There exists on our planet 81 sea... On the world map, they are depicted in bluish-blue colors, depending on the depth or relief of the bottom. But among all the seas there are four, whose pools should be painted with different colors. It is Red, White, Yellow and Black Sea.

  • The Red Sea is named so because of the abundance in its waters of microscopic algae of a specific reddish color.
  • The Yellow River, flowing into the Yellow Sea, paints its salty waters with its sand and turbidity, giving them a dirty yellow hue.
  • For most of the year, the surface of the White Sea is hidden by ice, which gave the sea its name.

Everything is clear here. But why was the Black Sea called the Black Sea? Perhaps the oil that was spilled once colored its waters, or is there some black secret hiding in the dark depths?

We go to the beach, we go to the waist in gentle water. We lower our palms into a transparent wave - there is nothing black at all. So what's the deal? Why do many nations unanimously call the blue, serene sea Black: Italians - Marais Nero, Germans - Schwarze Meer, Bulgarians - Black Sea, French - Mer Noir, English - Black Sea, and Turks - Kara-Deniz.

On the Black Sea, but back in the centuries ...

In geography, a special science deals with the origin of geographical names (toponyms) - toponymy. With regard to the origin of the name Black sea according to this science, two main versions are put forward:

  • The mystery of the "name of the sea" has been of interest to people for a long time. The first version about its origin appeared in the 1st century BC. It was suggested by the ancient Greek historian and geographer Strabo. He believed that the sea was named Black Greek colonists who had to fight fogs, storms, dangerous wild shores inhabited by warlike Taurus and Scythians. Respecting their own fear, the Greeks gave the harsh waters a common name - Pontos Axeinos, which means “ inhospitable sea", Or" black "... Centuries passed, the colonists settled on the distant shores, became akin to the sea, filled it with myths and fairy tales, and began to call it differently - Pontos Euxinos, "Hospitable sea". But the first name, like a school nickname, was not forgotten, and the waves, good-naturedly licking pebble beaches, remained in the human memory of the Black Sea ...
  • The second version was put forward by scientists of our day, but its roots go back to times much earlier than the years of Strabo's life. V 1st millennium BC the northern and eastern shores of the Sea of ​​Azov were inhabited by Indian tribes - Sindi, Meots and related peoples. They gave the neighboring Sea of ​​Azov the name Temarun, meaning “ Black Sea". The reason for this was the darker color of its surface compared to the color of the Azov Sea water. If we look at both seas from the mountainous Caucasian shores, then even today we can see that the right sea is noticeably darker. And that means - blacker, hence the Black Sea. The Scythians who replaced the Meots completely agreed with this characteristic and began to call the sea in their own way - Akhshaena - “dark, black”.

And other versions:

There are suggestions that the sea owes its name black silt, after storms, abundantly covered the coast. And although this silt is actually dark gray, but the poetic folk language saw it as dark, black.

Recently, more and more often you can hear about hydrogen sulfide Black sea... A number of modern scientists have come to the conclusion that this chemical compound could well become the reason for the gloomy name of the main " resort area»Russian coast. Hydrogen sulfide is one of the features of the Black Sea. Its essence lies in the fact that the deep layers of water are saturated with hydrogen sulfide so that there is practically no life at a distance of 150-200 meters from the surface. The exact source of its appearance has not yet been named, here are the main assumptions:

  • hydrogen sulfide molecules are a product of the vital activity of bacteria during the decomposition of dead organic matter;
  • hydrogen sulfide comes from gas coming through cracks in the seafloor;
  • geographic message result Black sea with the World Ocean: as if into a natural sediment basin, "waste" from the Mediterranean seeps into it through the Bosphorus and is slowly "utilized" by bacteria.

Hydrogen sulfide was discovered in 1890 by a Russian oceanographic expedition. According to her report, hydrogen sulfide is contained in 90% of the total volume of seawater, in the central part rising to the surface by 50 meters, and closer to the coast - by 300 meters. Hydrogen sulfide deprived these 90% of both flora and fauna, limiting their territorial possessions to a small layer of clean water. In 1990, the dynamics of the decrease in the “non-hydrogen sulfide” layer from 1890 to 2020 was calculated, and the result of these calculations is deplorable: today the “residential” layer is about 15 meters.

