Black Sea wiki. Black Sea, interesting facts. The history of the name of the Black Sea

Located in the interior of the continent, the Black Sea is the most isolated part of the World Ocean. In the southwest, it communicates with the Sea of \u200b\u200bMarmara through the Bosphorus, the border between the seas runs along the line of Cape Rumeli - Cape Anadolu. The Kerch Strait connects the Black and.

The area of \u200b\u200bthe Black Sea is 422 thousand km2, the volume is 555 thousand km3, the average depth is 1315 m, the greatest depth is 2210 m.

The coastline, with the exception of the north and northwest, is poorly indented. The eastern and southern shores are steep and mountainous, the western and northwestern ones are low and flat, in places steep. The only large peninsula is Crimean.

The length of the Russian shores of the Black Sea (from the Kerch Strait to the mouth of the Psou River) is about 400 km. The entire area of \u200b\u200bthe Black Sea coast of Russia can be divided into two large regions - Taman and West Caucasian.

In the northwestern part of the sea there are the largest bays - Karkinitsky, Kalamitsky. In addition to them, on the southern coast of the sea there are the Sinop Bay and the Samsun Bay, on the west - the Burgas Bay. Small islands Zmeiny and Berezan are located in the northwestern part of the sea, Kefken - to the east of the Bosphorus.

The Black Sea is located in the depths of the continent of Eurasia and is an inland sea in the Atlantic Ocean basin, it is surrounded by land on all sides, and the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits connect it with its Mediterranean counterpart.

One of the hypotheses of the origin of the Black Sea says that 7,500 years ago it was the deepest freshwater lake on the planet, the level was more than a hundred meters below the present.







A distinctive feature of the Black Sea waves is their "stability". This is the so-called swell, which has a longer oscillation period than a wind wave. Swell is waves that occur with little or no wind ("dead swell"). However, the origin of these waves is associated with wind activity.
















The currents in the sea can be figuratively compared to rivers without banks. In marine science, it is customary to designate the direction of currents according to the "where" principle. Unlike currents, wind and wave directions are determined according to the "from where" principle. For example, a wind blowing from south to north will be called southerly, and the current created by this wind will be called northerly.




Features of the Black Sea water masses, the absence of ice on its surface in winter, heat water in summer is determined primarily by the climate. The sea has a softening effect on the climate of the coastal regions. Thus, the issues of climatic and hydrological are closely related.




Let's talk about the color of water and the propagation of light in depth. Why is the sea blue? By the way, the Black Sea is not “the bluest in the world”. Paradoxical as it may sound, the color of the water in the Red Sea is much bluer than in the Black Sea, and the Sargasso Sea and some areas of the Indian Ocean are the bluest, although the Black Sea is also blue.




Ebb and flow - the phenomena in the Black Sea are weak, since the sea area is insufficient for their development. The relatively shallow depth and width of the Bosphorus, the Dardanelles and the Strait of Gibraltar do not allow ocean tidal waves to pass through here. The magnitude of the tidal level fluctuations in the Black Sea is from 3 to 10 centimeters.




Is sea water safe to drink? This question was answered in the negative for a long time. There was a case when a man drifted in a boat on the sea for more than a month, drank salt water, ate raw fish and survived.




Before we talk about seawater, let's recall a little of what we generally know about water. From school we know that more than two-thirds of the earth's surface is covered with water. Most of it is salty water. However, I must say that there is no completely fresh, distilled water in nature, it can only be obtained artificially.







Why is the Black Sea salty? Why and have the seas always been salty? Where did water come from on our planet? Scientists are looking for answers to all these questions: oceanographers, geologists, paleontologists, chemists. As these sciences develop, knowledge about our planet also deepens.




Many people think that in the Black Sea, immediately from the coast, a sharp lowering of the bottom begins, and where speedboats and boats are clearly visible from the beach (about 500-1000 meters from the coast), the depths are already measured in hundreds of meters.







Why is the Black Sea called "Black"? The most early mentions such a name refers to the XIII century, although it is quite possible that the sea was called that way before. There are many hypotheses, and most of them are quite plausible ...




If in the way of life almost all bivalve marine mollusks repeat each other, their appearance differs in a wide variety of shapes and colors, and one can only admire their delicate and fragile beauty.




The surface area of \u200b\u200bthe Black Sea is 423,000 km2, and its water volume is 547,000 km2. The greatest depth is 2,212 m. The length of the Black Sea coastline, according to the latest estimates, reaches 4,340 km.




Any natural body of water has its own drainage basin - this is the surrounding land, from which surface and the groundwater.







