The Azov Sea or lake is called. How the Sea of ​​Azov appeared. Seasonal Movement of Large Masses of Water

Much of what is known about him is not confirmed by scientific facts, not proven historically, but exists only in the form of legends, hypotheses and stories, so whether to believe or not to believe in what you read is up to each of you. One thing is clear: the Sea of ​​Azov continues to keep many secrets, and it is clearly in no hurry to reveal them to us.

Kremny harbor on the seabed

Scientists suggest that under the water near present-day Taganrog there is a flooded ancient Greek city of Kremny, mentioned in the works of Herodotus and other ancient historians.

For a long time, researchers believed that the “father of history” Herodotus, who lived in the 5th century BC. e., often used legends as sources in his works. However, many of the facts stated by Herodotus and previously considered fantastic were subsequently confirmed as a result of archaeological research.

From Herodotus's reports about Kremni, we know that there was a harbor where ships with Amazons landed. The ancient city was found by chance. Since the 30s of the last century, the sea has constantly washed up fragments of ancient Greek Ionian ceramics onto the Taganrog beach next to the stone staircase, which were confidently dated to the end of the 7th - beginning of the 6th centuries BC. e.

How ancient city ended up underwater? Story Sea of ​​Azov very complex, the formation of its territory can be divided into two stages: the acquisition of land and the acquisition of sea. Geologically, the entire Rostov region is the bottom of an ancient sea, with the only exception being the Donetsk Ridge. 40 thousand years ago, this was already within the memory of mankind, the Sea of ​​Azov did not yet exist, but there was a depression along which the ancient Don flowed and flowed directly through the Kerch Bay into the Black Sea. And then the current pool gradually formed. By the time the ancient Greeks arrived in the area of ​​present-day Taganrog, sea level was 3 to 7 meters lower. That is, they did not sail to the Taganrog Bay, but settled in the mouth of the ancient Don estuary. These data were confirmed by joint research with German colleagues in a complex expedition, which involved not only archaeologists, but also paleogeographers, geologists, and specialists studying ancient plants using the remains of spores and pollen, which helps establish dating and climate change.

Unfortunately, searches at the bottom of the Sea of ​​Azov were unsuccessful due to geological conditions. The fact is that the Taganrog Cape lies in a stone bowl, the base of which is filled with clay and sand. When the sea rose and began to erode the sand, the ancient cities were likened to refined sugar in a glass of tea. Therefore, no buildings have been preserved at the bottom of the Taganrog Bay, only ceramics washed ashore by the sea.

And yet, scientists were lucky: they managed to find part of the settlement of the last third of the 7th century. BC e. - first half of the 6th century. BC e. The remains of a bronze foundry were found there: pieces of metallurgical slag, bronze arrowheads, well known from Scythian antiquities. They were produced in this settlement and supplied to the steppe. That is, it was not only a harbor, but also a colony in which artisans lived.

In this settlement, scientists were faced with the greatest mystery. Along with ancient Greek pottery there was local molded pottery. But whose it is is unknown. This roughly molded home-grown ceramics was not of interest, like Greek pottery painted with scenes, and therefore could not be an object of trade and exchange. The layer of indigenous ceramics is older than Greek - IX-VIII centuries BC. e. This means that someone lived there before the Greeks - the Greeks did not come out of nowhere. Were these the legendary Cimmerians that Herodotus writes about? Not yet known.

If you believe the story of Herodotus, this is exactly the turning point when the Scythians came to our steppes and ousted the Cimmerians.

So far we know one thing: on the Taganrog Cape there lived some people unknown to us, whose ethnographic affiliation to this day is not possible.

Another secret

Each entry into the Sea of ​​Azov promises submarine searchers another sensation. After the Great Patriotic War, the bottom of the coast is littered with the remains of ships and aircraft killed in battle. There are hundreds of such objects, many of which have not been studied at all. Two or three dives - and divers report another find.

Participants of the underwater search expedition “Unknown Azov-2011” discovered a steamship from the Great Patriotic War at the bottom of the sea. It sank in 1941. The ship was carrying paratroopers who were supposed to land in Crimea.

Volunteer searchers map the place where the ship was found and make inquiries into the archives. After a short correspondence, we manage to find out what kind of ship it is. Built back in the 19th century, the ship was not intended for military operations, but in the battles for the Crimea, everything that stayed afloat was used. This ship did not return to port. For seventy years his fate was unknown.

