List of seas on Earth

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List of seas on Earth - Wikipedia

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(Redirected from Marginal sea)

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.

Terminology

Ocean – the four to seven largest named bodies of water in the World Ocean, all of which have "Ocean" in the name (see: Borders of the oceans for details).
Sea has several definitions:^[a]
- A division of an ocean, delineated by landforms,^[6] 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.^[7]
- The World Ocean. For example, the Law of the Sea states that all of the World Ocean is "sea",^[8]^[9]^[10]^[b] 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:^[12]

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:

Philippine Sea – 5.695 million km² (2.199 million sq mi)
Coral Sea – 4.791 million km² (1.850 million sq mi)
American Mediterranean Sea – 4.200 million km² (1.622 million sq mi)
Arabian Sea – 3.862 million km² (1.491 million sq mi)
Sargasso Sea – 3.5 million km² (1.4 million sq mi)
South China Sea – 3.5 million km² (1.4 million sq mi)
Weddell Sea – 2.8 million km² (1.1 million sq mi)
Caribbean Sea – 2.754 million km² (1.063 million sq mi)
Mediterranean Sea – 2.510 million km² (0.969 million sq mi)
Gulf of Guinea – 2.35 million km² (0.91 million sq mi)
Tasman Sea – 2.3 million km² (0.89 million sq mi)
Bay of Bengal – 2.172 million km² (0.839 million sq mi)
Bering Sea – 2 million km² (0.77 million sq mi)
Sea of Okhotsk – 1.583 million km² (0.611 million sq mi)
Gulf of Mexico – 1.550 million km² (0.598 million sq mi)
Gulf of Alaska – 1.533 million km² (0.592 million sq mi)
Barents Sea – 1.4 million km² (0.54 million sq mi)
Norwegian Sea – 1.383 million km² (0.534 million sq mi)
East China Sea – 1.249 million km² (0.482 million sq mi)
Hudson Bay – 1.23 million km² (0.47 million sq mi)
Greenland Sea – 1.205 million km² (0.465 million sq mi)
Somov Sea – 1.15 million km² (0.44 million sq mi)
Mar de Grau – 1.14 million km² (0.44 million sq mi)
Riiser-Larsen Sea – 1.138 million km² (0.439 million sq mi)
Sea of Japan – 1.05 million km² (0.41 million sq mi)
Argentine Sea – 1 million km² (0.39 million sq mi)
East Siberian Sea – 987,000 km² (381,000 sq mi)
Lazarev Sea – 929,000 km² (359,000 sq mi)
Kara Sea – 926,000 km² (358,000 sq mi)
Scotia Sea – 900,000 km² (350,000 sq mi)
Labrador Sea – 841,000 km² (325,000 sq mi)
Andaman Sea – 797,700 km² (308,000 sq mi)
Laccadive Sea – 786,000 km² (303,000 sq mi)
Irminger Sea – 780,000 km² (300,000 sq mi)
Solomon Sea – 720,000 km² (280,000 sq mi)
Mozambique Channel – 700,000 km² (270,000 sq mi)
Cosmonauts Sea – 699,000 km² (270,000 sq mi)
Banda Sea – 695,000 km² (268,000 sq mi)
Baffin Bay – 689,000 km² (266,000 sq mi)
Laptev Sea – 662,000 km² (256,000 sq mi)
Arafura Sea – 650,000 km² (250,000 sq mi)
Ross Sea – 637,000 km² (246,000 sq mi)
Chukchi Sea – 620,000 km² (240,000 sq mi)
Timor Sea – 610,000 km² (240,000 sq mi)
North Sea – 575,000 km² (222,000 sq mi)
Bellingshausen Sea – 487,000 km² (188,000 sq mi)
Beaufort Sea – 476,000 km² (184,000 sq mi)
Red Sea – 438,000 km² (169,000 sq mi)
Black Sea – 436,000 km² (168,000 sq mi)
Gulf of Aden – 410,000 km² (160,000 sq mi)
Yellow Sea – 380,000 km² (150,000 sq mi)
Baltic Sea – 377,000 km² (146,000 sq mi)
Caspian Sea – 371,000 km² (143,000 sq mi)
Libyan Sea – 350,000 km² (140,000 sq mi)
Mawson Sea – 333,000 km² (129,000 sq mi)
Levantine Sea – 320,000 km² (120,000 sq mi)
Java Sea – 320,000 km² (120,000 sq mi)
Gulf of Thailand – 320,000 km² (120,000 sq mi)
Celtic Sea – 300,000 km² (120,000 sq mi)
Gulf of Carpentaria – 300,000 km² (120,000 sq mi)
Celebes Sea – 280,000 km² (110,000 sq mi)
Tyrrhenian Sea – 275,000 km² (106,000 sq mi)
Sulu Sea – 260,000 km² (100,000 sq mi)
Cooperation Sea – 258,000 km² (100,000 sq mi)
Persian Gulf – 251,000 km² (97,000 sq mi)
Flores Sea – 240,000 km² (93,000 sq mi)
Gulf of St. Lawrence – 226,000 km² (87,000 sq mi)
Bay of Biscay – 223,000 km² (86,000 sq mi)
Aegean Sea – 214,000 km² (83,000 sq mi)
Gulf of Anadyr – 200,000 km² (77,000 sq mi)
Molucca Sea – 200,000 km² (77,000 sq mi)
Oman Sea – 181,000 km² (70,000 sq mi)
Ionian Sea – 169,000 km² (65,000 sq mi)
Gulf of California – 160,000 km² (62,000 sq mi)
Balearic Sea – 150,000 km² (58,000 sq mi)
Adriatic Sea – 138,000 km² (53,000 sq mi)

