Black Sea is a large body of water that is bounded by Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania. The Bosporus Strait, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles Strait connect it with the Mediterranean Sea (see Bosporus; Dardanelles; Marmara, Sea of). The ancient Romans called the sea Pontus Euxinus, which means friendly sea. One reason for its present name is that heavy fogs make the Black Sea look dark in winter. Another reason may be that sudden storms form frequently over its waters.
The Black Sea covers about 173,000 square miles (448,000 square kilometers). Its deepest bed is 7,238 feet (2,206 meters) below the surface. Important rivers that empty into the Black Sea include the Danube, Dnieper, Dniester, and Don. The sea contains only a few small islands. North of Kerch Strait is the Sea of Azov, which is really a large bay of the Black Sea (see Azov, Sea of).
Fisheries on the Black Sea yield herring, mackerel, pike, perch, and bream. Porpoises are also hunted on the Black Sea. Freight carried on the sea includes grain, timber, petroleum, cement, and manganese.
The Black Sea provides ships with access to the Mediterranean Sea. Ships travel from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea by way of the Volga-Don canal. Important ports on the Black Sea include Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Kherson in Ukraine; Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula; Novorossiysk and Sochi in Russia; Sukhumi and Batumi in Georgia; Trabzon and Samsun in Turkey; Burgas and Varna in Bulgaria; and Constanca in Romania. Ice hinders shipping from many of the ports in January and February. Control of the straits to the Mediterranean long has been disputed.
In World War II, Germany captured Sevastopol, the largest naval base, and several other ports. The Soviet Union recaptured these bases in 1943 and 1944. Before its breakup in 1991, the Soviet Union operated a fleet in the Black Sea. After the breakup, the fleet came under the joint command of Russia and Ukraine. In 1997, Russia and Ukraine agreed to divide the fleet. Russia received about 80 percent of the ships and agreed to lease docking space from Ukraine at Sevastopol. In 2014, Russia annexed (assumed control of) Crimea. The United Nations supported Ukraine’s claim that the annexation was illegal.
See also Crimea; Romania (Recreation) (Land and climate).