In terms of its microelement composition, the Black Sea water is closest to the composition of human blood, this contributes to the fact that people with diseases of the heart and blood vessels feel much better and more comfortable on the Black Sea. At the depths of the Black Sea, it is rich in hydrogen sulfide compounds, and they make water and air useful for a person, his heart and blood vessels.




The main factors determining the climate of the Black Sea are: geographical position, traffic air masses above it, the nature of the shores, land relief. The Black Sea is located at mid latitudes 41 - 46 degrees north latitude.




Throughout its history, the Black Sea has become a lake or a sea several times. In ancient times, it was part of the giant Tethys ocean, connecting - through modern territory Asia - the current Atlantic and Pacific oceans, but as a result of the formation of giant mountain ranges, the Tethys Ocean disintegrated.







Description: The Black Sea is connected with the Marmara and Mediterranean seas by the Bosphorus Strait, with the Azov Sea by the Kerch Strait. Ocean salinity in the Black Sea is 1.8%. (in the Mediterranean 37%). The area of \u200b\u200bthe Black Sea is 423 thousand square kilometers, the depth is 2245 meters, and contains 527 cubic kilometers of water.




Not many coastal countries can boast of such excellent beaches as the All-Russian health resort for family and children's recreation and treatment of Anapa. Their length is about seventy kilometers, 40 of them are golden spill.




Going to rest by the sea, a real tourist will certainly conduct a reconnaissance of the "area", specifying important details, including on which bank - sandy or pebble - he will have to sunbathe.







The number of sanatoriums on the Black Sea, taking into account the Crimean peninsula, is approaching one thousand two hundred and fifty - a very solid and highly effective health potential! But there are still hundreds of boarding houses, children's health camps available.










There are all the possibilities for a savage holiday on the Black Sea! If the entire coastline of the unique, never freezing reservoir exceeds one and a half thousand kilometers, then the Russian part of it is almost half, and a third is in the Krasnodar Territory. To it must be added the Crimean coast, the coastline of which is 2500 kilometers.










The Black Sea is a whole ecosystem in which about a hundred species of algae are found. Some of them are perfectly visible to vacationers, especially in summer, when the water is well warmed up by the Sun and this creates a favorable atmosphere for the rapid growth and reproduction of microorganisms.




The "velvet season" on the Black Sea coast (on the Azov coast too) has its own unique charms. Take the opportunity to have a cheap vacation here in September - October, it will impress you extraordinarily! You will certainly come here again at a good time!




The Bosphorus Strait is a link between Europe and Asia Minor. It connects the Black Sea with the Marmara Sea. And together with another strait - the Dardanelles - it connects the Black Sea with the Aegean, which is part of the Mediterranean.

Pontos Axinos - the sea is not hospitable

In fact, it is not "black" at all, although today it bears just such an official name. At least for those who live on its banks - Russians, Turks, Bulgarians, Romanians, and other peoples of various nationalities. It is different. In the early morning, in fine weather, its bluish-blue, sometimes with a greenish tint, the waves sparkle under the rays of the sun beginning its endless journey across the sky.

A breeze blew from the water area, and white scallops ran to the shore in succession, but the water remains clear and it is clearly visible in it fleeing from the resort guests, swiftly floating away from under their feet, and white and blue jellyfish in general are not afraid of anyone and nothing - they swim gracefully and swim for themselves , even if you accidentally hit them with your hand or other part of your body. In a storm, the sea takes on a steel or even gray tint. The water becomes cloudy, but from sand, bottom sediments. The excitement ceased - and it is again clean and transparent, and the sea as a whole becomes blue-blue again with the same greenish tint.

It may well be that the name Chernoe it received from the word "chermnoe", which was named by the ancient Russians. But in this name they put the concept - "beautiful". But the ancient seafarers, the Greeks, for some reason, did not quite like the sea - because of the harsh inaccessible steep rocks, wild storms that sometimes drowned their ships, warlike local tribes who brazenly attacked their ships and took everything that could not come to hand, that is prey. and they named it Pontos Axinos - the sea is not hospitable or "black". Then they suddenly fell in love with it and gave it another name - Pontos Euxinos - a hospitable sea. But the old name remained in my memory, and this is how it is called the Black Sea to this day.

