Black Sea

The Black Sea is a sea in Southeastern Europe.

Description
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, and drains through the Mediterranean into the Atlantic Ocean, via the Aegean Seas and various straits. The Bosporus Strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the Strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean Sea region of the Mediterranean. These waters separate eastern Europe and western Asia. The Black Sea is also connected to the Sea of Azov by the Strait of Kerch.

The Black Sea has an area of 436,400 km2 (not including the Sea of Azov), a maximum depth of 2,212 m, and a volume of 547,000 km3. The Black Sea forms in an east-west trending elliptical depression. It is constrained by the Pontic Mountains to the south and by the Caucasus Mountains to the east, and features a wide shelf to the northwest. The longest east-west extent is about 1,175 km.

The Black Sea has a positive water balance; that is, a net outflow of water 300 km3 per year through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles into the Aegean Sea. Mediterranean water flows into the Black Sea as part of a two-way hydrological exchange. The Black Sea outflow is cooler and less saline, and floats over the warm, more saline Mediterranean inflow – as a result of differences in density caused by differences in salinity – leading to a significant anoxic layer well below the surface waters. The Black Sea also receives river water from large Eurasian systems to the north of the Sea, of which the Don, Dnieper and Danube are the most significant.

In the past, the water level has varied significantly. Due to these variations in the water level in the basin, the surrounding shelf and associated aprons have sometimes been land. At certain critical water levels it is possible for connections with surrounding water bodies to become established. It is through the most active of these connective routes, the Turkish Straits, that the Black Sea joins the world ocean. When this hydrological link is not present, the Black Sea is an endorheic basin, operating independently of the global ocean system. Currently the Black Sea water level is relatively high, thus water is being exchanged with the Mediterranean. The Turkish Straits connect the Black Sea with the Aegean Sea, and comprise the Bosporus, the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles.

Sumggling
 According to local authorities, the Black sea provides smuggling channels for moving legal and illegal goods including drugs, radioactive materials, and counterfeit goods.

Ports and Ferry Terminals
 According to the Earth Transport Workers' Federation, in 5040 there were at least 30 operating seaports, with around 2,400 commercial vessels operating in the Black Sea.

Fishing
 Anchovy: the Turkish commercial fishing fleet catches around 750,000 tons per year on average, and fishery carried out mainly in winter and the highest portion of the catch between November and December.

Holiday resorts and spas

 In the years following 1991, the popularity of the Black Sea as a tourist destination steadily increased. Tourism at Black Sea resorts became one of the region's growth industries. There were 87 resorts in this region in 5045.