Marginal seas by ocean

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (July 2023)

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.^[13]

Arctic Ocean

(clockwise from 180°)

Chukchi Sea
East Siberian Sea
Laptev Sea
Kara Sea
Barents Sea (connected to the Kara Sea by the Kara Strait)
- Pechora Sea
- White Sea
Queen Victoria Sea
Wandel Sea
Greenland Sea
Lincoln Sea (recognized by the IHO but not the IMO)
Baffin Bay
The Northwest Passages
- Prince Gustaf Adolf Sea
- Amundsen Gulf
Hudson Bay
Beaufort Sea

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.^[14]^[15]

Africa and Eurasia

Americas

(coast-wise from north to south)

North Water Polynya
Baffin Bay
Davis Strait
- Home Bay
Labrador Sea
- Cumberland Sound
- Frobisher Bay
Gulf of St. Lawrence
Gulf of Maine
- Bay of Fundy
- Massachusetts Bay
- Cape Cod Bay
Nantucket Sound
Vineyard Sound
Buzzards Bay
Narragansett Bay
Rhode Island Sound
Block Island Sound
Fishers Island Sound
Long Island Sound
- Shelter Island Sound
- Noyack Bay
- Peconic Bay
- Gardiners Bay
- Tobaccolot Bay
- Sag Harbor Bay
- Three Mile Harbor
- Long Beach Bay
- Pipes Cove
- Southold Bay
- Flanders Bay
- Napeague Bay
- Fort Pond Bay
- North Sea Harbor
New York Bay
- Upper New York Bay
- Lower New York Bay
Jamaica Bay
Raritan Bay
Sandy Hook Bay
Delaware Bay
Chesapeake Bay
Albemarle Sound
Pamlico Sound
American Mediterranean Sea
- Gulf of Mexico
- Caribbean Sea
Bay of All Saints
Guanabara Bay
Lagoa dos Patos
Argentine Sea
- Samborombón Bay
- San Matías Gulf
- Golfo Nuevo
- San Jorge Gulf

Northern islands

(from east to west)

Irish Sea (between Great Britain and Ireland)
Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland
- Sea of the Hebrides (Great Britain)
Denmark Strait (between Greenland and Iceland)
Irminger Sea

Indian Ocean

Andaman Sea
- Gulf of Martaban – an arm of the Andaman Sea in the southern part of Myanmar
Arabian Sea
- Gulf of Kutch
- Gulf of Khambhat
Bay of Bengal
Gulf of Aden
Gulf of Oman
Laccadive Sea
Mozambique Channel
Persian Gulf
Red Sea
Sea of Zanj
Timor Sea
Palk Strait
Palk Bay
Gulf of Mannar

