"Propontis" redirects here. For the Liberian cargo ship, see SS Propontis.
The Sea of Marmara,[a] also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, separating the country's European and Asian sides. The Sea of Marmara is a small sea with an area of 11,350 km2 (4,380 sq mi), and dimensions of 280 km × 80 km (174 mi × 50 mi).[1] Its greatest depth is 1,370 m (4,490 ft).
The Sea of Marmara is named after the largest island to its south side, which is called Marmara Island because it is rich in marble (Greekμάρμᾰρον (mármaron) "marble").[2]
In classical antiquity, it was known as the Propontis, which is derived from the Greek words pro- (before) and pontos (sea) and reflects the fact that the Ancient Greeks used to sail through it to reach the Black Sea, which they called Pontos.
The surface salinity of the Marmara averages about 22 parts per thousand, which is slightly more than that of the Black Sea, but only about two-thirds that of most oceans. The water is much more saline at the bottom of the sea, averaging a salinity of around 38 parts per thousand, similar to that of the Mediterranean Sea. This high-density saline water does not migrate to the surface as is also the case with the Black Sea,. Water from the Susurluk, Biga (Granicus), and Gönen Rivers also reduces the salinity of the sea, though with less effect than on the Black Sea. With little land in Thrace draining southward, almost all of these rivers flow from Anatolia.
There are two main groups of islands in the Sea of Marmara. To the north lie the Prince Islands, an archipelago made up of the inhabited islands of Kınaliada, Burgazada, Heybeliada, Büyüyada and Sedef Adası and several uninhabited islands including Sivriada, Yassıada, Kaşıkadası and Tavşanadası. The inhabited islands are readily accessible by ferry from both the European and Asian shores of İstanbul and the entire archipelago forms part of the conurbation.
To the south lie the Marmara Islands, an archipelago made up of the eponymous Marmara Island and three other inhabited islands – Avşa, Paşalimanı and Ekinlik – as well as of seventeen largely uninhabited islands including the prison island of Imralı whose most famous prisoner, since 1999, has been the PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan. These islands lie within Balıkesir province and are most readily accessible from Tekirdağ in Thrace or Erdek on the southern shore of the Sea of Marmara. In high summer additional ferries travel to Avşa and Marmara Islands from the centre of İstanbul to facilitate a growing tourist trade.
There are also a few individual islands elsewhere in the Sea of Marmara, such as Koç Adası, off Tuzla, which is privately owned by the Koç family of industrialists.
Problems facing the Sea of Marmara
The North Anatolian Fault runs under the sea and has triggered several major earthquakes, such as those in Izmit and Düzce in August and November 1999 respectively. The August 1999 earthquake is commonly referred to as the Marmara Earthquake since its epicentre lay under the Sea and most of the places worst affected by the quake and ensuing tsunami lay along its shores. [4]
During a storm on 29 December 1999, the Russian oil tankerVolgoneft broke in two in the Sea of Marmara, spilling more than 1,500 tonnes of oil into the water.[5]
In 2021 the shores of the Sea of Marmara were disfigured by mucilage - nicknamed 'sea snot' - caused, at least in part, by the dumping of untreated waste into the water.[6]
^"Marmara, Sea of - Dictionary definition of Marmara, Sea of - Encyclopedia.com: FREE online dictionary". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
^Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert. "A Greek-English Lexicon". Henry Stuart Jones and Roderick McKenzie. Perseus. Retrieved January 12, 2009.
^Parada, Carlos. . Archived from the original on February 13, 2002. Retrieved April 30, 2001.
^"Marmara earthquake: 20 years on | IFRC". www.ifrc.org. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
^ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237745806. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^"Impact of mucilage in Marmara Sea to be less harsh: Expert - Türkiye News". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
^"Limits of Oceans and Seas" (PDF) (3rd ed.). International Hydrographic Organization. 1953. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sea of Marmara.
marmara, propontis, redirects, here, liberian, cargo, ship, propontis, also, known, marmara, inland, located, entirely, within, borders, turkey, connects, black, aegean, bosporus, dardanelles, straits, separating, country, european, asian, sides, small, with, . Propontis redirects here For the Liberian cargo ship see SS Propontis The Sea of Marmara a also known as the Marmara Sea is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits separating the country s European and Asian sides The Sea of Marmara is a small sea with an area of 11 350 km2 4 380 sq mi and dimensions of 280 km 80 km 174 mi 50 mi 1 Its greatest depth is 1 370 m 4 490 ft Sea of MarmaraSea of MarmaraLocation of the Sea of Marmara within TurkeyBathymetry and surrounding reliefLocationEurope and AsiaCoordinates40 40 N 28 00 E 40 667 N 28 000 E 40 667 28 000 Coordinates 40 40 N 28 00 E 40 667 N 28 000 E 40 667 28 000TypeInland seaNative nameMarmara Denizi Turkish Primary inflowsSimav River Biga Cayi Nilufer RiverPrimary outflowsTurkish StraitsCatchment area11 500 km2 4 400 sq mi Basin countriesTurkeySurface area11 350 km2 4 380 sq mi Average depth494 m 1 621 ft Max depth1 370 m 4 490 ft Water volume3 378 km3 810 cu mi IslandsMarmara Island Avsa Imrali Prince Islands Pasalimani and Ekinlik IslandSettlementsIstanbul Bursa Izmit Tekirdag Balikesir Canakkale and YalovaSatellite image of the Sea of Marmara Algal bloom on the Sea of Marmara Satellite image showing metropolitan Izmit along northern and eastern shores Contents 1 Name 2 Mythology 3 Geography and hydrology 3 1 Islands 4 Problems facing the Sea of Marmara 5 Extent 6 Towns and cities 7 Gallery 