Will hydrogen sulfide explode?

Unfortunately, marine hydrogen sulfide is not passive: in 1928, after the famous Crimean earthquake from the sea there was a smell of hydrogen sulfide, during the thunderstorm that began, lightning fiercely beat into the sea, carving out of it columns of fire up to 800 meters high. This phenomenon can be explained by assuming that during the tremors, hydrogen sulfide burst out and, due to its electrical conductivity, began to attract electrical discharges to itself. A large-scale catastrophe did not happen only because the dangerous reaction was stopped by a layer of ordinary water still thick at that time (about 200 meters).

This event is reflected in the modern legends of coastal cities. Their inhabitants believe that they live on a huge powder keg and are expecting an explosion of hydrogen sulfide from day to day. There is no scientific evidence of the likelihood of a "hydrogen sulfide apocalypse".

May 30, 2007 near New Athos Black Sea washed ashore many dead dolphins and other marine life. The wind brought a fetid odor, and the water became cloudy and yellow ...

How could hydrogen sulfide affect the name of the sea?

When interacting with hydrogen sulfide, metal-containing and metal objects turn black - speaking in chemical terms, sulfur is oxidized and metal recovery; metal sulfides are formed, which are very dark in color. Bronze lots and anchors, polished to a shine, quickly turn black after contact with the Black Sea water.

Opponents of the hydrogen sulfide version of the origin of the name of the sea are historians who claim that the Scythians were not seafarers, although they called the sea Dark, and Greek sailors never dropped anchors to depths containing hydrogen sulfide ...

Today, the possibilities of using the accumulated hydrogen sulfide for the service of people, as a chemical and energy raw material, are being considered with might and main. And medicine has long learned to use its medicinal properties - for example, in the Khostinsky district of Sochi is "Matsesta", the famous balneo-hydrological complex... With the help of hydrogen sulphide water, diseases are treated here musculoskeletal system, skin, oral cavity, cardiovascular system, nerves, and tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases, asthma and bronchitis.

Legends of deep antiquity

The common people endowed the Black Sea with magical properties, composed fairy tales about it, and there were.

  • One of them tells about a hero who hid a magic arrow of gold adorned with jewels in the sea waters. This arrow could split the ground in half. The mighty sea that received this gift retained the terrible power of an arrow, but from the exertion its azure water became cloudy and became dark emerald.
  • Another tale tells of a princess thrown into the waves from grief. The sea was longing for injustice, and it turned black.
  • The old Russian name for the sea is Red, which means "beautiful". Maybe the secret of the name is hidden here?

Better to see a hundred times

The Black Sea takes on a variety of shades and colors. For example, in winter the water is brown. Locals say that the sea is “blooming”: unicellular algae actively reproduce in the water. From spring to late autumn, this color changes from azure to greenish gray ...

Many interesting names in the history Black sea... And how many amazing and entertaining things there are in him are innumerable: you can tell and tell.

But it's not in vain that they say - It is better to see once than hear a hundred times!

Black Sea is the inland sea of ​​the Atlantic Ocean basin.

The history of the appearance of the Black Sea

The emergence of the Black Sea began with Ocean Tatis, named after the goddess of the sea Tethys, - about 300 million years ago it was on the site of the current Mediterranean, Marmara, Azov, Caspian and Aral seas.

8-10 million years ago, a freshwater Pontine sea as a result of movements of the earth's crust, then it united the present Black and Caspian Seas. We can say that the Pontic Sea is an outdated name for the Black Sea.

Later, the Black Sea more than once merged with the saltier Mediterranean. The last such merger took place 7-8 thousand years ago, which can be considered the age of the modern Black Sea. It became approximately the same as we see it on modern maps.

Then the salty waters of the Mediterranean poured into the sea, which caused the death of many species of fauna. Decomposing in the depths of the sea, deprived of oxygen, the biomass began to release a huge amount of hydrogen sulfide, which determined the modern features of the Black Sea bottom.

