Black Sea
An inland sea located between Southeast Europe and Western Asia, bordering Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Georgia, the Black Sea is about 4.2 million square kilometers in area. Its average depth is 1,300 meters, reaching 2,245 meters in the central area. The Black Sea is connected with the Mediterranean Sea via the Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, and Dardanelles; the Kerch Strait links it with the Sea of Azov. The rivers that empty into the Black Sea, including the Danube, Dniester, and Dnieper, dump into it 310 square kilometers of fresh water and a sediment load with a considerable amount of pollutants. No marine life exists below 200 meters in the sea, due to a high concentration of hydrogen sulfite.
The total length of the coastline is 3,400 kilometers, with the Crimea being the only peninsula. The Caucasian and Pontic Mountains face the Black Sea in the east and south. The Danube forms an impressive delta on the west.
In summer, the weather is hot and dry, with average July temperatures of 22–24°C, sometimes reaching 30–35°C. Winters are cold, often with rain, snowfall, and severe storms resulting from the intrusion of Arctic air masses. The average January temperatures of 3–8°C may drop to minus 20–30°C in exceptionally cold winters.
The area around the Black Sea was a cradle of various civilizations, including Greece, Rome, Byzantium, Turkey, and Russia. Today, ports and naval bases dot its shores, such as Odessa in the Ukraine, Novorossiysk in Russia, Varna in Bulgaria, and Batumi in Georgia.
Pollution is a major concern of the nations surrounding the Black Sea, who have initiated several cooperative projects aimed at environmental protection. In 1989, eleven countries—Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine—signed the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Pact with a goal of promoting greater democracy, peace, and development in the Black Sea region.
Further Reading
Aybak, Tunc, ed. (2001) Politics of the Black Sea: Dynamics of Cooperation and Conflict. London and New York: I. B. Tauris.
Mamaev V. O., D. G. Aubrey, and V. N. Eremeev, eds. (1995) Bibliography 1974–1994: Black Sea. Environmental Series N 1. New York: United Nations Publications.
Mavrodiev, Strachimir Chterev. (1999) Applied Ecology of the Black Sea. Commack, NY: Nova Science.
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