List of seas on Earth

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File:Oceans and seas boundaries map-en.svg
Marginal seas as defined by the International Hydrographic Organization[1]

This is a list of seas of the World Ocean, including marginal seas, areas of water, various gulfs, bights, bays, and straits.[2] 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. Entities called "seas" which are not divisions of the World Ocean are not included in this list, nor are Ocean gyres.

Terminology

  • Ocean – the four to seven largest named bodies of water in the World Ocean, all of which have "Ocean" in the name Template:Xref.
  • Sea has several definitions:Template:Efn
    • A division of an ocean, delineated by landforms,[3] 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.[4]
    • The World Ocean. For example, the Law of the Sea states that all of the World Ocean is "sea",[5][6][7]Template:Efn 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:[8]

  • 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:

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  1. Philippine Sea – Template:Convert
  2. Coral Sea – Template:Convert
  3. American Mediterranean Sea – Template:Convert
  4. Arabian Sea – Template:Convert
  5. Sargasso Sea – Template:Convert
  6. South China Sea – Template:Convert
  7. Weddell Sea – Template:Convert
  8. Caribbean Sea – Template:Convert
  9. Mediterranean Sea – Template:Convert
  10. Gulf of Guinea – Template:Convert
  11. Tasman Sea – Template:Convert
  12. Bay of Bengal – Template:Convert
  13. Bering Sea – Template:Convert
  14. Sea of Okhotsk – Template:Convert
  15. Gulf of Mexico – Template:Convert
  16. Gulf of Alaska – Template:Convert
  17. Barents Sea – Template:Convert
  18. Norwegian Sea – Template:Convert
  19. East China Sea – Template:Convert
  20. Hudson Bay – Template:Convert
  21. Greenland Sea – Template:Convert
  22. Somov Sea – Template:Convert
  23. Mar de Grau – Template:Convert
  24. Riiser-Larsen Sea – Template:Convert
  25. Sea of Japan – Template:Convert
  26. Argentine Sea – Template:Convert
  27. East Siberian Sea – Template:Convert
  28. Lazarev Sea – Template:Convert
  29. Kara Sea – Template:Convert
  30. Scotia Sea – Template:Convert
  31. Labrador Sea – Template:Convert
  32. Andaman Sea – Template:Convert
  33. Laccadive Sea – Template:Convert
  34. Irminger Sea – Template:Convert
  35. Solomon Sea – Template:Convert
  36. Mozambique Channel – Template:Convert
  37. Cosmonauts Sea – Template:Convert
  38. Banda Sea – Template:Convert
  39. Baffin Bay – Template:Convert
  40. Laptev Sea – Template:Convert
  41. Arafura Sea – Template:Convert
  42. Ross Sea – Template:Convert
  43. Chukchi Sea – Template:Convert
  44. Timor Sea – Template:Convert
  45. North Sea – Template:Convert
  46. Bellingshausen Sea – Template:Convert
  47. Beaufort Sea – Template:Convert
  48. Red Sea – Template:Convert
  49. Black Sea – Template:Convert
  50. Gulf of Aden – Template:Convert
  51. Yellow Sea – Template:Convert
  52. Baltic Sea – Template:Convert
  53. Caspian Sea – Template:Convert
  54. Libyan Sea – Template:Convert
  55. Mawson Sea – Template:Convert
  56. Levantine Sea – Template:Convert
  57. Java Sea – Template:Convert
  58. Gulf of Thailand – Template:Convert
  59. Celtic Sea – Template:Convert
  60. Gulf of Carpentaria – Template:Convert
  61. Celebes Sea – Template:Convert
  62. Tyrrhenian Sea – Template:Convert
  63. Sulu Sea – Template:Convert
  64. Cooperation Sea – Template:Convert
  65. Persian Gulf – Template:Convert
  66. Flores Sea – Template:Convert
  67. Gulf of St. Lawrence – Template:Convert
  68. Bay of Biscay – Template:Convert
  69. Aegean Sea – Template:Convert
  70. Gulf of Anadyr – Template:Convert
  71. Molucca Sea – Template:Convert
  72. Oman Sea – Template:Convert
  73. Ionian Sea – Template:Convert
  74. Gulf of California – Template:Convert
  75. Balearic Sea – Template:Convert
  76. Adriatic Sea – Template:Convert

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Marginal seas by ocean

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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.[9]

File:Europäisches Nordmeer mit Grenzen.png
The Norwegian Sea
File:Ionian Sea map.png
The Aegean, Adriatic, Ionian, and Tyrrhenian are all marginal seas within the Mediterranean Sea.
File:IrishSeaReliefmap.png
The Irish Sea
File:Arabian Sea map.png
The Arabian Sea as a marginal sea of the Indian Ocean.
File:Coral Sea map.png
Coral Sea

Arctic Ocean

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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.[10][11]

Africa and Eurasia

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Americas

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Northern islands

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Indian Ocean

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Pacific Ocean

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Americas

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Australia and Eurasia

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Southern Ocean

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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:[13]

Not included

Entities called "seas" which are not divisions of the World Ocean are not included in this list. Excluded are:

See also

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Notes

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References

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External links

Template:Lists of bodies of water Template:List of seas Template:Physical oceanography

  1. ↑ INTERNATIONAL HYDROGRAPHIC ORGANIZATION – LIMITS OF OCEANS AND SEAS
  2. ↑ OCEANS & SEAS OF THE WORLD
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Often treated as a part of the Mediterranean Sea.
  13. ↑ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – What is the Sargasso Sea?
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