consider the Caspian Sea to be huge salt lake, but biologists rightfully call it the sea. The Caspian is unique nature education, the living heir of the Ancient World.

Oceans and seas of the Earth - Black Sea

The Black Sea is also very interesting. Despite almost the same area as the Caspian or Baltic seas, its volume is much larger - 6 and 12.5 times, respectively! The great depth has an effect - with the exception of the shallow northern part, the seabed drops quite sharply; a dozen or two kilometers from the coast you can already find depths of over a kilometer.

The average depth of the Black Sea is 400 m, the largest is 2211 m. However, only 1/6 of the volume and a quarter of the bottom area of ​​this sea is accessible to ordinary marine inhabitants.

The fact is that below 150-200 m in the Black Sea the “death zone” begins. There are only some bacteria that do not need oxygen. The culprit is hydrogen sulfide gas, dissolved in sea water and poisonous to ordinary marine inhabitants. In other seas it is also sometimes found, but in much smaller quantities, most often in small depressions. But the Black Sea is unlucky: the water hardly mixes.

Salt water is heavier than fresh water, and large, powerful rivers flow into the Black Sea: Danube, Dnieper, Don... There is so much fresh river water that it does not have time to evaporate. The Bosphorus Strait, through which the Black Sea basin is connected with all the oceans, is narrow and rather shallow, along its surface there is powerful current- it is almost half desalinated (compared to ocean) water that flows into the Sea of ​​Marmara and the Mediterranean.

If it weren’t for the countercurrent along the bottom of the Bosphorus, which arises due to different densities of water in the neighboring seas, vacationers on the beaches of Sochi would swim in fresh water, perhaps a little salty to the taste.

Such a stagnant system also has one more drawback, which is very significant for sea life. Rivers carry a lot nutrients, but most of them settle to the bottom. In other seas, the mixing of water and the movement of marine inhabitants gradually returns these substances to the upper, most convenient layers for life, but in the Black Sea everything remains at the bottom.

Oceans and seas of the Earth - the Sea of ​​Azov

The small Sea of ​​Azov, connected to the Black Sea, is in many ways reminiscent of its large neighbor. Its water also has little salt; it is also connected to the rest of the ocean by a narrow strait - the Kerch Strait, even shallower than the Bosporus.

True, live Sea of ​​Azov much easier. Firstly, it evaporates excess water in the salty lake Sivash, which is shallow and well heated in summer months. Secondly, there is no such deep basin. There are no great depths at all.

The Sea of ​​Azov is the shallowest on the planet. Its average depth is only 8 m, 50 times less than that of the Black Sea, and the greatest depth is 15 m. Living conditions are much better, and some Black Sea fish, such as herring and anchovy, constantly come here to leave offspring and feed. For the winter they return to the Black Sea - they get away from the ice.

However, shallow depth also has its drawbacks: in the summer the sea begins to literally suffocate. Shallow waters warm up quickly, and in warm water Less oxygen dissolves. At the same time, algae and various microorganisms that absorb oxygen also rapidly develop - the sea “blooms”. Such “blooming” does not bring joy to anyone; it is a big disaster for fish and other inhabitants. Only a storm can save them, which will mix the water almost to the very bottom, cool it and fill it with oxygen.

That is, each sea has its own characteristics, problems, advantages and disadvantages.

How is the sea different from the ocean?

This is what distinguishes each sea from the rest of the body of water. According to the definition of geographers, the sea is a part of the World Ocean, separated from it by land or underwater elevations, different from open ocean its climatic (weather), water (hydrological, as scientists say) and other features.

The more closed the sea is, fenced off from the rest of the ocean, the more features there are. Usually there are internal seas (such as the Black, Azov, Mediterranean, surrounded on all sides by land), marginal seas (adjacent to the land with one or two shores, like most seas of the Arctic Ocean) and interisland seas (separated from the ocean by chains of islands, for example the Fiji Sea in the Pacific Ocean).

At the same time, they pay attention not to the size of the sea, but precisely to its life, in scientific terms - to the regime. On the map you can find quite significant expanses of water that are not worthy of the name sea. These are bays.