There is one more version. There are eight dozen seas on our entire planet. But only in the Black Sea is life possible within depths of up to 100-150, maximum 200 meters. Below is the kingdom of hydrogen sulfide water. The ship's anchor will fall into its layer, and it becomes blacker than the night. Therefore, de and the sea is called Black. Although, we repeat, most often it appears before us clean, and far from the coast, bluish-blue, greenish. By the way, through the Kerch Strait, the Black Sea merges with the Azov Sea, which is less transparent, and brightens it, as you can see for yourself if, say, you sail on the same yacht in a place where the southern seas throw themselves into each other's arms. The place is located on the banks of Taman, with the ancient name of Tmutarakan, in another way it is called Lukomorye, sung by our genius Russian poet Pushkin in his famous poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila". To what has been said we add - yes, there are also colored seas. For example, Yellow in China. But this color is given to it by the waters of the Yellow River, flowing into it and having a dirty yellowish tint. And then there is the Red Sea - densely populated with microorganisms of a red-brown hue. It has the status of an inland water body of the Indian Ocean on the border between the Arabian Peninsula and Africa. And the sea is the warmest and salty in the world.
Let's return, however, to the Black Sea. It is the inner basin of the great Atlantic Ocean. Through the Bosporus Strait it is connected with the Sea of \u200b\u200bMarmara, and then through the Dardanelles Strait it is connected with the Aegean, then the Mediterranean Sea. Through the Kerch Strait it is connected with the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov.

The area of \u200b\u200bthe Black Sea is neither small nor large - it is 422 thousand square kilometers. According to other sources, even more - 436 400 thousand square kilometers. The coastline exceeds 3400 kilometers, most of which are beautiful sandy, pebbly or rocky beaches, which are actively used in the resort industry by countries reaching its shores: Russia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Abkhazia, Georgia. From north to south, the sea stretches for 580 kilometers. The volume of water in it is 555 thousand cubic meters. The greatest depth is over 2,200 meters. And, as we already said, below 150-200 meters, a lifeless zone begins due to dense layers of hydrogen sulfide water. Many fear that the population of the coastal countries lives like a powder keg: hydrogen sulfide is highly flammable. One spark is enough. There are even statements of eyewitnesses that during the strongest thunderstorms lightning reaches the hydrogen sulfide layer, and almost kilometer-long columns of flame rise into the sky. But many scientists consider the assumption of impending disasters due to the accumulation of hydrogen sulfide at the bottom of the sea to be unreasonable - a 150-200 meter layer of surface water will prevent the fire from burning. At the same time, it should be noted that hydrogen sulfide is actively used in the same Russian Matsesta (balneological resort of Sochi) in the form of baths and for the treatment of diseases of the musculoskeletal system, asthma, bronchi, tuberculosis, it also has a good effect on the nervous and cardiovascular systems. ... There are resorts similar to Matsesta in Turkey, Bulgaria and other countries.
The Black Sea is a constantly renewing and renewing pool. Many large and small rivers flow into it. Large ones are Dnieper, Danube, Western Bulganak and Dniester. Of the smaller ones - Mzymta, Psou, Inguri, Yuzhny Buk - there are over a thousand of them, and you can't list them all. At the same time, with an annual total flow of 346 cubic kilometers, 80 percent falls on the Danube and the Dnieper.
The tourism industry is prevalent on the Black Sea coast. And in Bulgaria, and in Turkey, and in Russia, in other coastal countries, there are a great many resort areas, in which millions and millions of both their residents and visitors from all over the world rest. They are hosted by a countless number of health resorts with effective diagnostic and treatment facilities, children's health camps, hotels, hotels, guest houses, the private sector, car campings, tent camps and so on.
At the same time, the Black Sea is also a major supplier of seafood. There are more than two and a half thousand species of them here, including more than 160 different species and names of fish and over two hundred mollusks.

Fish of the Black Sea

There are many. Gobies, flounder-glossa, flounder-kalkan, mullet, Black Sea, including the delicious "sultanka", which in the past could only be eaten by rulers, and if it was done by a mere mortal, he was subjected to execution; haddock, mackerel, Black Sea salmon, beluga, sturgeon - a long list. The local katran shark is also found among the large ones. Most often it is found at depth, and is quite harmless. But her liver oil is very healthy. Both fillets and heads are sold in the markets of coastal countries.
There are fish that are dangerous to humans - a black dragon with poisonous dorsal fin and gills, a sea cat or simply a stingray, which, if stung by its poisonous tail, will not seem a little; Black Sea or, as it is also called, a noticeable scorpionfish, the wounds from the thorns of which cause hellish pain and do not heal for a long time.
They are also found in the Black Sea and are quick-witted, friendly to people bottlenose dolphins. Their fantastic virtuoso graceful performances in the dolphinariums are breathtaking! Animals willingly jump out onto the platform and pose together with the audience on a video camera or photo camera. The porpoise (the Azov dolphin is a white-bellied seal) also swims from the Azov Sea to the Black Sea.
There are islands on the Black Sea. The largest is Dzharylgach, 62 square kilometers, much smaller than Berezan, Zmeiny, one square kilometer.
In the Black Sea countries, including Russia, there are plantations of the most delicious sea product -. Oysters and shrimps are found in the waters. And full of rapana. This is a predatory clam. Introduced on the mountain to other marine inhabitants (the same mussels, scallops) from the Far Eastern seas. True, he was not just taken and delivered - he himself sailed, attached to the bottoms of ships. And it happened in 1947 - a real natural disaster: it eats everything and everyone. At the same time, clam meat is practically pure protein, tasty and nutritious. It is very expensive in the markets - twice, three times more expensive than beef or pork. During storms, rapans are thrown ashore in great numbers, the population collects them, processes them at home, fries them, soars with a pepper onion - you will lick your fingers. And the shells go to souvenirs, for which they also help out good money. Mollusks-predators could be relieved of their worst enemies - sea stars. But the water in its composition is not suitable for their habitation: it is slightly salty.

