Sea of Marmara

Map of the Sea of Marmara.

The Sea of Marmara, also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, is the inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea. It separates Turkey's Asian and European parts. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Black Sea and the Dardanelles strait to the Aegean. The Sea has an area of 11,350 km² (280 km x 80 km)^[1] with the greatest depth reaching 1,370 m.

Geography

The salinity of the sea averages about 22 parts per thousand. This is slightly greater than that of the Black Sea but only about two-thirds that of most oceans and the Mediterranean Sea. The water is much more saline at the sea-bottom, averaging salinities of around 38 parts per thousand — similar to that of the Mediterranean Sea. Water from the Susurluk, Biga (Granicus) and Gönen River rivers reduces the salinity of the sea.

There are two major island groups known as the Princes' and Marmara islands.

The south coast of the sea includes the Gulf of Izmit, the Gulf of Gemlik and the Gulf of Erdek.

The North Anatolian fault, which has started many major earthquakes in recent years, such as the 1999 İzmit earthquake, runs under the sea from the city of İzmit in the Gulf of İzmit in the east to the coastal town of Kapaklı in the west.

References

1. Sea of Marmara

Other websites

Media related to Sea of Marmara at Wikimedia Commons

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