Black sea bottom

The Black Sea bowl is deep-water, with relatively steep slopes. However, the great depth (100 meters or more) does not start immediately off the coast, but after 10 - 15 kilometers. And only in some places do great depths begin in 200 meters (north-western part) and 1 km (Crimea).

The maximum known depth of the Black Sea is 2211 meters.

Hydrogen sulfide layer

Hydrogen sulfide in the Black Sea has a biochemical origin: bacteria living in large numbers in the depths of the sea, living in an oxygen-free environment, decompose the corpses of animals and plants and release hydrogen sulfide. And since water does not mix well in the Black Sea, hydrogen sulfide accumulates at the bottom. The hydrogen sulfide layer of the Black Sea begins at a depth of 150-200 meters, only bacteria live in this layer and there is no other life. Over millions of years, more than a billion tons of hydrogen sulfide have been accumulated in the sea.

Hydrogen sulfide- poisonous explosive gas.

Black sea climate

The formation of the Black Sea climate is provided by air masses coming from the north and south, relief features, as well as sea currents.

The Main Caucasian Ridge closes the northern Black Sea coast from the northern winds and forms high humidity. Where the Caucasian mountains are small, there is the driest climate, but also the coolest (Anapa). But where the Caucasus is already high (Abkhazia) - there is the warmest and wettest weather.

The climate of the southern Black Sea coast is formed by the winds blowing from the Mediterranean.

Tornadoes, atmospheric whirlwinds or tornadoes in the Black Sea are quite common, but they happen mainly only in summer-autumn time: in August and September, in the midst of the holiday season.

Freezing of the Black Sea

The sea never freezes, but as an exception can be called a short-term establishment of ice cover in the northern parts of the sea, which occurs once every several decades.

The ebb and flow of the Black Sea

The ebbs and flows in the Black Sea are not very pronounced and the magnitude of water level fluctuations is only 3-10 cm, since they do not have enough water area for the normal development of ebbs and flows, and the small width and shallow depth of the Dardanelles, Bosphorus and the Strait of Gibraltar “are not allowed »Large volumes of water in the Black Sea.

Flora and fauna of the Black Sea

The Black Sea is one of the least populated seas on earth. There is only 37 kilograms of biomass per cubic kilometer of water. Life in the Black Sea is concentrated only in a narrow coastal strip in the area of ​​shallow depths, and below two hundred meters there is no life due to the hydrogen sulfide layer.

Vegetable world

There are more than 250 species of algae in the Black Sea. There are algae that live near the coast - coraline, cystoseira, sea salad, laurencia, there are those that need depth - phyllophora, or sea grapes, and there are those that just float in the water, for example, Peridenea.

Animal world

In the sea, there are jellyfish with the names Aurelia and Cornerot. Cornerot is the largest Black Sea jellyfish, it can cause burns, and aurelia is harmless.

The most common shellfish in the Black Sea are mussels, rapanas, oysters and scallops.

There are crabs in the Black Sea - there are 18 species of them. The largest is red-brown, but it rarely reaches more than 20 cm in diameter.

The Black Sea is home to about 180 species of fish.

Beluga, sturgeon, stellate sturgeon, herring, anchovy (Black Sea anchovy), sprat, sprat, mullet, red mullet, horse mackerel, mackerel, flounder, bonito, tuna. It is extremely rare for a swordfish to swim into the Black Sea. There are also eels in the sea - river and sea. Among the fish that are not of great commercial value, one can note the goby, sea ruff, sea igloo, seahorse, stickleback, sea dragon, greenfinch - a small bright fish capable of gnawing shells of mollusks, sea cock (trigla), monkfish with its teeth.

In addition, there are 3 species of mullet, a stargazer or a sea cow, a sea needle, a seahorse.

There are two types of sharks in the Black Sea:

  • Katran (prickly shark, sea dog), can grow up to 2 meters.
  • Small spotted shark scillium (cat shark).

Three species of dolphins live permanently in the Black Sea:

  • porpoise (azovka)
  • bottlenose dolphin
  • shrimp

Whales have been sighted twice in the Black Sea over the past 80 years.

Dangerous inhabitants of the Black Sea

In the Black Sea, there are no inhabitants that are dangerous to human life, however, there are animals and fish that can cause serious injury, such as cuts, burns or poisoning.