Pacific Ocean

Americas

Australia and Eurasia

Arafura Sea
Bali Sea
Banda Sea
Bay of Kampong Som
Bay of Plenty
Bismarck Sea
Bohai Sea
Bohol Sea (also known as the Mindanao Sea)
Camotes Sea
Celebes Sea
Ceram Sea
Coral Sea
Devil's/Dragon's Sea
East China Sea
- Ariake Sea
- Hangzhou Bay
- Kagoshima Bay
Flores Sea
Gulf of Carpentaria
Gulf of Thailand
- Bandon Bay
- Bay of Bangkok
Halmahera Sea
Hauraki Gulf
Hawke's Bay
Java Sea
Koro Sea
Molucca Sea
Philippine Sea
- Ise Bay
  - Mikawa Bay
- Suruga Bay
Poverty Bay
Sagami Bay
Savu Sea
Sea of Japan
- Peter the Great Gulf
- Toyama Bay
- Wakasa Bay
Sea of Okhotsk
- Shelikhov Gulf
Seto Inland Sea
- Osaka Bay
Sibuyan Sea
Solomon Sea
South China Sea
- Gulf of Tonkin
- Qiongzhou Strait
- Natuna Sea
  - North Natuna Sea
- West Philippine Sea
South Seas
- Gulf of Tonkin
Sulu Sea
Tasman Sea
Tokyo Bay
Visayan Sea
Waihau Bay
Yellow Sea
- Bohai Sea
- Jiaozhou Bay
- Korea Bay

Southern Ocean

Amundsen Sea
Bellingshausen Sea
Cooperation Sea^[c]
Cosmonauts Sea^[c]
Davis Sea
D'Urville Sea
Drake Passage
King Haakon VII Sea^[c]
Lazarev Sea^[c]
Mawson Sea^[c]
McMurdo Sound
- Polynyas in McMurdo Sound
Riiser-Larsen Sea
Ross Sea
Scotia Sea
Somov Sea^[c]
Spencer Gulf
Weddell Sea
- Weddell Polynya/Maud Rise Polynya

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:^[20]

Sargasso Sea – a sea defined by the four ocean currents which create the North Atlantic Gyre

Not included

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

Lakes, ponds, etc.:
- Salt lakes with "Sea" in the name: Aral Sea, Dead Sea, Salton Sea
- Freshwater lakes with "Sea" in the name: Sea of Galilee
- Bodies of water identified in lakes (bays, straits, etc.)
Ocean gyres
Seas in fiction, religion or mythology

Notes

^ There is no accepted technical definition of sea among oceanographers. A rather weak definition is that a sea is a subdivision of an ocean, which means that it must have oceanic basin crust on its floor. This definition, for example, accepts the Caspian Sea, which was once part of an ancient ocean, as a sea.^[3] The Introduction to Marine Biology defines a sea as a "landlocked" body of water, adding that the term "sea" is only one of convenience, but the book is written by marine biologists, not oceanographers.^[4] The Glossary of Mapping Sciences similarly states that the boundaries between seas and other bodies of water are arbitrary.^[5]
^ According to this definition, the Caspian would be excluded as it is legally an "international lake".^[11]
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Proposed names to the IHO 2002 draft. This draft was never approved by the IHO (or any other organization), and the 1953 IHO document (which does not contain these names which mostly originated from 1962 onward) remains currently in force.^[17] Leading geographic authorities and atlases do not use these names, including the 2014 10th edition World Atlas from the National Geographic Society and the 2014 12th edition of the Times Atlas of the World. But Soviet and Russian-issued state maps do include them.^[18]^[19]

References

^ INTERNATIONAL HYDROGRAPHIC ORGANIZATION – LIMITS OF OCEANS AND SEAS
^ OCEANS & SEAS OF THE WORLD
^ Conforti, B; Bravo, Luigi Ferrari (2005). The Italian Yearbook of International Law 2004. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. ISBN 9789004150270.
^ Karleskint, George; Turner, Richard L; Small, James W (2009). Introduction to Marine Biology. Cengage Learning. ISBN 9780495561972.
^ The Glossary of the Mapping Sciences – Google Books. ASCE Publications. 1994. ISBN 9780784475706. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
^ "What's the difference between an ocean and a sea?". Oceanservice.noaa.gov. 11 January 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
^ American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (1994). Glossary of the mapping sciences. ASCE Publications. p. 469. ISBN 978-0-7844-0050-0. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
^ Vukas, B (2004). The Law of the Sea: Selected Writings. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. ISBN 9789004138636.
^ Gupta, Manoj (2010). Indian Ocean Region: Maritime Regimes for Regional Cooperation. Springer. ISBN 9781441959898.
^ "Discover The Seven Seas of the Earth". Geography.about.com. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
^ Gokay, Bulent (2001). The Politics of Caspian Oil. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9780333739730.
^ "gulf – coastal feature".
^ Wang, James C. F. (1992). Handbook on Ocean Politics & Law. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-313-26434-4.
^ James C. F. Wang (1992). Handbook on ocean politics & law. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 14–. ISBN 9780313264344. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
^ Longhurst, Alan R. (2007). Ecological Geography of the Sea. Academic Press. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-12-455521-1.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Often treated as a part of the Mediterranean Sea.
^ "Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd (currently in-force) edition" (PDF). International Hydrographic Organization. 1953. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
^ Антарктида, rubricon.com/ (map)
^ "Антарктида". gturs.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-10. Retrieved 2015-06-06. (map)
^ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – What is the Sargasso Sea?