Feathered

The Black Sea is also home to birds - gulls, petrels, diving ducks, cormorants. For the winter, white swans arrive, which become, surprisingly, tame - they take food directly from your palms. They breed offspring in floodplains, including estuaries, and some couples have been living here permanently for a long time, and have acquired whole families.

The shores of the Black Sea are almost never deserted. Many health resorts work all year round... Winters here are mild, with a noticeable plus, January, February and other "windows", when it is warm on the shore almost like in summer, and you can sunbathe. The sea is saturated with potassium, magnesium, iodine, bromine and other salts, breathed a week, then another and, as if, was born again! And what nature is on its shores! Especially near the mountains. Palm trees, magnolias, juniper and pine forests, alpine meadows, oak trees, some of which are a thousand years old: rapid and transparent waterfalls. There is no end to the sights, reserved places - how many civilizations have it changed ?! And each left its mark - in the form of settlements, the remains of fortresses, Christian or Muslim shrines, dolmens and the like. It is useful not only to visit the Black Sea to improve health, but also instructive for learning about the world, expanding your horizons. And tourists from different countries understand this well and rush to it in millions and millions!

Vacation at sea

Black Sea, in last years is becoming more and more popular. Russians from all over our vast country go to the Black Sea resorts to get their portion of sunbathing and the healing cocktail of sea air. The perfect place for rest on the Black Sea is a resort, thanks to the variety of possibilities and restoration of health, and leisure, active and relaxing rest.

No matter what they say, Russians know how to take care of their health. And to strengthen it not only with the help of medicine, but also through active rest during your vacation time. Of course, a lot here depends on how full your wallet is. Someone spends their leisure time at their beloved dacha, richer people rush to foreign resorts. At the same time, in our vast country, with the onset of summer, many rush to the domestic black sea coast... Here is the latest statistics - almost thirteen million Russians have rested near the seashore since the beginning of the year. By the way, they willingly come and fly to us both from near and far abroad. The pearl of the Black Sea - in Anapa, just ended in summer, has been visited by over two million holidaymakers and tourists. And the weather today, more than ever, favored rest: the sun almost did not hide behind the clouds, the water was fresh milk and for almost all four months it was clean, only sometimes storms threw the ill-fated stone on the shore, but while the guests of the city were sleeping after the day's troubles, the beach workers cleaned it under the net. However, for some, this type of algae spoils the overall picture of the sea, but for others, connoisseurs, it is the most effective healing agent, because all the elements of the periodic table are in abundance in it. I sat in a damask for ten to twenty minutes every day, and the pains in the joints were gone. Algae is applied on the shoulders, neck, back and abdomen and treated with it for a variety of diseases. Already, our pharmacists are going to supply healing balms from this type of algae in the near future. In general, our resort city has several effective healing factors - first of all, the sea water itself and the air saturated with its vapors. Once for a month I watched a young man leisurely walking along the warm lazy waves with a child in his arms. And then I look - the kid stomps on the water himself. I asked the parent about such a metamorphosis, it turned out that the baby's cold turned into bronchitis. Within a month, the child was almost cured. This is how useful sea air we have! And the sand is heated by the rays of the hot sun! And the sea water itself! They also strengthen health, return optimism and youth. It is for this reason that among millions and millions of Russians there are countless adherents of summer holidays in Anapa, in our resorts, boarding houses and sanatoriums, and there are enough savages in the city and in its environs. Ahead the Velvet season with its festivals, in particular "Kinoshok", come, fly to us - see for yourself that Anapa is really one of the brightest pearls of the Black Sea coast of Russia!

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Alexander Green recalled in his Autobiographical Tale that he learned to read by looking at a geographical map, and the first word he read was “sea”.