At the bottom is the Soviet steamship Penay. He died in 1941, but they were able to find him only now. There were more than 100 paratroopers on board, and they were going to land on the coast of Crimea, from where it is clearly visible. But the landing operation failed, and they apparently died.

As a tribute to the memory of those killed in fierce battles, divers lowered a wreath under the water. It was secured to the rusted hull of the ship. To where the captain's bridge was supposed to be. Metal objects, badly damaged by corrosion, were recovered from the bottom, which nevertheless made it possible to accurately determine which ship was found. In just a few years this would be impossible to do.

Objects are being destroyed more and more every year, that is, a period has come when the metal has completely lost its strength. And after each storm, the sides literally fold up, the objects that were there are washed away. Respectively, less opportunity in order to determine what object we have at the bottom,” says Albert Patrushev, technical leader of the “Unknown Azov-2011” expedition...

The Sea of ​​Azov is a truly valuable gift of nature to the residents of Southern Ukraine, and in particular the Zaporozhye region, a gentle, warm sea to which our region is lucky to have access.

The Sea of ​​Azov is part of the basin Atlantic Ocean. It is integral part a very long chain of seas, which starts in the Mediterranean Sea, then the Sea of ​​Marmara, the Black Sea and ends with the Sea of ​​Azov itself. Constant communication of water with the world's oceans occurs directly through a network of straits, such as the Kerch Strait, the Bosporus Strait, the Dardanelles and, of course, Gibraltar itself.

It should be noted that the Sea of ​​Azov is not only the smallest sea in the world, but also the freshest and shallowest sea on planet Earth.

What about the salinity of the Azov Sea? Unlike the Aral and Caspian Sea, which are essentially large lakes, because they are not connected by straits to the world ocean. Therefore, purely according to geographical rules and concepts, they can only be considered large lakes, and the Sea of ​​Azov is precisely a classical sea.

How the Sea of ​​Azov Appeared

The process of formation of the Sea of ​​Azov began during the period of the end of the Mesozoic - the end of the Cenozoic. The Sea of ​​Azov was formed from one of the bays of the Black Sea after the rise of the Crimean mountains. The Crimean Mountains, with their rise, formed the Crimean Peninsula itself, which to this day separates the Azov and Black Seas by the narrow Kerch Strait. In general, the Crimean Mountains belong to the Alpine folding, because they appeared simultaneously with such mountains as the Alps, Tatras, and Carpathians.

Part of the land rose and formed the modern bottom of the Sea of ​​Azov, which is why it turned out to be so unusually shallow. You will be surprised, but the depth of the Sea of ​​Azov on average does not exceed 8 meters. And this makes the Sea of ​​Azov the shallowest sea in the world! The maximum depth of the Azov Sea was recorded at a point of 14 meters. One can easily imagine that any diver with sufficient training can easily reach the bottom of the sea anywhere.

The total area of ​​the Sea of ​​Azov is 39 thousand square kilometers. In terms of area, the Sea of ​​Azov is considered the smallest sea (if we compare with other seas).

Salinity of the Azov Sea

If we talk about salinity, it changed over the course of long period time. Considering the fact that previously it was only part of the Black Sea, and the water here was just as salty. After all, the Black Sea is connected to the world ocean much more strongly and regularly receives salt water from the Mediterranean Sea.

Low salinity in the Sea of ​​Azov arose gradually, over a long period of time (possibly even several thousand years), due to the waters of two large inflow rivers that flow into the sea. These are large rivers - Kuban and Don. Thus, fresh river water gradually diluted sea water and reduced the degree of salinity. This clearly ensured the uniqueness of the Sea of ​​Azov due to the habitat of a large number of different living organisms. In the Sea of ​​Azov, an average biogeocenosis has formed, between lake and sea.

Flora and Fauna of the Azov Sea

Both freshwater fish, such as pike perch and bream, enter the Sea of ​​Azov to spawn and spawn sea ​​fish, such as ram and sturgeon, etc. They were able to live peacefully in this amazing body of water. The low freshwater content of the sea ensures the presence of very small amounts of harmful blue-green algae, which often cause the water to bloom in various seas. Blooming water is a natural phenomenon when, during active reproduction, algae affect the composition of the upper layers of water. Blue-green algae, as a rule, negatively affect fish, pollute water and affect the oxygen saturation of water, actively absorbing it. The Sea of ​​Azov was able to provide a truly unique, sanatorium-like regime for the living organisms that live in it (both invertebrates and vertebrates).