What is a bay on the sea or ocean

A bay is a part of a body of water that extends deep into the land (special international rule even determines exactly how much), but freely communicates with its “parent” body of water and retains all its features.

In turn, the bays are divided into different types: narrow and deep fjords with steep rocky shores, shallow lagoons and estuaries, bays protected from waves or winds and many others. It also happens that almost half of the sea consists of various bays, for example the Baltic or White. There are also ocean bays: the Bay of Biscay in the Atlantic, famous for its storms, and the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean. They are not inferior in size to many seas, as well as in depth.

Interesting things about the oceans and seas of the Earth

Thus, the area of ​​the Hudson Bay deeply cut into the Canadian shores is larger than that of the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas combined, and the depth is substantial - up to 258 m. But they do not call it a sea. The Gulf of Mexico is almost twice the size of the Hudson, its area is 1555 thousand km, its maximum depth is 3822 m. But it is not considered a sea either. The bay, and that's it!

And the Sea of ​​Marmara, with an area of ​​11.5 thousand km, which barely managed to squeeze in between the Black and Mediterranean seas, is called only a sea. With the Mediterranean, there is a real confusion; it is divided into several more seas: the Aegean, Adriatic, Ionian, Tyrrhenian... And you won’t even find the Ligurian Sea on every map: it looks more like a small bay located between the shores of Italy and France, north of the island of Corsica.

That's it for the story about Oceans and seas of the Earth Let's pause, there will be a continuation! The whole essay turned out great!

How many oceans are there on Earth? I think even fifth-graders will immediately answer: four - and list: Atlantic, Indian, Pacific and Arctic. All?

But it turns out that the four oceans are already outdated information. Today scientists are adding a fifth to them - the Southern, or Antarctic, Ocean.

Browse the wonderful and good article:

However, the number of oceans and especially their boundaries are still a matter of debate. In 1845 London geographical society decided to count five oceans on Earth: Atlantic, Arctic, Indian, Quiet, Northern And Southern, or Antarctic. This division was confirmed by the International Hydrographic Office. But even later for a long time some scientists continued to believe that there were only four “real” oceans on Earth: Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Northern, or Arctic Ocean. (In 1935, the Soviet government approved the traditional Russian name - .)

So how many oceans are there really on our planet? The answer may be unexpected: on Earth there is a single World Ocean, which people, for their convenience (primarily navigation), have divided into parts. Who will confidently draw the line where the waves of one ocean end and the waves of another begin?..

We found out what oceans are. What do we call seas and how many of them are there on Earth?? After all, the first acquaintances with water element began off the coast of the seas.

Experts call seas “parts of the World Ocean that are separated from the open ocean by mountains or simply land.” At the same time, marine regions, as a rule, differ from the oceans in meteorological conditions, that is, weather, and even climate. Oceanologists distinguish between internal seas, closed by land, and external seas, as parts of the open ocean. There are seas without shores at all, just stretches of ocean. For example, the waters between the islands.

How many seas are there on Earth? Ancient geographers believed that there were only seven seas-oceans in the world. Today, the International Hydrographic Office lists 54 seas on Earth. But this figure is not very accurate, because some seas not only do not have shores, but are also located inside other water basins, and their names remained either due to historical habit or for the convenience of navigation.

Ancient civilizations developed along the banks of rivers, and rivers (I mean large water streams) flow into seas and oceans. So from the very beginning people had to become familiar with the water element. Moreover, every great civilization of the past had its own sea. The Chinese have their own (later it turned out that this is part of). The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans had their own - the Mediterranean Sea. The Indians and Arabs have the shores of the Indian Ocean, the waters of which each people called in their own way. There were other centers of civilizations and other main seas in the world.

In ancient times, people did not know very much about the world around them and therefore attributed special mystical meanings. So back in those days, when even great thinkers did not know and did not exist geographical maps world, they believed that there were seven seas on Earth. The number seven, according to the ancestors, was sacred. The ancient Egyptians had 7 planets in the sky. 7 days of the week, 7 years - cycle calendar years. Among the Greeks, the number 7 was dedicated to Apollo: on the seventh day before the new moon, a sacrifice was made to him.

