Black Sea

Lore & Background

The earliest known name of the Black Sea is the Sea of Zalpa, so called by both the Hattians and their conquerors, the Hittites. The principal Greek name Póntos Áxeinos is generally accepted to be a rendering of the Iranian word *axšaina- ("dark colored"). Ancient Greek voyagers adopted the name as Á-xe(i)nos, identified with the Greek word áxeinos (inhospitable). The name Πόντος Ἄξεινος Póntos Áxeinos (Inhospitable Sea), first attested in Pindar (c. 475 BC), was considered an ill omen and was euphemized to its opposite, Εὔξεινος Πόντος Eúxeinos Póntos (Hospitable Sea), also first attested in Pindar. Strabo's Geographica (1.2.10) reports that in antiquity, the Black Sea was often simply called "the Sea" (ὁ πόντος ho Pontos). Popular supposition derives "Black Sea" from the dark color of the water or climatic conditions. Some scholars understand the name to be derived from a system of Turkic color symbolism representing the cardinal directions, with black or dark for north, red for south, white for west, and green or light blue for east. Hence, "Black Sea" meant "Northern Sea". According to this scheme, the name could only have originated with a people living between the northern (black) and southern (red) seas: this points to the Achaemenids (550–330 BC).

Reader's Guide

The Black Sea, not including the Sea of Azov, covers 436,400 km² (168,500 sq mi), has a maximum depth of 2,212 m (7,257 ft), and a volume of 547,000 km³ (131,000 cu mi). Most of its coasts ascend rapidly. These rises are the Pontic Mountains to the south, the southwest-facing peninsulas, the Caucasus Mountains to the east, and the Crimean Mountains to the mid-north. In the west, the coast is generally small floodplains below foothills such as the Strandzha; Cape Emine, a dwindling of the east end of the Balkan Mountains; and the Dobruja Plateau considerably farther north. The longest east–west extent is about 1,175 km (730 mi). Important cities along the coast include (clockwise from the Bosporus) the northern suburbs of Istanbul, Burgas, Varna, Constanța, Odesa, Yevpatoria, Sevastopol, Yalta, Kerch, Novorossiysk, Sochi, Poti, Batumi, Rize, Trabzon, Ordu, Samsun and Zonguldak. The Black Sea has a positive water balance, with an annual net outflow of 300 km³ per year through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles into the Aegean Sea. While the net flow of water through the Bosporus and Dardanelles (known collectively as the Turkish Straits) is out of the Black Sea, water generally flows in both directions simultaneously: Denser, more saline water from the Aegean flows into the Black Sea underneath the less dense, fresher water that flows out of the Black Sea. This creates a significant and permanent layer of deep water that does not drain or mix and is therefore anoxic. This anoxic layer is responsible for the preservation of ancient shipwrecks which have been found in the Black Sea. The Bosporus strait connects it to the small Sea of Marmara which in turn is connected to the Aegean Sea via the strait of the Dardanelles. To the north, the Black Sea is connected to the Sea of Azov by the Kerch Strait. During geological periods when this hydrological link was not present, the Black Sea was an endorheic basin, operating independently of the global ocean system (similar to the Caspian Sea today). The Black Sea is one of four seas named in English after common color terms – the others being the Red Sea, the White Sea and the Yellow Sea.

Did You Know?

• The Black Sea has a permanent anoxic layer that preserves ancient shipwrecks.
• The earliest known name of the Black Sea is the Sea of Zalpa, used by the Hattians and Hittites.
• The name 'Black Sea' may derive from a Turkic color system where black means north, making it the 'Northern Sea'.
• The Black Sea has an annual net outflow of 300 km³ per year through the Bosporus and Dardanelles into the Aegean Sea.
• During geological periods when the Turkish Straits were closed, the Black Sea was an endorheic basin like the Caspian Sea.