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List of seas on Earth

This is a list of seas of the World Ocean, including marginal seas, areas of water, various gulfs, bights, bays, and straits. 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 division of an ocean, delineated by landforms, 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.
- The World Ocean. For example, the Law of the Sea states that all of the World Ocean is "sea", 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:

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 are:

Marginal seas by ocean

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.

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
- Foxe Basin
  - Bowman Bay
- Wager Bay
- Roes Welcome Sound
- Foxe Channel
- Bay of Gods Mercy
- Hudson Strait
  - Ungava Bay
- Native Bay
- Evans Strait
- Fisher Strait
- James 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.

Africa and Eurasia

Norwegian Sea
North Sea
- Kattegat
- Skagerrak
- Wadden Sea
- Dogger Bank
Baltic Sea
- Gulf of Bothnia
- Kvarken
- Bothnian Sea
- South Kvarken
- Sea of Åland
- Archipelago Sea
- Gulf of Finland
  - Vyborg Bay
  - Neva Bay
  - Koporye Bay
  - Luga Bay
  - Narva Bay
- Väinameri Sea
- Gulf of Riga
- Curonian Lagoon
- Vistula Lagoon
- Gdańsk Bay
- Bay of Pomerania
- Szczecin Lagoon
- Bay of Greifswald
  - Rügischer Bodden
- Strelasund
- Bay of Lübeck
- Bay of Kiel
- Kalmar Strait
- Bight of Hanö
- Danish straits
  - Oresund Strait
  - Fehmarn Belt
  - Great Belt
  - Little Belt
English Channel
- Strait of Dover
Irish Sea
Celtic Sea
- Iroise Sea
Bay of Biscay
- Cantabrian Sea
Gulf of Cádiz
Mediterranean Sea
- Alboran Sea
- Mar Menor
- Balearic (Catalan) Sea
  - Gulf of Valencia
- Gulf of Lion
  - Étang de Thau
- Ligurian Sea
  - Gulf of Genoa
- Tyrrhenian Sea
  - Gulf of Naples
  - Gulf of Salerno
  - Gulf of Cagliari
- Adriatic Sea
  - Bay of Kotor
  - Kvarner Gulf
  - Gulf of Venice
    - Gulf of Trieste
    - Venetian Lagoon
  - Gulf of Manfredonia
- Ionian Sea
  - Gulf of Taranto
  - Straits of Corfu
  - Ambracian Gulf
  - Gulf of Patras
  - Gulf of Corinth
  - Gulf of Kyparissia
  - Messenian Gulf
  - Laconian Gulf
- Aegean Sea
  - Myrtoan Sea
  - Argolic Gulf
  - Saronic Gulf
  - Petalioi Gulf
  - South Euboean Gulf
  - North Euboean Gulf
  - Malian Gulf
  - Pagasetic Gulf
  - Thermaic Gulf
  - Thracian Sea
    - Strymonian Gulf
    - Gulf of Saros
  - Edremit Gulf
  - Gulf of İzmir
  - Icarian Sea
    - Gulf of Gökova
  - Sea of Crete
- Sea of Marmara
  - Gulf of İzmit
- Levantine Sea
  - Gulf of Antalya
  - Gulf of Alexandretta
- Libyan Sea
  - Gulf of Sidra
- Gulf of Gabès
- Strait of Sicily
  - Gulf of Tunis
  - Inland Sea, Gozo
- Sea of Sardinia
  - Gulf of Asinara
Black Sea
- Gulf of Burgas
- Karkinit Bay
- Kalamita Bay
- Sea of Azov
  - Syvash
  - Taganrog Bay
Bay of Arguin
- Dakhlet Nouadhibou
Yawri Bay
Gulf of Guinea
- Bight of Benin
- Bight of Bonny
  - Corisco Bay
Luanda Bay
Walvis Bay
Saldanha Bay
Table Bay
False Bay

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
  - Florida Bay
  - Tampa Bay
  - Charlotte Harbor Estuary
  - Pensacola Bay
  - Mobile Bay
  - Vermilion Bay
  - Galveston Bay
  - Bay of Campeche
- Caribbean Sea
  - Gulf of Gonâve (Haiti)
  - Gulf of Honduras
  - Golfo de los Mosquitos
  - Gulf of Venezuela
    - Lake Maracaibo
  - Gulf of Paria
  - Gulf of Darién
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

Bering Sea
- Bristol Bay
- Norton Sound
Chilean Sea
- Gulf of Corcovado
- Gulf of Penas
- Moraleda Channel
- Reloncaví Sound
- Sea of Chiloé
Gulf of Alaska
- Cook Inlet
- Glacier Bay
- Prince William Sound
Salish Sea
Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortés)
Gulf of the Farallones
Gulf of Fonseca
Gulf of Guayaquil
Gulf of Nicoya
Gulf of Panama
- Bay of San Miguel
- Gulf of Parita
- Panama Bay
Grau Sea
San Francisco Bay
- San Pablo Bay

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
  - Bohai Bay
  - Laizhou Bay
  - Liaodong Bay
- Jiaozhou Bay
- Korea Sea

Southern Ocean

Amundsen Sea
Bellingshausen Sea
Cooperation Sea
Cosmonauts Sea
Davis Sea
D'Urville Sea
Drake Passage
King Haakon VII Sea
Lazarev Sea
Mawson Sea
McMurdo Sound
- Polynyas in McMurdo Sound
Riiser-Larsen Sea
Ross Sea
Scotia Sea
Somov Sea
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:

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

References

External links

The dictionary definition of marginal sea at Wiktionary

Text submitted to CC-BY-SA license. Source: List of seas on Earth by Wikipedia (Historical)

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List of seas on Earth

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

Articles connexes