List of seas on Earth explained
This is a list of seas of the World Ocean, including marginal seas, areas of water, various gulfs, bights, bays, and straits.[1] In many cases it is a matter of tradition for a body of water to be named a sea or a bay, etc., therefore all these types are listed here.
Terminology
- Ocean – the four to seven largest named bodies of water in the World Ocean, all of which have "Ocean" in the name .
- Sea has several definitions:
- A division of an ocean, delineated by landforms,[2] currents (e.g., Sargasso Sea), or specific latitude or longitude boundaries. This includes but is not limited to marginal seas, and this is the definition used for inclusion in this list.
- A marginal sea is a division of an ocean, partially enclosed by islands, archipelagos, or peninsulas, adjacent to or widely open to the open ocean at the surface, and/or bounded by submarine ridges on the sea floor.[3]
- The World Ocean. For example, the Law of the Sea states that all of the World Ocean is "sea",[4] [5] [6] and this is also common usage for "the sea".
- Any large body of water with "Sea" in the name, including lakes.
- River – a narrow strip of water that flows over land from a higher elevation to a lower one
- Tributary – a small river that flows into a larger one
- Estuary – the piece of a river that flows into the sea or ocean
- Strait – a narrow area of water connecting two wider areas of water, also sometimes known as a passage
- Channel – usually wider than a strait
- Passage – connects waters between islands, also sometimes known as a strait
- Canal – a human-made channel
- Fjard – a large open water between groups of islands
There are several terms used for bulges of ocean that result from indentations of land, which overlap in definition, and which are not consistently differentiated:[7]
- Bay – generic term; though most features with "Bay" in the name are small, some are very large
- Gulf – a very large bay, often a top-level division of an ocean or sea
- Fjord – a long bay with steep sides, typically formed by a glacier
- Bight – a bay that is typically shallower than a sound
- Sound – a large, wide bay which is typically deeper than a bight, or a strait
- Cove – a small, typically sheltered bay with a relatively narrow entrance
- Inlet – a narrow and long bay similar to a land peninsula, but adjoining the sea
- Polynya – least used of these terms, a patch of water surrounded by ice
Many features could be considered to be more than one of these, and all of these terms are used in place names inconsistently; especially bays, gulfs, and bights, which can be very large or very small. This list includes large areas of water no matter the term used in the name.
Largest seas by area
The largest terrestrial seas, in decreasing order of area, are:
- Philippine Sea – 5.695e6km2
- Coral Sea – 4.791e6km2
- American Mediterranean Sea – 4.2e6km2
- Arabian Sea – 3.862e6km2
- Sargasso Sea – 3.5e6km2
- South China Sea – 3.5e6km2
- Weddell Sea – 2.8e6km2
- Caribbean Sea – 2.754e6km2
- Mediterranean Sea – 2.51e6km2
- Gulf of Guinea – 2.35e6km2
- Tasman Sea – 2.3e6km2
- Bay of Bengal – 2.172e6km2
- Bering Sea – 2e6km2
- Sea of Okhotsk – 1.583e6km2
- Gulf of Mexico – 1.55e6km2
- Gulf of Alaska – 1.533e6km2
- Barents Sea – 1.4e6km2
- Norwegian Sea – 1.383e6km2
- East China Sea – 1.249e6km2
- Hudson Bay – 1.23e6km2
- Greenland Sea – 1.205e6km2
- Somov Sea – 1.15e6km2
- Mar de Grau – 1.14e6km2
- Riiser-Larsen Sea – 1.138e6km2
- Sea of Japan – 1.05e6km2
- Argentine Sea – 1e6km2
- East Siberian Sea – 987000km2
- Lazarev Sea – 929000km2
- Kara Sea – 926000km2
- Scotia Sea – 900000km2