“The sea smelled like watermelon,” we read in the story of the great master of epithets and comparisons Ivan Bunin. But Anton Chekhov liked the simple childish definition most of all: "The sea was big."

Indeed, is it possible to say more precisely about this "model of the universe"? As a happy moment of life, we remember the day when we first saw the Black Sea, so it attracts us to it, so we count the days in the middle of winter until vacation. But if not for us, then our children and grandchildren should know something about the sea, and besides the fact that it is "big"!

Origin of the Black Sea

The origin of the Black Sea is closely related to the history of the entire earth. At the dawn of its history, the earth was red-hot fire ball... Then the earth began to cool down, moisture began to condense, and torrential rains came over its surface, which began to fill all the depressions and land. Groundwater began to collect. This is how the world's seas and oceans were born.

Initially, sea water was not salty. But over the past millions of years, sea water has become salty. Water, evaporating from the sea surface, left all salts and minerals, while being replenished with water deep rivers, which washed away young rocks, enriched with salts. Thus, the world's oceans were filled with minerals and became salty.

Sea water contains all the elements of the periodic table known on earth. But the first place in terms of content is taken by sodium chloride, known as table salt, and magnesium sulfate - bitter salt. Thanks to them, sea water has a salty taste.

The Black Sea is the heir to the Tethys World Ocean, whose waters stretched from the modern Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. Millions of years passed before the modern seas formed and the mountains that divided it grew.

About twenty thousand years ago, the Black Sea basin was completely isolated from the World Ocean. Numerous fresh rivers served as a source of replenishment of water reserves. In fact, the Black Sea at that time was a lake. Only ten millennia later, the overflowing freshwater Black Sea reservoir connected with the Sea of \u200b\u200bMarmara through the Bosphorus. Ocean water, enriched with salts, rushed in a stormy tsunami to actively fill it. This natural disaster is described in the Old Testament and is better known as the Flood.

IN depths of the sea the water is colder and saltier than in the upper layers, and therefore cannot rise to the surface to be enriched with oxygen. Where there is a lack of oxygen, hydrogen sulfide accumulates. The Black Sea, at a depth below two hundred and 200 meters, is saturated with hydrogen sulfide, and at the bottom there is a thick layer of black silt. There is no life in the hydrogen sulfide layer, with the exception of only hydrogen sulfide bacteria. Recent measurements of the level of hydrogen sulfide in the Black Sea show that it has begun to rise.

Over the entire period of the formation of the modern appearance of the earth, the Black Sea has repeatedly merged with the Mediterranean and the Caspian. And only about six to seven thousand years ago the Black Sea became what we see it today.

The history of the name of the Black Sea

The first known name of the Black Sea is "Temarinda", which means "Dark Abyss". So it was called by the Taurus, the most ancient inhabitants of Crimea.

The Greeks, who appeared off the coast of Crimea in the 8th century BC, called the Black Sea Pont Aksinsky - the Inhospitable Sea. For them, it was a sea full of pirates, where the shores were swarming with tribes of wild aborigines. But centuries passed, the enterprising Greeks gradually settled down on the Crimean coast, founded cities, developed trade, and centuries later the Black Sea was called Pontus Euxinsky - the Hospitable Sea.

A thousand years ago, the Black Sea was called the Surozh Sea. Then, through the modern Sudak, and in the past Surozh - the great silk road... It was also called the Russian Sea.

The modern name "Black Sea" was strengthened only in the Middle Ages, when the tribes of nomadic Turkic peoples invaded Crimea. But it sounded differently. Mare Negrum - Genoese and Venetians called him. Karadenis are Arabs. Black sea - foreigners say now. But since then, the name has always been the same - the Black Sea.

Black Sea currents

While vacationing in Crimea, you often hear the phrase that "the current has changed." What is this current of the Black Sea? An experiment can be carried out, if somewhere in the Odessa region a boat is put into free navigation, the current will carry it to the Bosphorus itself.

The currents of the Black Sea are closely connected with the large rivers flowing into it - the Dnieper, Danube, and Southern Bug. There, the water level rises significantly. It should be remembered here that the globe rotates from east to west, and water flows into the Black Sea to the south, deflecting it to the west, directing it along the shores of Turkey, the Caucasus, Crimea - and so on in a circle ...

The width of the Black Sea Current is only sixty meters, the speed is half a meter per second. It is counteracted by the southwestern wind (it is called "sweep"), which raises deep cold layers of water to the surface. It is this southwestern wind that causes a short cooling of the sea water near the southern coast of Crimea. This phenomenon has received the name of the local inhabitants of the Crimea "nizovka", when the temperature of the sea water can drop sharply from 25 to 13 degrees. But just a couple of days is enough, and the Black Sea warms up again. You can devote your free time from the sea to excursions and mountain hikes.

