Seas (etc.)

This page covers the Earth's seas and oceans, and their features, including bays, gulfs, etc.).

See also Coastal Features (for things that are part of the land).

The northernmost arm of the Mediterranean: the cities of Venice and Trieste lie on its northern extremity, which is known as the Gulf of Venice		Adriatic Sea
Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania all have coasts on
Westernmost portion of the Mediterranean (between the south coast of Spain and the north coasts of Morocco and Algeria)		Alboran Sea
Bay near The Needles, Isle of Wight, noted for its cliffs of multi–coloured sand		Alum Bay
Region of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the east by India, and on the north–west by the Arabian peninsula		Arabian Sea
Smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceans; consists mainly of the Eurasian Basin and the Amerasian Basin, separated by the Lomonosov Ridge		Arctic Ocean
The rivers Yenisei, Ob and Lena – the world's 5th, 7th and 11th longest – flow into the
The rivers Oder, Neva and Vistula flow into the		Baltic Sea
Name used in English, from the 16th century to the early 19th, for the coastal regions of North Africa (similar names were used in other European languages)		Barbary
River Ganges flows into the		Bay of Bengal
Known to the French as the Golfe de Gascogne (Gulf of Gascony); Sea of Cantabria (named after the Spanish province whose coastline it forms) is the local name for part of		Bay of Biscay
The world's largest tidal variation (between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the US state of Maine)		Bay of Fundy
The islands of Ischia and Capri are geographically the ends of the peninsulas that enclose the		Bay of Naples
Large indentation in the northern coast of New Zealand's North Island		Bay of Plenty
Inlet on the Ross Ice Shelf of Antarctica: named by Shackleton, used as a base by Amundsen and Byrd		Bay of Whales
Trench between Antrim and Ayrshire, used as a munitions dump in WWII		Beaufort Dyke
Part of the Arctic Ocean, to the north–west of Canada, into which Canada's longest river (the MacKenzie) flows		Beaufort Sea
Cold current flowing North along Africa's West coast, named after a town in Angola		Bengwela
A bay on the coast of West Africa – part of the Gulf of Guinea – named after a pre–colonial African empire, but gave its name to the country formerly known as Dahomey when it gained independence from France in 1960		Bight of Benin
Formerly known as the Bight of Biafra: a bay on the coast of West Africa – part of the Gulf of Guinea – in which the islands of Sao Tomé, Principé and Bioko (part of Equatorial Guinea) are situated		Bight of Bonny
The Crimea is a peninsula in the; the River Danube flows into the		Black Sea
Flat Holm and Steep Holm are islands in the		Bristol Channel
Largest bay on the British coast		Cardigan Bay
The world's second largest sea – formerly known as the Spanish Main		Caribbean Sea
Glacial sea inlet (or fjord) – fed by the Newry River: forms part of the border between Northern Ireland (Co. Down) and the Republic (Co. Lough)		Carlingford Lough
Large natural harbour fed by the River Fal (among others); Falmouth is near its mouth; entrance guarded by Pendennis and St. Mawes castles		Carrick Roads
The world's largest enclosed inland body of water by area – sometimes described as its largest lake		Caspian Sea
The River Volga flows into the
Astrakhan and Baku are on the shores of the
Europe's lowest land point (28 metres / 92 feet below sea level)
Ocean trench south of Cuba, maximum depth over 7,000m		Cayman Trench
Deepest part of the Mariana Trench (36,000 feet below sea level)		Challenger Deep
Largest bay (or estuary) on the USA's Atlantic coast – Maryland and Virginia have shores		Chesapeake Bay
Bordered by Australia, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and New Guinea; includes the Great Barrier Reef		Coral Sea
Narrow strait between the Hebridean islands of Jura and Scarba (Scotland), with a particularly intense tidal race – often producing whirlpools and other effects		Corryvreckan
River Jordan flows into the		Dead Sea
Name given by sailors to the belt of low pressure around the Equator – characterised by light winds and calms, but occasional sudden storms – caused by the meeting of trade winds		The Doldrums
Tidal strait in New York City: separates Long Island from the Bronx on the mainland, and from the island of Manhattan; spanned by the Brooklyn Bridge		East River
Known to the French as La Manche		English Channel
Roches–Douvres, Iles Chausey		English Channel
Also known as Lake Tiberias		Sea of Galilee
Peninsula of European Turkey that forms the northern shoreline of the Dardanelles straits		Gallipoli
Inlet of the Bosporus that forms the harbour of Istanbul		Golden Horn
Great cod–fishing ground off Newfoundland – extension of the continental shelf		The Grand Banks
The more easterly of the two gulfs that are effectively extensions of the Red Sea to the north; a.k.a. the Gulf of Eilat; provides Jordan with its only coastline, and Israel with access to the Red Sea (cf. Gulf of Suez)		Gulf of Aqaba
Northern extremity of the Baltic Sea – has coasts in Sweden and Finland		Gulf of Bothnia
Separates Baja California from the Mexican mainland (a.k.a. Sea of Cortez or Vermillion Sea)		Gulf of California
Between Queensland (Cape York) and Northern Territory		Gulf of Carpentaria
The southernmost extremity of the Caribbean Sea – with shores on Panama and Colombia		Gulf of Darién
The part of the Atlantic Ocean that the Niger and Volta rivers flow into; its coastline includes the Bights of Biafra and Bonny		Gulf of Guinea
St. Petersburg stands at the head of the		Gulf of Finland
