Size of the Black Sea: depth, width and length

The archives contain documents confirming that the first information about the Black Sea dates back to the 5th century. BC. It was for him that the fearless Argonauts led by Jason went to Colchis in search of a golden fleece, overcoming numerous obstacles. As soon as it has not changed since then the name! The Black Sea in this indicator ranks first in the world. Since the first mentions in the documents, the name has changed about 20 times.

Where did the modern name come from?

There are various versions of its origin. The ancient Greeks called this sea - Pont Aksinsky, which in translation means "Inhospitable". Such a name appeared due to navigation problems with ancient seafarers, despite the small, in comparison with others, size of the Black Sea. Once the colonists mastered the coast, it changed to Pontus Euxine, which translates as "Hospitable." In the 10-16th centuries Rusichi was named "Russian Sea", or "Scythian". Today's name of this reservoir is Black.

Why this name? The first sources of this name refer to the XIII century, although it is possible that it appeared much earlier. One of the hypotheses suggests that the name arose because of the uprising of indigenous peoples against their conquerors. "Karaz Deniz" is "black, inhospitable". According to another version, it was called by his migrants from the southern countries, who observed during a storm a dark sky merged with sea water. The reservoir is actually in a stormy storm looks black.

Another theory of the modern name arose because of the specific property of the reservoir, "blacken" at the depth of the anchor and other objects. This is due to the influence of hydrogen sulphide. According to other theories, the sea acquired its name due to black mud, which is periodically thrown ashore during a storm.

Dimensions of the Black Sea: width, length

The size of Pontus was tried to calculate still by Herodotus, measuring it by stages, which were calculated by the passed ships during the day by orgies (distance). Its length, according to Herodotus, had 11 100 stages, and the width in the most spacious place - 3300 stages. Modern scientists are able to calculate the size of the Black Sea to the nearest kilometer. The largest of its length from east to west is a distance of over 1150 km, from the coast of Bulgaria to the coast of Georgia.

From the Ukrainian village of Koblevo to the shores of Turkey, the Black Sea has dimensions (km) -616, from north to south. The smallest length is about 265 km. With the area scientists-geographers still can not decide, despite the known size of the Black Sea. According to one calculation, it occupies 422,000 km², and on the other - 436,400 km ². The total length of the coastal line is about 4100 km. The volume of water to be placed is about 555,000 cubic kilometers.

What is the size of the Black Sea in depth? These indicators are the following: the maximum depth is in the range of 2212-2245 m, the average level is 1250 m. The north-western part of the reservoir is distinguished by the fact that there is a long shallow zone, reaching a breadth of up to 200 km and not more than 160 meters deep.

Origin of the seabed

In this space about 30-40 million years ago was located a huge ocean of Tethys. Geological macroprocesses throughout the time formed the relief of such mountains as the Carpathians, the Alps and the Caucasus, which shattered the huge Tethys ocean into smaller ponds. One of them was the Sarmatian Sea. It was in place of today's Aral, Azov, Caspian and Black Seas.

Geological specificity

The size of the Black Sea captures the pit, which separates from the Atlantic Ocean. Its macrorelief is heterogeneous and includes three bright areas: the continental slope, the shelf and the deep basin. The shelf zone is marked by shallow depths, the continental slope is very uneven, for it the presence of underwater canyons and valleys is characteristic. The basin reaches the deepest depth in the center of the Black Sea. Also, the main area of the bottom relief is in the features of the Alpine geosynclinal zone. The reservoir saturates the rivers of Eurasia: the Dnieper, the Dniester, the Southern Bug, the Danube, Psou, Bzyb, Kodor, Yoshil-Irmak, Inguri, Rioni and others.

This is the most significant hydrogen sulphide pool of our planet. Its characteristic distinctive feature is the absolute, except for exceptional types of anaerobic microorganisms, unsuitable for life at depths below 150-200 m. These layers are absorbed by hydrogen sulphide, the accumulation of which is directly related to the settlement of sulfate-reducing microbes. Average salinity of the upper water layers in the central part of the reservoir is medium (16-18 ‰). At depths below 150-200 m it rises to 21-22 .

What are the dimensions of the Black Sea?

The sea basin is geographically divided into three major zones. Their indicators are:

Geographical location

South coast of the Black Sea, from Georgia to the mouth of the river. Rezovsk, belongs to the territory of Turkey. The western coast of the reservoir belongs to Bulgaria, and further - to the north to the border with Ukraine - Romania. The waters of the Black Sea are washed by the coasts of Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Turkey, Abkhazia and Georgia. On its surface is a symbolic border between Asia and Europe.

Since the size of the Black Sea (width, length, depth) is relatively small, there are insignificant tides in comparison with other open reservoirs. This is due to the small water exchange with the Atlantic Ocean. The sea occupies a huge tectonic pit, the maximum depth of which is about 2245 m. In the west and north-west there are low coasts, but there are steep terrain. In the Crimea - mostly lowland, not counting the southern mountain coasts. From the eastern and southern sides, the Caspian and Pontic mountains are close to the sea.

At the confluence of rivers, shallow bays are formed - the estuaries: Dniester, Hadzhibey, Kuyalnitsky, Tiligulsky, and Dnieper. The largest peninsula of the Black Sea is the Crimean, associated with the mainland thanks to the Perekop Isthmus. There are few islands in the Black Sea. The largest of them are Berezan and Snake, each with an area of less than 1 km². Kerch Strait, the depth of 4 to 18 meters, the Black Sea connects with the Azov. The Bosporus and the Dardanelles through the Marble and Aegean Sea connects it with the Mediterranean.

Interesting Facts

Among the scientists, theories were repeatedly considered that the Black Sea arose about 6000-8000 years ago, when the level of the world ocean rose due to the melting of glaciers. With the increase in the level, the water in the Mediterranean overcame a natural dam, in the role of which was today's Bosporus. After the breakthrough, a gigantic flow of water equaling the power of the 200 Niagara Falls filled the current sea pit. This natural element is like a popular version of the Flood, which is depicted in the Old Testament. It is important that the time of this largest natural cataclysm completely coincides with scientific and religious sources.