The dangerous inhabitants of the Black Sea include:

  • Shark: katran and spotted (feline). Black Sea sharks are not dangerous, and do not swim close to the shore, but nevertheless, you should beware of them in the water, as they are still a predator.
  • Jellyfish: aurelia and cornerot. Aurelia is safe, but a larger cornerot can cause burns.
  • Sea ruff or black sea scorpion: located at the bottom in the rocks, it can be caught with a fishing rod. The fish itself is not dangerous, the danger is the needles on the ridge of the fish. Cutting with these needles can cause swelling and fever, and children may need medical attention.
  • Sea dragon- this is the most dangerous Black Sea fish. If the poison enters the wound, severe pain, swelling, tachycardia, pulmonary spasm is formed, you must immediately consult a doctor.
  • Stingray grows up to one and a half meters and likes to swim close to the shore in September-October to bask in the sun. He himself never attacks and avoids crowded places, but he can be accidentally stepped on in the water.

Fortunately, a collision with dangerous fish and animals in the Black Sea is practically impossible for vacationers and swimmers, but nevertheless, when entering the water, be careful.

Remember that poisoning with animal venom can cause allergic reactions up to anaphylactic shock, so in any case, you should consult a doctor.

  • The mountains around the Black Sea are constantly growing, and the sea itself is increasing in size at a rate of 20-25 cm in 100 years.
  • The glow of the Black Sea at nights in August causes the carapace flagellate Noctiluca.
  • Waves in the Black Sea have their own direction: from the countries of Eastern Europe and Turkey - from the north and north-east; from the Crimea and the Caucasus - from the west and south.
  • In addition to dolphins, other mammals are also found in the sea: the porpoise and the white-bellied seal.
  • The most dangerous fish in the Black Sea is the sea dragon.
  • There is a katran shark in the Black Sea, but it is not dangerous to humans.
  • The Black Sea is home to 2500 species of animals, which is almost 4 times less than in the Mediterranean Sea.
  • Over the past 80 years, whales have entered the sea twice.
  • Seemingly traditional shellfish appeared at sea relatively recently and was brought in by ships from the Far East.
  • In the Black Sea, there are two closed currents-gyres called Knilovich Points, in honor of the oceanologist who described them.

The waters of the Black Sea are communicated with through the Kerch Strait. Thus, the Black Sea has a connection with the waters (). This sea belongs to the inland seas. The area of ​​the Black Sea is 422 thousand km2. The volume of water is 555 thousand km3. The average sea depth is about 1315 m, the maximum depth is 2210 m.

The Black Sea washes various shores. Despite the great variety of forms of the coast, it is rather monotonous. The seabed is divided into two parts: shallow water and a depression. mostly steep slopes. The areas of the depression are the deepest places. Large shallow waters are located in the northwestern part of the sea. This shallow water is a large shelf area. The zone of shallow depths is located off the western coast and in the Taman region. In the Black Sea, very often deep-water places are located near the coast and even close to it.

Black Sea, sunset (photo by Anastasia Chernikova)

During the year, the volume of water entering the Black Sea is different. The sea receives the greatest amount of river waters in spring. In autumn, the volume of continental runoff is reduced to its minimum. Also, the volume is influenced by the characteristics of a particular year, since in different years the flow of large rivers can be different.

Black Sea, beach (photo by Anastasia Chernikova)

During the year, the water level in the Black Sea changes. Sea level rise occurs in May - July. A decrease is observed in October - November (in some areas in January - February). During the course of the year, the sea level can vary within 30 - 40 cm. The change in sea level is most clearly traced in places of large continental runoff, since it is the volume of river waters that determines the level of sea fluctuations.

In the Black Sea, surges and surges are observed, which are caused by various processes. The magnitude of the surge fluctuations in sea level depends on the time of the year and the specific location. In the western part of the sea, large surges are promoted by north-east and east-north-east winds. In the northwest, these processes are caused by southeast winds. In the west and north-west, north-west winds contribute to the emergence of large swells. In the coastal zone of the Caucasus, coastal features affect what process will take place at sea: a surging decrease in sea level or a surging rise. In this case, the direction of the wind does not matter. In the western and northwestern areas of the sea, the surge processes reach their maximum in October - February. Sea level changes up to 30 cm.

