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The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída 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 , and dimensions of . Its greatest depth is .


Name

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 ( Greek (''mármaron'') "marble)." In
classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
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 that they called Pontos.


Mythology

In 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.


Geography and hydrology

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. The sea's south coast is heavily indented and includes the Gulf of İzmit ( tr, İzmit Körfezi), the Gulf of Gemlik ( tr, Gemlik Körfezi), the Gulf of Bandırma ( tr, Bandırma Körfezi), and the
Gulf of Erdek Erdek Gulf is a gulf of Marmara Sea, Turkey. It is administratively a part of Balıkesir Province. In fact, the gulf is named after Erdek, an ilçe (district) of the Balıkesir Province which is situated at the north coast of the gulf . The midpoin ...
( tr, Erdek Körfezi).


Islands

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 Sedef Island, ( tr, Sedef Adası, literally "Mother-of-Pearl Island"; Greek: Τερέβυνθος ''Terebinthos'', and in ancient times also ''Androvitha'' or ''Andircuithos'') is one of the nine islands consisting the Princes' Islands in the Sea ...
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 Avşa Island ( tr, Avşa Adası) or Türkeli is a Turkish island in the southern Sea of Marmara with an area of about . It was the classical and Byzantine Aphousia ( el, Ἀφουσία or Ἀφησιά) and was a place of exile during the Byzant ...
,
Paşalimanı Paşalimanı Island ( tr, Paşalimanı Adası), formerly Halone ( gr, Ἁλώνη), is a small island in the southern Sea of Marmara in Turkey. The island is the fourth biggest island (21.3 km2) of Turkey and administratively belongs to the Erde ...
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 Erdek (formerly known as ''Artàke'', el, Αρτάκη) is a town and district of Balıkesir Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. The population was 34,000 in 2010. Located on the Kapıdağ Peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Er ...
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 The Koç family is a Turkish family of business people founded by Vehbi Koç, one of the wealthiest self-made people in Turkey. His grandsons, the third generation of the Koç family, today run Turkey's largest group of companies, Koç Holding, ...
of industrialists.


Problems facing the Sea of Marmara

The
North Anatolian Fault The North Anatolian Fault (NAF) ( tr, Kuzey Anadolu Fay Hattı) is an active right-lateral strike-slip fault in northern Anatolia, and is the transform boundary between the Eurasian Plate and the Anatolian Plate. The fault extends westward f ...
runs under the sea and has triggered several major earthquakes, such as those in Izmit and Düzce in the 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. 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. 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.


Extent

The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Sea of Marmara as follows: ::''On the West''. The Dardanelles limit of the Aegean Sea _line_joining_Kum_Kale_(26°11'E)_and_Cape_Helles.html" ;"title="Cape_Helles.html" ;"title=" line joining Kum Kale (26°11'E) and Cape Helles"> line joining Kum Kale (26°11'E) and Cape Helles">Cape_Helles.html" ;"title=" line joining Kum Kale (26°11'E) and Cape Helles"> line joining Kum Kale (26°11'E) and Cape Helles/nowiki>. ::''On the Northeast''. A line joining Cape Rumili with Cape Anatoli (41°13′N).


Towns and cities

Towns and cities on the coast of the Sea of Marmara include:


Gallery

File:Bosphorus aerial view.jpg, The Bosporus with Istanbul in the background File:Marmara sea.JPG, View of Marmara Sea from Istanbul File:Yassiada 1.jpg, Sea of Marmara approaching Yassıada


See also

*1509 Constantinople earthquake *1999 İzmit earthquake *Black Sea deluge hypothesis *Kanal İstanbul *Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits *Turkish Straits


Notes


References


External links


"Sea of Marmara"
at the '' Encyclopædia Britannica''
"Sea of Marmara: Where Ancient Myth and Modern Science Mix"
at SCIENCE FOCUS – SeaWiFS {{DEFAULTSORT:Sea Of Marmara Ancient Greek geography Marmara Marmara Marmara Region Geography of Southern Europe Geography of Western Asia Landforms of Istanbul Province Landforms of Balıkesir Province Landforms of Bursa Province Landforms of Çanakkale Province Landforms of Kocaeli Province Landforms of Tekirdağ Province Landforms of Yalova Province