External links

The dictionary definition of marginal sea at Wiktionary

Lists of bodies of water

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v t e Earth's oceans and seas
Antarctic/Southern Ocean	Amundsen Sea Bellingshausen Sea Cooperation Sea Cosmonauts Sea Davis Sea D'Urville Sea King Haakon VII Sea Lazarev Sea Mawson Sea Riiser-Larsen Sea Ross Sea Scotia Sea Somov Sea Weddell Sea
Arctic Ocean	Amundsen Gulf Barents Sea Beaufort Sea Chukchi Sea East Siberian Sea Greenland Sea Gulf of Boothia Kara Sea Laptev Sea Lincoln Sea Pechora Sea Prince Gustaf Adolf Sea Queen Victoria Sea Wandel Sea White Sea
Atlantic Ocean	Adriatic Sea Aegean Sea Alboran Sea American Mediterranean Sea Archipelago Sea Argentine Sea Baffin Bay Balearic Sea Baltic Sea Bay of Biscay Bay of Bothnia Bay of Campeche Bay of Fundy Black Sea Bothnian Sea Caribbean Sea Celtic Sea English Channel Foxe Basin Greenland Sea Gulf of Bothnia Gulf of Finland Gulf of Guinea Gulf of Lion Gulf of Maine Gulf of Mexico Gulf of Sidra Gulf of St. Lawrence Gulf of Venezuela Hudson Bay Ionian Sea Irish Sea Irminger Sea James Bay Labrador Sea Levantine Sea Libyan Sea Ligurian Sea Mediterranean Sea Myrtoan Sea North Sea Norwegian Sea Sargasso Sea Sea of Åland Sea of Azov Sea of Crete Sea of the Hebrides Sea of Marmara Thracian Sea Tyrrhenian Sea Wadden Sea
Indian Ocean	Andaman Sea Arabian Sea Bay of Bengal Flores Sea Great Australian Bight Gulf of Aden Gulf of Aqaba Gulf of Khambhat Gulf of Kutch Gulf of Oman Gulf of Suez Laccadive Sea Mozambique Channel Persian Gulf Red Sea Timor Sea
Pacific Ocean	Arafura Sea Bali Sea Banda Sea Bering Sea Bismarck Sea Bohai Sea Bohol Sea Camotes Sea Celebes Sea Chilean Sea Coral Sea East China Sea Gulf of Alaska Gulf of Anadyr Gulf of California Gulf of Carpentaria Gulf of Fonseca Gulf of Panama Gulf of Thailand Gulf of Tonkin Halmahera Sea Java Sea Koro Sea Mar de Grau Molucca Sea Moro Gulf Philippine Sea Salish Sea Savu Sea Sea of Japan Sea of Okhotsk Seram Sea Seto Inland Sea Shantar Sea Sibuyan Sea Solomon Sea South China Sea Sulu Sea Tasman Sea Visayan Sea Yellow Sea
Endorheic basins	Aral Sea Caspian Sea Dead Sea Salton Sea
Others	Ocean Sea Superocean
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Category Commons Oceans portal

Categories:

Hidden categories:

Terminology

Largest seas by area

Marginal seas by ocean

Arctic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

Africa and Eurasia

Americas

Northern islands

Indian Ocean

Pacific Ocean

Americas

Australia and Eurasia

Southern Ocean

Defined by ocean currents

Not included

See also

Notes

References

External links