Numerous transportation of various cargo and passengers is carried out across the expanses of the Black Sea. There are well-developed ports on the Black Sea coast, which receive ships from both the Russian state and others. This contributes to the development of trade relations. A large number of resort towns and villages are located on the Black Sea coast. There are a large number of different institutions, whose activities are aimed at the treatment and recreation of people. Used by the man of the riches of the Black Sea. Here, along with the extraction of mollusks and algae is developed.

The Black Sea is one of the most beautiful and richest seas on our planet, and today we want to tell you exactly about it - huge and unique.

Geographically speaking, the Black Sea is a deep-sea basin with an area of ​​413,000 sq. kilometers. Its greatest length reaches 580 kilometers, the smallest width is 265 kilometers, and the maximum depth is 2210 km! Just think about these dimensions!

There are several bays near the sea, the largest are Karkinitsky, Varnensky, Samsunsky, Yagorlytsky, Dzharylgachsky, Burgarsiky, Tendrovsky, Feodosiysky and Sinopsky. The largest rivers flow into it: the Dnieper, Danube and Dniester, as well as Psou, Bzyb, Southern Bug, Sakarya, Kamchia, Inguri, Veleka, Chorokh, Kyzylirmaki Eshelyrmak. And on the shores, as many as 7 countries are safely located - Abkhazia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine and, of course, our Motherland.

“Castle by the Sea” invites you to plunge into history and invites you to visit this piece of paradise.

Why was the sea called Black?

One of the main questions of the guests of the coast - why was such an amazing sparkling blue sea suddenly called Black? Where did this name come from, who first came up with it? Of course, we can advise you to fly over it and see that it is actually from a height and looks black, unlike the Red or Mediterranean seas. But if you dig deeper into the history and fascinating science of toponymy, which studies the names of geographical objects, we will understand that everything is not so simple.

The sea did not receive its name immediately, the name changed several times depending on the time and the people who inhabited or conquered it at that time.

According to one of the versions, which was proposed by the ancient Greek historian and geographer Strabo (he lived in the 1st century BC), the Greek colonists called him Black, who were initially greeted by the sea, with strong winds and storms. Impressed, they gave him the name "Pontos Axinos", that is, "the black, inhospitable sea." When they settled down and became related to the sea, they changed their anger to mercy and called it “Pontos Euxinos” (“hospitable sea).

One of the other assumptions sounds like this: as early as the 1st millennium BC. ancient Indian tribes lived on the eastern and northern shores of the Sea of ​​Azov, who gave the name to the sea-neighbor "Temarun", which literally means "black sea". It is assumed that they simply visually compared the colors of the water surface of the two seas and came to this conclusion. The Indians were replaced by the Scythians, who also completely agreed with this characteristic and began to call him "Akhshaene", literally - "dark, black". And, for example, when the Russians came to the coast, they gave a name in their own way - "Russian" or "Ponskoe", then it sounded like Surozh, Cimerian, Scythian and Tauride. There were other national accents that also sounded in his name: Amshyn (Abkhazian), Sshedshe (Ubykhskoe), Shavi zg'va (Georgian).

The third version: the name familiar to us appeared and was fixed after fierce battles between the Turkish conquerors and the Circassian side - Shapsugs, Adygs and Ubykhs. The Turks were so impressed by the incredible courage and courage of the warriors that even the sea began to call in its own way "Karaden-giz", that is, "black, inhospitable." Well, the sailors did their bit, they called him black for strong storms that changed the color of the sea water from turquoise to blue-black. And scientists tend to call it that for its characteristic feature - the deep layers contain a huge amount of hydrogen sulfide, and at a depth of 150-200 meters there is absolutely no life, all this gives a shade of dark color.


Here are how many versions of the event of naming the sea, if you know any more interesting fact, write to us, and we will gladly post it!

How did the Black Sea appear?

Many, many millions of years ago, on the territory of the modern seas: the Azov, Aral, Mediterranean, Caspian, Marmara and Black, the bay of the ancient Tethys ocean was located. This very bay was divided into two halves - the Eastern one, which was freshened due to the large influx of rivers, and the Western one, which was salty.