- Labrador Sea – 841000km2
- Andaman Sea – 797700km2
- Laccadive Sea – 786000km2
- Irminger Sea – 780000km2
- Solomon Sea – 720000km2
- Mozambique Channel – 700000km2
- Cosmonauts Sea – 699000km2
- Banda Sea – 695000km2
- Baffin Bay – 689000km2
- Laptev Sea – 662000km2
- Arafura Sea – 650000km2
- Ross Sea – 637000km2
- Chukchi Sea – 620000km2
- Timor Sea – 610000km2
- North Sea – 575000km2
- Bellingshausen Sea – 487000km2
- Beaufort Sea – 476000km2
- Red Sea – 438000km2
- Black Sea – 436000km2
- Gulf of Aden – 410000km2
- Yellow Sea – 380000km2
- Baltic Sea – 377000km2
- Caspian Sea – 371000km2
- Libyan Sea – 350000km2
- Mawson Sea – 333000km2
- Levantine Sea – 320000km2
- Java Sea – 320000km2
- Gulf of Thailand – 320000km2
- Celtic Sea – 300000km2
- Gulf of Carpentaria – 300000km2
- Celebes Sea – 280000km2
- Tyrrhenian Sea – 275000km2
- Sulu Sea – 260000km2
- Cooperation Sea – 258000km2
- Persian Gulf – 251000km2
- Flores Sea – 240000km2
- Gulf of St. Lawrence – 226000km2
- Bay of Biscay – 223000km2
- Aegean Sea – 214000km2
- Gulf of Anadyr – 200000km2
- Molucca Sea – 200000km2
- Oman Sea – 181000km2
- Ionian Sea – 169000km2
- Gulf of California – 160000km2
- Balearic Sea – 150000km2
- Adriatic Sea – 138000km2
Marginal seas by ocean
Seas may be considered marginal between ocean and land, or between oceans in which case they may be treated as marginal parts of either. There is no single ultimate authority on the matter.[8]
Arctic Ocean
(clockwise from 180°)
Atlantic Ocean
In addition to the marginal seas listed in the three subsections below, the Arctic Ocean itself is sometimes also considered a marginal sea of the Atlantic.[9] [10]
Africa and Eurasia
Americas
(coast-wise from north to south)
Northern islands
(from east to west)
Indian Ocean
Pacific Ocean
Americas
Australia and Eurasia
Southern Ocean
Defined by ocean currents
While all other seas in the world are defined at least in part by land boundaries, there is only one sea which is defined only by ocean currents:[12]
Not included
Entities called "seas" which are not divisions of the World Ocean are not included in this list. Excluded are:
- Lakes, ponds, etc.:
- Ocean gyres
- Seas in fiction, religion or mythology
See also
Notes and References
- https://www.blue-growth.org/Oceans_Rivers_Seas/Index_Oceans_Seas_Bays_Gulfs_Of_The_World_%20A_To_Z_Lists.htm OCEANS & SEAS OF THE WORLD
- Web site: What's the difference between an ocean and a sea? . Oceanservice.noaa.gov . 11 January 2013 . 19 April 2013.
- Book: American Congress on Surveying and Mapping. Glossary of the mapping sciences. 9 December 2010. 1994. ASCE Publications. 978-0-7844-0050-0. 469.
- Book: The Law of the Sea: Selected Writings . 9789004138636 . Vukas . B . 2004. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers .
- Book: Indian Ocean Region: Maritime Regimes for Regional Cooperation . 9781441959898 . Gupta . Manoj . 2010. Springer .
- Web site: Discover The Seven Seas of the Earth . Geography.about.com . 2013-04-19.
- Web site: gulf – coastal feature.
- Book: Wang, James C. F.. Handbook on Ocean Politics & Law. 1992. Greenwood Publishing Group. 978-0-313-26434-4. 14.
- Book: James C. F. Wang . Handbook on ocean politics & law . 9 December 2010 . 1992 . Greenwood Publishing Group . 9780313264344 . 14–.
- Book: Longhurst, Alan R. . Ecological Geography of the Sea . 2007 . Academic Press . 978-0-12-455521-1 . 104.
- Often treated as a part of the Mediterranean Sea.
- https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/sargassosea.html National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – What is the Sargasso Sea?