In the Black Sea Bosphorus strait, two currents operate simultaneously. On the surface, water moves from the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea. But at depth, the water moves back to the Black Sea. If a container with water is thrown on a cable from a boat, which is carried by the current into the Sea of \u200b\u200bMarmara, then, having descended to a depth of about thirty meters, it will begin to move the boat against the current on the surface - towards the Black Sea.

The relief of the Black Sea

The Black Sea water area connects Crimea with Turkey, Russia, Georgia, Romania, Bulgaria. Through the Kerch Strait, it is connected to the shallow Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov, and through the Bosphorus Strait - with the Sea of \u200b\u200bMarmara and then the world's oceans.

The Black Sea is one of the deepest inland seas in the world. The maximum depth reaches 2245 meters, while the average depth of the Black Sea is 1280 meters. The area of \u200b\u200bthe Black Sea is 442 thousand square kilometers. In terms of water volume, it exceeds the Caspian Sea by six times, and the Baltic Sea by sixteen times, although their areas are approximately equal in size.

The largest island in the Black Sea is Serpentine. It covers an area of \u200b\u200bonly 1.5 square meters. kilometers. There are no other large islands in the Black Sea.

The Black Sea is inland. It is almost invisible to the ocean ebb and flow under the influence of lunar gravity.

Three forms are characteristic of the relief of the Black Sea bottom. This is a continental shelf - a shelf, a continental slope and a deep-water Black Sea basin.

The shoal occupies about 24% of the entire area of \u200b\u200bthe Black Sea bottom, and descends from the coast to a depth of 100 - 140 meters. The width of the Black Sea shelf in the north-west reaches 200 - 250 kilometers, on the eastern shores - no more than 6 - 10 kilometers. There are places where it does not exceed 500 meters from the coast.

About ten thousand years ago, the shelf was a plain through which rivers flowed. After the glaciers melted, these plains were flooded with sea waters.

The continental slope at the Crimean coast is steep, reaches 30 ° and is considered steep. It is characterized by deep depressions, wide underwater valleys, giant underwater cliffs, hills and rocky faults. Sea water slides along the continental slope at a high speed of up to 90 km per hour and destroys the soil.

At a depth of 2000 meters, the bottom of the Black Sea basin begins, which occupies about 30% of the entire water area. The hollow is perfectly flat in shape, oval, slightly inclined to the south.

The Black Sea captures land - one centimeter per year. For example, at the very edge of the Heracles Peninsula there was an ancient temple, which stood at a safe distance from the sea in those days. Now he is hidden in the depths of the sea. According to scientists, by the end of the 21st century, the level of the Black Sea will rise by 1-2 meters. This means that in the next 50 years, all city beaches will go under water.

Fauna of the Black Sea

The fauna of the Black Sea is quite diverse. First of all, it is different kinds commercial and non-commercial fish - sturgeon (the largest of them is beluga), Azov flounder-gloss, mullet, pelengas, Black Sea flounder-kalkan, red mullet-sultanka, sea bass, horse mackerel, mackerel, herring (the herring family also includes anchovy, sprat , tulka), goby, sea ruff, greenback and others - about 180 species in total. From the Mediterranean Sea through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles they enter Blackfin tuna, swordfish, bluefish, bonito, garfish.

There are also the Black Sea shark - katran, three species of dolphins - bottlenose dolphins (the largest of them, up to 3 m long and weighing up to 400 kg), white barrel and azovka (the smallest), there are two types of stingrays, jellyfish, mussels, rapana, crabs and other inhabitants of the deep sea.

Once upon a time, the Black Sea monk seal lived on the Crimean shores. Last time it was seen in the bays of the New World in 1927. But off the coast of Turkey and Bulgaria, it has survived to this day.
Once upon a time, oysters were also found in the Black Sea, but the Pacific rapana, which accidentally got into the Black Sea from Of the Far East fifty years ago, practically destroyed them. Sorry. And red mullet got its second name - sultanka - because it was considered the favorite fish of the Turkish sultans due to its delicate, delicate taste. Today red mullet is served in the finest Crimean restaurants.

Very often the question arises about the Black Sea jellyfish - what are they? We will answer. There are two types of jellyfish in the Black Sea: aurelia and cornerot. Aurelia has a flat umbrella with a diameter of 10-20 cm, along the edges of which there are numerous filamentous tentacles. Cornerot - more large jellyfish with a dome diameter of up to 40-50 cm, from which 8 large processes depart. The tentacles of jellyfish are equipped with so-called stinging cells; from touching them, a person gets a burn, like from nettle, traces of which remain on the body for up to several hours.