8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 11 External linksName EditThe Sea of Marmara is named after the largest island to its south side which is called Marmara Island because it is rich in marble Greek marmᾰron marmaron marble 2 In classical antiquity it was known as the Propontis which is derived from the Greek words pro before and pontos sea and reflects the fact that the Ancient Greeks used to sail through it to reach the Black Sea which they called Pontos Mythology EditIn Greek mythology a storm on the Propontis brought the Argonauts back to an island they had left precipitating a battle in which either Jason or Heracles killed King Cyzicus who mistook them for his Pelasgian enemies 3 Geography and hydrology EditThe surface salinity of the Marmara averages about 22 parts per thousand which is slightly more than that of the Black Sea but only about two thirds that of most oceans The water is much more saline at the bottom of the sea averaging a salinity of around 38 parts per thousand similar to that of the Mediterranean Sea This high density saline water does not migrate to the surface as is also the case with the Black Sea Water from the Susurluk Biga Granicus and Gonen Rivers also reduces the salinity of the sea though with less effect than on the Black Sea With little land in Thrace draining southward almost all of these rivers flow from Anatolia The sea s south coast is heavily indented and includes the Gulf of Izmit Turkish Izmit Korfezi the Gulf of Gemlik Turkish Gemlik Korfezi the Gulf of Bandirma Turkish Bandirma Korfezi and the Gulf of Erdek Turkish Erdek Korfezi Islands Edit There are two main groups of islands in the Sea of Marmara To the north lie the Prince Islands an archipelago made up of the inhabited islands of Kinaliada Burgazada Heybeliada Buyuyada and Sedef Adasi and several uninhabited islands including Sivriada Yassiada Kasikadasi and Tavsanadasi The inhabited islands are readily accessible by ferry from both the European and Asian shores of Istanbul and the entire archipelago forms part of the conurbation To the south lie the Marmara Islands an archipelago made up of the eponymous Marmara Island and three other inhabited islands Avsa Pasalimani and Ekinlik as well as of seventeen largely uninhabited islands including the prison island of Imrali whose most famous prisoner since 1999 has been the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan These islands lie within Balikesir province and are most readily accessible from Tekirdag in Thrace or Erdek on the southern shore of the Sea of Marmara In high summer additional ferries travel to Avsa and Marmara Islands from the centre of Istanbul to facilitate a growing tourist trade There are also a few individual islands elsewhere in the Sea of Marmara such as Koc Adasi off Tuzla which is privately owned by the Koc family of industrialists Problems facing the Sea of Marmara EditThe North Anatolian Fault runs under the sea and has triggered several major earthquakes such as those in Izmit and Duzce in August and November 1999 respectively The August 1999 earthquake is commonly referred to as the Marmara Earthquake since its epicentre lay under the Sea and most of the places worst affected by the quake and ensuing tsunami lay along its shores 4 During a storm on 29 December 1999 the Russian oil tanker Volgoneft broke in two in the Sea of Marmara spilling more than 1 500 tonnes of oil into the water 5 In 2021 the shores of the Sea of Marmara were disfigured by mucilage nicknamed sea snot caused at least in part by the dumping of untreated waste into the water 6 Extent EditThe International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Sea of Marmara as follows 7 On the West The Dardanelles limit of the Aegean Sea A line joining Kum Kale 26 11 E and Cape Helles dd On the Northeast A line joining Cape Rumili with Cape Anatoli 41 13 N dd Towns and cities EditTowns and cities on the coast of the Sea of Marmara include Istanbul Province IstanbulAdalar Bakirkoy Bostanci Kadikoy Kartal Kumkapi Maltepe Pendik Uskudar Yesilkoy Zeytinburnu dd BuyukcekmeceKumburgaz dd Silivri Tuzla Balikesir Province Bandirma Erdek Gonen MarmaraBursa Province Gemlik Karacabey MudanyaCanakkale Province Biga Gelibolu Lapseki Kocaeli Province Derince Eskihisar Gebze Golcuk Hereke Izmit Pr Cap Karamursel KorfezTekirdag Province Marmara Eregli Sarkoy Tekirdag Pr Cap Yalova Province Altinova Armutlu Ciftlikkoy Cinarcik Termal Yalova Pr Cap Gallery Edit The Bosporus with Istanbul in the background View of Marmara Sea from Istanbul Sea of Marmara approaching YassiadaSee also Edit1509 Constantinople earthquake 1999 Izmit earthquake Black Sea deluge hypothesis Kanal Istanbul Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits Turkish StraitsNotes Edit ˈ m ɑːr m er e Turkish Marmara Denizi Ancient Greek Propontis Propontida romanized Propontis PropontidaReferences Edit Marmara Sea of Dictionary definition of Marmara Sea of Encyclopedia com FREE online dictionary www encyclopedia com Retrieved 3 January 2018 Liddell Henry George Scott Robert A Greek English Lexicon Henry Stuart Jones and Roderick McKenzie Perseus Retrieved January 12 2009 Parada Carlos Greek Mythology Link Archived from the original on February 13 2002 Retrieved April 30 2001 Marmara earthquake 20 years on IFRC www ifrc org Retrieved 2022 08 01 https www researchgate net publication 237745806 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a Missing or empty title help Impact of mucilage in Marmara Sea to be less harsh Expert Turkiye News Hurriyet Daily News Retrieved 2022 08 01 Limits of Oceans and Seas PDF 3rd ed International Hydrographic Organization 1953 Retrieved 28 December 2020 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sea of Marmara Sea of Marmara at the Encyclopaedia Britannica Sea of Marmara Where Ancient Myth and Modern Science Mix at SCIENCE FOCUS SeaWiFS Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sea of Marmara amp oldid 1142746148, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