According to the Bible, the world was created by God in 7 days. Pharaoh dreamed of 7 fat and 7 skinny cows. Seven is found as the number of evil (7 devils). In the Middle Ages, many nations knew the story of the seven wise men.

IN Ancient world There were seven wonders of the world: Egyptian pyramids, hanging gardens the Babylonian queen Semiramis, the lighthouse in Atexandria (III century BC), the Colossus of Rhodes, the statue of Olympian Zeus, created by the great sculptor Phidias, Ephesus Temple the goddess Artemis and the mausoleum at Hapicarnassus.

How could we manage without sacred number and in geography: were there seven hills, seven lakes, seven islands and seven seas?

We won't list everything. As a European resident (and I live in the city of St. Petersburg), I will only tell you about the main historical sea of ​​​​European civilization -.

Photos from open sources

The sea is a body of salt water that is connected to one of the five oceans. But some seas are located inside the continent, others are considered part of others, and others are considered a component of the ocean. There are about 90 on our planet sea ​​waters lakes that differ in size, shape, depth, and the presence or absence of banks.

The top 10 includes the largest seas in the world by area.

10. Sea of ​​Okhotsk

Okhotskoe opens the top ten big seas in the world with an area of ​​1.6 million square meters. km. and a maximum depth of 4 thousand meters in the Kuril Basin. It washes the shores of Japan and Russia. Previously, the sea was called Kamchatka. They began to call it Okhotsk in honor of the Okhota River, which flows into this sea. Its waters abound with species the most valuable fish, such as salmon, chinook salmon, sockeye salmon, chum salmon and others. The Kuril Islands are located in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

9. Bering Sea

The Bering Sea is the largest in Russia, its total area is 2.3 million sq. km. Its waters belong to the Pacific Ocean, it washes the shores of the United States and Russia, being the water border between the states. The deepest point of the seabed reaches 4 thousand meters. The sea received its current name in honor of the explorer and navigator Bering, who devoted most of his life to the study of sea waters. In the 13th century, Beringovo was called Bobrovoe or Kamchatka. Practically all year round the sea is covered with ice, but despite this there are about 240 species of fish, among which there are valuable species, of interest for fishing.

8. Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean is one of the largest seas on the planet. Its area is about 2.5 million square meters. km., and the maximum depth can reach 5 thousand meters in places. The sea washes three parts of the world at once - Africa, Asia and Europe. It is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the Strait of Gibraltar. An integral part Mediterranean Sea are the Aegean, Adriatic, Ionian and Tyrrhenian. All together they form one big sea. There is a very rich fauna here, numbering about 550 species of fish alone, 70 of which are found only in these waters. The Mediterranean Sea also abounds in sharks and has about 15 species that are dangerous to humans.

7. Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean ranks seventh in the ranking of the largest seas in the world by area. Its size is about 2.7 million square meters. km., and the greatest depth is about 8 thousand meters. It belongs to the Atlantic Ocean basin. The sea received its name thanks to the Indian tribe of the Caribs who lived on its coast. The second name of the sea body of water is Antilles. There is a version of scientists that the Caribbean is the source the largest number hurricanes in the Western Hemisphere. Disastrous natural phenomena regularly destroy the buildings of the inhabitants of the islands and the coast of the basin.

6. Weddell Sea

Weddell ranks sixth on the list of the largest seas in the world. Its area is 2.9 million square meters. km., and the greatest depth reaches almost 7 thousand meters. Is marginal sea in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean, between western part Antarctic Peninsula and Coats Land (east). The Weddell Sea is considered the coldest and cleanest sea in the world. The water here is surprisingly clear. A special feature of Weddella is the fact that the water temperature in it can reach minus 25 degrees, but does not freeze! The local fauna is represented by marine animals such as penguins, seals, whales, etc.

5. Tasman Sea

The Tasman Sea has an area of ​​3.3 million square meters. km and greatest depth more than 5 thousand meters. This is one of the largest seas on the planet in terms of area. It is located between New Zealand and Australia. It got its name in honor of the Dutch navigator Abel Tasman. The depth of the sea is about 6 thousand meters, which makes it one of the deepest. The flora and fauna of this sea differs significantly in different areas.