Due to hydrogen sulfide contamination organic world Although the Black Sea is diverse, it is not rich. Here you will not find corals, sea stars, hedgehogs and lilies, cephalopods and other groups of animals that are characteristic of "ordinary", and even more so - tropical seas.

But, like any sea, the Black one is shrouded in many secrets. What can you not hear! Fascinating stories about ancient Greek sailors and bloodthirsty Taurus pirates; romantic stories about lovers separated by the sea and circumstances; legends about countless treasures stored at the bottom of the sea in sunken ships ...

Through the Kerch Strait. Thus, the Black Sea has a connection with the waters (). This sea belongs to the inland seas. The area of \u200b\u200bthe Black Sea is 422 thousand km2. The volume of water is 555 thousand km3. The average sea depth is about 1315 m, the maximum depth is 2210 m.

The Black Sea washes various shores. Despite the great variety of forms of the coast, it is rather monotonous. The seabed is divided into two parts: shallow water and a depression. mostly steep slopes. The areas of the depression are the deepest places. Large shallow waters are located in the northwestern part of the sea. This shallow water is a large shelf area. A zone of shallow depths is located off the western coast and in the Taman region. In the Black Sea, very often deep-water places are located near the coast and even close to it.

Black Sea, sunset (photo by Anastasia Chernikova)

During the year, the volume of water entering the Black Sea is different. The sea receives the greatest amount of river waters in spring. In autumn, the volume of continental runoff is reduced to its minimum level. Also, the volume is influenced by the characteristics of a particular year, since in different years the high flow of large rivers may vary.

Black Sea, beach (photo by Anastasia Chernikova)

During the year, the water level in the Black Sea changes. Sea level rise occurs in May - July. A decrease is observed in October - November (in some areas in January - February). During the course of the year, the sea level can vary within 30 - 40 cm. The change in sea level is most clearly traced in places of large continental runoff, since it is the volume of river waters that determines the level of sea fluctuations.

In the Black Sea, surges and surges are observed, which are caused by various processes. The magnitude of the surge fluctuation in sea level depends on the time of year and the specific location. In the western part of the sea, large surges are promoted by north-east and east-north-east winds. In the northwest, these processes are caused by southeast winds. In the west and north-west, north-west winds contribute to the emergence of large swells. In the coastal zone of the Caucasus, coastal features affect what process will take place at sea: a surging decrease in sea level or a surging rise. In this case, the direction of the wind does not matter. In the western and northwestern areas of the sea, the surge processes reach their maximum in October - February. Sea level changes up to 30 cm.

Numerous transportation of various cargo and passengers is carried out across the Black Sea. There are well-developed ports on the Black Sea coast, which accept ships as the Russian stateand others. This contributes to the development of trade relations. A large number of resort towns and villages are located on the Black Sea coast. There are a large number of different institutions, whose activities are aimed at the treatment and recreation of people. Used by the man of the riches of the Black Sea. Here, along with the extraction of mollusks and algae is developed.

The Black Sea is one of the most beautiful and richest seas on our planet, and today we want to tell you exactly about it - huge and unique.

Geographically speaking, the Black Sea is a deep-sea basin with an area of \u200b\u200b413,000 sq. kilometers. Its greatest length reaches 580 kilometers, the smallest width is 265 kilometers, and the maximum depth is 2210 km! Just think about these dimensions!

There are several bays near the sea, the largest are Karkinitsky, Varnensky, Samsunsky, Yagorlytsky, Dzharylgachsky, Burgarsikiy, Tendrovsky, Feodosiysky and Sinopsky. Fall into it largest rivers: Dnieper, Danube and Dniester, as well as Psou, Bzyb, Southern Bug, Sakarya, Kamchia, Inguri, Veleka, Chorokh, Kyzylirmaki Eshelyrmak. And on the shores, as many as 7 countries are safely located - Abkhazia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine and, of course, our Motherland.

"Castle by the Sea" offers a little history and invites you to visit this piece of paradise.

Why was the sea called Black?

One of the main questions of the guests of the coast - why was such an amazing sparkling blue sea suddenly called Black? Where did this name come from, who first came up with it? Of course, we can advise you to fly over it and see that it is actually from a height and looks black, unlike the Red or Mediterranean seas. But if you dig deeper into the history and fascinating science of toponymy, which studies the names of geographical objects, we will understand that everything is not so simple.

The sea did not immediately receive its name, the name changed several times depending on the time and the people who inhabited or conquered it at that time.