Arm of the Indian Ocean that separates India and Sri Lanka (bounded to the north by the Palk Strait)		Gulf of Mannar
The world's largest gulf, and its ninth largest body of water – 600,000 square miles in area (US National Parks Service)		Gulf of Mexico
The Rio Grande and the Mississippi River (among others) empty into the
Bay of the Baltic Sea with shores in Latvia and Estonia: partially separated from the rest of the Baltic by the island of Saaremaa (Estonia); connected to the Baltic by the Irbe Strait		Gulf of Riga
Major gulf on the coast of Libya – named after its major port, which was the birthplace of Muammar Gaddafi and where he was brutally murdered in 2011		Gulf of Sirte
The more westerly of the two gulfs that are effectively extensions of the Red Sea to the north; separates the Arabian peninsula from Africa, and the African and Asian parts of Egypt from each other (cf. Gulf of Aqaba)		Gulf of Suez
Separates the heel and toe of Italy		Gulf of Taranto
Warm Atlantic current from the Gulf of Mexico to Britain		Gulf Stream
Inlet of the Firth of Clyde near Dunoon, used as a base for US nuclear submarines 1961–92		Holy Loch
Atlantic zones, 30o North and South, noted for their long periods of calm weather		Horse Latitudes
The world's largest bay (longest coastline)		Hudson Bay
Cold current that flows northwards along the Pacific coast of South America (after the Prussian geographer who described it in 1846)		Humboldt Current
Amsterdam St. Peter Plateau		Indian Ocean
The Andaman Sea (south of Burma, west of Thailand), and the islands that surround it and share the same name, are in the
Christmas Island (a territory of Australia) is in; the Pacific island formerly of the same name has been part of the Republic of Kiribati since 1983 and is now known as Kiritimati
Corfu, Kephalonia, Lefkada, Zakynthos, Kythira, Ithaki and Paxi are the Heptanese, or 'Seven Islands' in the		Ionian Sea
Deepest point in the Indian Ocean		Java Trench
Smaller gulf on the north coast of Australia – anti–clockwise from Darwin – Western Australia and Northern Territories have shorelines on it		Joseph Bonaparte Gulf
Cold current, meets Gulf Stream off Newfoundland causing fogs		Labrador Current
Dr. Syntax Bay		Land's End
Mainland Italy and France, Monaco and Corsica all have coasts on the		Ligurian Sea
Sea loch on which Stranraer is situated		Loch Ryan
Notorious tidal current off Norway's Lofoten Islands		Maelstrom
The world's deepest oceanic trench – in the western Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines; named after a group of islands that lie immediately to the west of it; its deepest part is known as the Challenger Deep		Mariana Trench
Sea with shores in Europe, Asia and Africa; the Levant is an imprecisely–defined name for its eastern shores		Mediterranean
Deepest point in the Atlantic Ocean (28,000 feet below sea level) – part of the Puerto Rico Trench – named after the US Navy ship that discovered it in 1939		Milwaukee Deep
Scotland's largest firth – into which the rivers Ness, Findhorn and Spey flow; its coast runs from Fraserburgh to Wick via Inverness		Moray Firth
South China Sea is part of the		Pacific Ocean
Surrounded by the so–called 'Ring of Fire' – which has over 450 volcanoes (75% of the world's active and dormant volcanoes), and where about 90% of the world's earthquakes (and 81% of its largest earthquakes) occur
French name for the Straits of Dover		Pas de Calais
Stroma and Swona are the two largest islands in the		Pentland Firth
Bahrain is in the		Persian Gulf
Britain's largest natural harbour; claims to be the world's second largest, but so do Halifax (Nova Scotia) and Cork		Poole
The USA's second biggest estuary, after Chesapeke Bay: the cities of Seattle, Tacoma and Olymipa are on its shores		Puget Sound
Joined to the Mediterranean by the Suez Canal (and the Gulf of Suez); its other northern 'extension' is the Gulf of Aqaba		Red Sea
Name given to the strong westerly winds found in the Southern Hemisphere, generally between the latitudes of 40 and 50 degrees		Roaring Forties
Powerful current caused by conflicting tides around Orkney / Shetland		The Roost
Region of the North Atlantic characterised by floating masses of seaweed (after which it's named); sea that has no coastline		Sargasso Sea
Gulf on the north–east of the Black Sea, separated by the Crimean peninsula; the River Don flows into it		Sea of Azov
The world's shallowest sea (according to Wikipedia) – average depth 14 metres (46 feet)
Sea between the Mediterranean (Dardanelles) and the Black Sea (Bosporus)		Sea of Marmara
Norway, Sweden and Denmark all have shores on		The Skagerrak
The world's largest sea – includes the Macclesfield Bank; can be said to separate the Philippines from the Asian mainland (Vietnam)		South China Sea
Inlet of the North Sea on the Mainland of Shetland (also sheltered by the island of Yell): site of one of Europe's biggest oil terminals, constructed between 1975 and 1981		Sullom Voe
The sea that's bounded by mainland Italy, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica		Tyrrhenian Sea
Inlet of the North Sea with coasts in Lincolnshire and Norfolk		The Wash
Estuary or bay into which the rivers Witham, Welland, Nene and Great Ouse flow
Part of the Southern Ocean, off Antarctica, named after the British explorer who entered it in 1823		Weddell Sea
Inlet of the Arctic Ocean on which Archangel is situated		White Sea
The Bohai Sea and Korea Bay are inlets of the		Yellow Sea
Inlet of the North Sea in the Netherlands, enclosed 1932 and filled with fresh water; some of the land was later reclaimed as polders. Name means "southern sea"		Zuider Zee

© Haydn Thompson 2017–25