4. Coral Sea

The Coral Sea is in fourth place with an area of ​​4.7 million square meters. km. It belongs to the waters of the Pacific Ocean and is located between the shores of New Guinea, Australia and New Caledonia. The depth of the sea can reach more than 9 thousand meters in some places. The sea has numerous coral reefs and islands. It is here that the largest reef on the planet is located, called the Great Barrier Reef with a length of 2.5 thousand km. and an area of ​​344 thousand square meters. km., which is larger than the area of ​​Great Britain. The richest underwater flora and fauna is concentrated here.

3. Arabian Sea

The Arabian opens the three largest seas on the planet. Its area is approximately 4.8 million square meters. km., and the maximum depth is 4 thousand meters. Initially, the sea was called Eritrean. It is part of the Indian Ocean and washes the shores of the island. Somalia, Maldives, Djibouti, Iran, India and Pakistan. This is where they are located best beaches India for holidays. The world's most important trade routes pass through the sea. In addition, the Arabian is one of the saltiest and cleanest seas in the world. underwater world rich in vegetation and sea ​​creatures. Here you can meet rare species animals, for example, green sea ​​turtle or bissu. The Arabian Sea is considered one of the most popular among ecotourism lovers.

2. Philippine Sea

The Philippine Sea is the largest coastal sea, with an area of ​​approximately 5.7 million square meters. km., and the maximum depth in some places can reach 11 thousand meters. Here is the deepest trench on the planet, which is called Mariana. The sea is located not far from the Philippine archipelago, hence its name. It does not have clear coastal boundaries: it is separated from the ocean by groups of islands: the Philippine Islands, o. Honshu, Kyushu, Ryukyu and about. Taiwan. Philippine waters are inhabited by many species of fish from small to giant. Here, industrial fishing of tuna is carried out, which is considered one of the most valuable marine products.

1. Sargasso Sea

The Sargasso Sea tops the list of the largest seas in the world. Its area reaches 6-7 million square meters. km. and may change depending on sea currents. The uniqueness of this sea is that it has no shores. Its water boundaries are considered to be three ocean currents. The shape of the sea is a large-scale ellipse of light green color. It received this shade from abundant underwater vegetation in the form of algae. Just imagine: about one square meter there are about two tons of underwater plants! This is where the second name came from, which Sargasso received from Columbus - “a jar of algae.” The depth of the sea in some places can reach about 7 thousand meters. The average temperature here ranges from 20 to 28 degrees above zero.

The Mediterranean Sea is connected to the Atlantic Ocean in the west through the Strait of Gibraltar. This enclosed 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 Tethys Ocean. It extended far to the east and was much wider. Today, from Tethys, in addition to the Mediterranean Sea, only the drying up Aral and Caspian Sea, as well as Black, Azov and Sea of ​​Marmara. The last three seas are included in the Mediterranean basin.

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

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

The currents of the Mediterranean Sea are not entirely normal. Under the influence of high temperatures, a lot of water evaporates and, therefore, the flow rate prevails fresh water above her arrival. This naturally leads to a decrease in the water level and it has to be drawn from the Atlantic Ocean and the Black Sea. Interestingly, at 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 increase to 2-4 km/h. (for comparison, the Gulf Stream moves north at a speed of 6–10 km/h).

The magnitude of the tides is 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 (the Strait of Messina), the tides can cause strong currents. In winter, waves reach their maximum and wave heights can reach 6-8 m.

The water of the Mediterranean Sea has intense blue and relative transparency of 50-60 m. It belongs to the most salty and warm 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 average temperature water level decreases from north to south and varies between 8-17°C in the east and central part of the sea. At the same time, in the west temperature regime more stable and the temperature stays between 11-15°C.

There are many large and not very large islands in the Mediterranean Sea, and almost each of them is an attraction for many tourists. Let's name just a few of them:

The islands of Mallorca and Ibiza in Spain, Sardinia and Sicily in Italy, Corfu, Crete and Rhodes in Greece, Corsica in France, as well as Cyprus and Malta.