Sea of Azov, Shallowest Sea: Difference between revisions

The Sea of Azov is a sea in south-eastern Europe. It is linked by the narrow (about 4 km or 2.5 mi) Strait of Kerch to the Black Sea to the south and is bounded in the north by mainland Ukraine, in the east by Russia, and in the west by the Crimean Peninsula. The Don and Kuban are the major rivers that flow into it. The Sea of Azov is the shallowest sea in the world, with the depth varying between 0.9 meters (2 ft 11 in) and 14 meters (46 ft). There is a constant outflow of water from the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea.The sea is largely affected by the inflow of numerous rivers, which bring sand, silt, and shells, which in turn form numerous bays, limans, and narrow spits. Because of these deposits, the sea bottom is relatively smooth and flat with the depth gradually increasing toward the middle. Also, due to the river inflow, water in the sea has low salinity and a high amount of biomass (such as green algae) that affects the water colour. Abundant plankton results in unusually high fish productivity. The sea shores and spits are low; they are rich in vegetation and bird colonies.

Antiquity -The Maeotian marshes around the mouth of the Tanais River (the present-day Don) were famous in antiquity, as they served as an important check on the migration of nomadic people from the Eurasian steppelands. The Maeotians themselves lived by fishing and farming, but were avid warriors able to defend themselves against invaders.[19] Misled by its strong currents,[8] ancient geographers had only a vague idea of the extent of the sea, whose fresh water caused them to typically label a "swamp" or "lake". The 5th-century BC Herodotus thought it was as large as the Black Sea, while the 4th-century BC Pseudo-Scylax thought it about half as large.[9] It was long thought to provide direct communication with the Arctic Ocean.[8] The 2nd-century BC Polybius confidently stated that the strait to the Sea of Azov would close in the near future, presumably due to falling sea levels.[20] The 1st-century Strabo reckoned the distance from the Cimmerian Bosporus (the Strait of Kerch) to the mouth of the Tanais at 2200 stadia, a roughly correct figure,[but did not know that its width continuously narrows. Milesian colonization began in the 7th century BC. The Bosporan Kingdom was named for the Cimmerian Bosporus rather than the more famous Bosporus at the other end of the Black Sea. Briefly annexed by Pontus, it stretched along both southern shores of the Sea of Azov from the time of Greek colonization to the end of the Roman Empire, serving as a client kingdom which exported Russian wheat, fish, and slaves in exchange for Greek and Roman manufactures and luxuries. Its later history is uncertain, but it was probably overrun by the Huns in the late 4th century. Source Wikipedia