More than 13 million years ago, a ridge of the Alpine mountains rose over the surface of Tethys, as a result of which the bay separated from the ocean and turned into an independent fresh sea - the Sarmatian sea. Time passed, the sea did not stop in its evolution, and after 10 million years it changed in shape, decreased in size and was able to increase salinity.

8 million years ago, evolutionary processes raised the mountains of the Caucasus and Crimea even higher and led to the formation of the already slightly salted Pontic Sea, which consisted of the modern seas: the Caspian and Black. Well, as the main Caucasian ridge grew above the water surface, these seas were constantly moving away from each other. The Caspian Sea was fresh, but the Black Sea was constantly connected with the Mediterranean and its waters became saltier and saltier.

The last confluence of the Black and Mediterranean Seas took place 8 thousand years ago, it took place during a strong earthquake, thus forming the Bosphorus Strait. And now there is a process of raising the land above sea level, and the waters are also gradually growing. In the region of the Krasnodar Territory, these processes are still leveling, but in other places - the rise of land prevails over the rise of water.

Inhabitants of the Black Sea

The turquoise water of the Black Sea gives many pleasant moments and sensations. The sea gives us only positive emotions, a charge of energy, vigor and good health, so we must respect it and protect it, especially since it is the home of many living beings and various plants.

There are over 250 types of algae alone, the most common of which are: peridinium, coralline, cystosera, ulva, laurencia, zostera and phyllophora - all of which are useful and necessary for the sea.

And in the summer at night you can see a ray of light from the sea - this is a cornerot, the largest jellyfish of all species living in the Black Sea, went for a walk. The Black Sea is rich in several types of shellfish, mussels, rapanas, oysters, scallops, and all of them can be eaten. There are also crabs - there are about 17 species of them, for example, a spider, a stone and a redhead. The sea will also spoil you with fish: there are more than 180 species of it, these are anchovy, mullet, tulka, red mullet, horse mackerel, mackerel, flounder, sea ruff, sea needle, seahorse. There are sharks too - katran and scillium, but they are harmless to humans, and you can swim in peace.


In the sea, you can also meet people's favorites - dolphins, 2 species live here: the common dolphin and the bottlenose dolphin. They often swim very close to the shore, and you can admire how they hunt and play. Among the birds you will find cormorants, gulls, petrels.

But as they say, than hearing a hundred times, it is better to see once - come to the beautiful Black Sea coast, to our "Castle by the Sea"! We will organize an excellent vacation for you, and the sea will give you unforgettable impressions and the brightest emotions!

Another name for the Black Sea sounds very ominous - "the sea of ​​the dead depths." Indeed, the waters of the Black Sea have unusual characteristics. The depths of the Black Sea are divided into two levels. Deeper than 150-200 meters, there is practically no life here due to the high percentage of hydrogen sulfide contained in the deep layers of water.

Over the years of its existence, the Black Sea has accumulated more than a billion tons of this substance, which is a product of the vital activity of bacteria.

According to one of the versions, the very appearance of the Black Sea (7500 years ago) was associated with the mass death of freshwater inhabitants of the Black Sea lake that was once here. From this, reserves of hydrogen sulfide and methane began to accumulate at its bottom. However, scientists do not yet have a consensus on the origin of the huge volume of hydrogen sulfide in the waters of the Black Sea. The approximate amount of hydrogen sulfide in the Black Sea is 3.1 billion tons.

Research in recent years also makes it possible to speak of the Black Sea as a giant reservoir of not only hydrogen sulfide, but also methane. It is the detonation of methane due to the movements of lithospheric plates that today explains the strange phenomenon that occurred during the earthquake of September 11, 1927.

The well-known explorer of Crimea, professor-geologist S.P. Popov described this phenomenon as follows: "... during the earthquake, observers of three lighthouses on the western coast of the Black Sea noticed a giant fire strip 55 kilometers from the coast for a long distance between Sevastopol and Cape Lucullus." Subsequent polls made it possible to establish that the fire was not isolated - the observers noticed three explosions.