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Black Sea Facts

Black Sea Facts
The Black Sea is located between Western Asia and Eastern Europe. It is bordered by the countries Ukraine, Turkey, Russia, Romania, Georgia, and Bulgaria. The Black Sea covers an area of 168,500 square miles and has an average depth of 4,111 feet. The deepest spot on the Black Sea reaches 7,267 feet. Many major rivers feed into the Black Sea including the Dniester River, the Danube River, and the Rioni River. There are many major cities along the Black Sea's coast including Odessa, Batumi, Istanbul, and Sochi, among many others. In antiquity, the Black Sea was often referred to simply as the Sea.
Interesting Black Sea Facts:
The Black Sea connects to the Mediterranean Sea via Bosporus, the Sea of Marmara, and Dardanelles, a connection that allows for the transfer of saltwater from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.
The ratio of saltwater and freshwater in the Black Sea changes according to whichever season it is, due to the amount of freshwater coming from the rivers and saltwater coming from the Mediterranean.
90% of the lower Black Sea contains no oxygen, making it impossible for life to exist below 200 meters.
The Black Sea is considered anoxic at its deeper levels, which means it gets no oxygen below the surface layer.
The Black Sea is the world's largest meromictic basin. This means that the upper layer of water and lower layer of water exchange very little.
The discovery of an underwater river beneath the Black Sea has inspired the idea that life may actually be capable of living in the lower layer, however it is difficult to prove.
There have been wooden shipwrecks dating back to the 3rd and 5th centuries B.C. discovered at the bottom of the Black Sea during diving expeditions. They are preserved perfectly due to the environment.
The items found in the Black Sea have led people to believe that the Black Sea was once an important transportation route in the Ancient World.
There are ten small islands in the Black Sea with unique ecosystems. These islands belong to three different countries bordering the Black Sea.
The Black Sea was believed to have been a freshwater lake during the last ice age.
Phytoplankton found in the Black Sea includes cyanobacteria, coccolithophores, diatoms, and dinoflagellates.
Species of animals found in the Black Sea include zebra mussels, common carp, round goby, bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins, beluga whales and grey seals.
Due to new sewage treatment plants in cities along the Black Sea there have been signs of ecological recovery. Species now also include jellyfish, stingrays, goat fish blue sponge, spiny dogfish, seahorses, and hermit crabs.
Anchovies are a popular commercially fishes species in the Black Sea. It is estimated that the Turkish fishing fleet catches roughly 300,000 of these fish each year, mostly between November and December. Anchovies are a very salty fish species.
Some believe that the Black Sea was the landing point for Noah's Ark. The exact spot is believed to be Mt. Ararat in eastern Turkey. There is no evidence but many people venture there anyway.


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