According to one of the versions proposed by the ancient Greek historian and geographer Strabo (he lived in the 1st century BC), the Greek colonists called him Black, who were initially greeted by the sea unfriendly, with strong winds and storms. Impressed, they gave him the name "Pontos Axinos", that is, "the black, inhospitable sea." When they settled down and became related to the sea, they changed their anger to mercy and called it “Pontos Euxinos” (“hospitable sea).

One of the other assumptions sounds like this: as early as the 1st millennium BC. on the eastern and northern shores Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov lived ancient Indian tribes, who gave the name to the sea-neighbor "Temarun", which literally means "black sea". It is assumed that they simply visually compared the colors of the water surface of the two seas and came to this conclusion. The Indians were replaced by the Scythians, who also completely agreed with this characteristic and began to call him "Akhshaene", literally - "dark, black". And, for example, when the Russians came to the coast, they gave a name in their own way - "Russian" or "Ponskoe", then it sounded like Surozh, Cimerian, Scythian and Tauride. There were other national accents that also sounded in his name: Amshyn (Abkhazian), Sshedshe (Ubykhskoe), Shavi zg'va (Georgian).

The third version: the name familiar to us appeared and was fixed after fierce battles between the Turkish conquerors and the Circassian side - Shapsugs, Adygs and Ubykhs. The Turks were so impressed by the incredible courage and courage of the warriors that even the sea began to call in its own way "Karaden-giz", that is, "black, inhospitable." Well, the sailors did their bit, they called him black for strong storms that changed the color of the sea water from turquoise to blue-black. And scientists tend to call it that for its characteristic feature - the deep layers contain a huge amount of hydrogen sulfide, and at a depth of 150-200 meters there is absolutely no life, all this gives a shade of dark color.

Here are how many versions of the event of naming the sea, if you know any other curious fact, write to us, and we will gladly post it!

How did the Black Sea appear?

Many, many millions of years ago, on the territory of the modern seas: the Azov, Aral, Mediterranean, Caspian, Marmara and Black, the bay of the ancient Tethys ocean was located. This very bay was divided into two halves - the Eastern, which was freshened due to the large inflow of rivers, and the Western, which was salty.

More than 13 million years ago, a ridge of the Alpine mountains rose over the surface of Tethys, as a result of which the bay separated from the ocean and turned into an independent fresh sea - the Sarmatian. Time passed, the sea did not stop in its evolution, and after 10 million years it changed in shape, decreased in size and was able to increase salinity.

8 million years ago, evolutionary processes raised the mountains of the Caucasus and Crimea even higher and led to the formation of the already slightly salted Pontic Sea, which consisted of the modern seas: the Caspian and Black. Well, as the main Caucasian ridge grew above the water surface, these seas were constantly moving away from each other. The Caspian Sea was fresh, but the Black Sea was constantly connected with the Mediterranean and its waters became saltier and saltier.

The last merger of Black and Mediterranean seas happened 8 thousand years ago, it took place during a strong earthquake, thus forming the Bosphorus Strait. And now there is a process of raising the land above sea level, and the waters are also gradually growing. In the region of the Krasnodar Territory, these processes are still leveling, but in other places - the rise of land prevails over the rise of water.

Inhabitants of the Black Sea

The turquoise water of the Black Sea gives many pleasant moments and sensations. The sea gives us only positive emotions, a charge of energy, vigor and good health, so we must respect it and protect it, especially since it is the home of many living beings and various plants.

There are over 250 types of algae alone, the most common of which are: peridinium, coralline, cystosera, ulva, laurencia, zostera and phyllophora - all of which are useful and necessary for the sea.

And in the summer at night you can see a ray of light from the sea - this is a cornerot, the largest jellyfish of all species living in the Black Sea, went for a walk. The Black Sea is rich in several types of shellfish, mussels, rapanas, oysters, scallops, and all of them can be eaten. There are also crabs - there are about 17 species of them, for example, a spider, a stone and a redhead. The sea will also spoil you with fish: there are more than 180 species of it, these are anchovy, mullet, tulka, red mullet, horse mackerel, mackerel, flounder, sea ruff, sea needle, seahorse. There are also sharks - katran and scillium, but they are harmless to humans, and you can swim in peace.

In the sea, you can also meet people's favorites - dolphins, 2 species live here: the common dolphin and the bottlenose dolphin. They often swim very close to the shore, and you can admire how they hunt and play. From birds you will meet cormorants, gulls, petrels.

But as they say, than hearing a hundred times, it is better to see once - come to the beautiful Black Sea coast, to our "Castle by the Sea"! We will organize an excellent vacation for you, and the sea will give you unforgettable impressions and the most vivid emotions!