Ebbs and flows in the Sea of ​​Azov

Since the Sea of ​​Azov is directly connected to the world ocean, tidal fluctuations in water can be observed here, but they are quite insignificant here. Every resident of the Zaporozhye region, who has been to the Sea of ​​Azov at least once, should have paid attention to minor daily fluctuations in sea water, no more than a few tens of centimeters. This effect (the effect of hydraulic resistance) is ensured by the presence of a narrow strait connecting the Sea of ​​Azov with the waters of the world ocean, on the coast of which we can observe the most obvious tidal phenomena. While the tide reaches the waters of the Azov Sea, it gradually loses its energy and strength in narrow and winding straits, such as the Turkish Bosporus and Dardanelles. That is why in our sea daily fluctuations are practically unnoticeable.

Seasonal Movement of Large Masses of Water

But there is also back side coins. In the Sea of ​​Azov, seasonal fluctuations in sea level are very noticeable due to the influence of wind surges. This is when a large mass of water moves under the influence of constant winds. In winter, seasonal strong winds are established in the steppes of the Azov region, which blow in a westerly direction, and in the spring-summer period, the wind blows in the opposite direction most of the time. east direction. These winds blow on the water mass of the Sea of ​​​​Azov and in winter the sea retreats, exposing the bottom, and it is possible to record the withdrawal of water from the summer line in some places up to 4 kilometers. This effect works on the principle of a shallow plate of water. If you start blowing strongly on a plate from one side, then a mass of water will be moved from one side of this plate to the other. You can observe this effect firsthand in winter, when the estuaries and channels of Sivash (the so-called “Sea of ​​Fire”) are filled. And in summer time everything happens exactly the opposite, Sivash becomes smaller and in many places salt appears, formed in the process of natural evaporation, and the soil becomes salinized. The water itself returns to the eastern side of the reservoir. This is how the Sea of ​​Azov is “special” and “cunning”.

Useful Properties of Healing Mud

Many people ask us “why is the water in the Sea of ​​Azov so cloudy?” Yes, all residents of the region and vacationers who have at least once visited the coast of the Azov Sea could notice that during waves, the water becomes quite cloudy. But this has nothing to do with the environmental pollution of the sea, and it should not be considered “dirty”. You just need to take into account the fact that two large, full-flowing plain rivers Don and Kuban flow into the Sea of ​​Azov and, flowing through the plains, collect various silt particles on their way. Basically, this is fine clastic material, river silt or silt particles and constantly “throws” a stream of water into the sea, where these particles mix with various remains of microorganisms living in sea water. This entire biological mixture forms our “Black Healing Mud” of the Azov Sea, which accumulates at the bottom of the sea and has healing properties of a balneological type. It is the mixture of biogenic residues that has a positive effect on human health simplest life in the Sea of ​​Azov and a muddy mixture.

Ecology of the Azov Sea

Recently, there have been rumors that environmental problems have appeared in the Azov Sea. This is only partially true. In terms of the degree of environmental pollution, the Sea of ​​Azov can be considered cleaner than the Black Sea, due to the significantly lower degree of navigation on the reservoir. The state of the Sea of ​​Azov is mainly influenced by the technogenic impact of human activity during agricultural work. The main problem of the Sea of ​​Azov is that the waters of the same deep rivers Don and Kuban are very much taken by farmers to irrigate their fields. In the summer, fields directly take water, and the daily productivity of these rivers drops significantly. With a decrease in the influx of fresh water, the level of the Azov Sea itself drops accordingly, and saltier water from the Black Sea begins to flow into it through the Kerch Strait. In fact, a fairly constant current has already formed, and salty water constantly flows from the Black Sea to the Azov Sea. Scientists have recorded the fact that with a decrease in the intensity of agricultural work, on the contrary, there was a noticeable flow of water back from the Sea of ​​Azov to the Black Sea.

Previously, water flowing out of the Sea of ​​Azov could easily mix with the rest of the salt water. But now, the influx of salt water is gradually affecting the increase in salinity of the Azov Sea. This dramatically affected the local fauna and fish, which were accustomed to spawning in almost fresh water. The fish population has dropped significantly, as have the incomes of fish enterprises that fish in the Sea of ​​Azov, since fish simply do not want to spawn as actively as before in the Sea of ​​Azov. The fish have no incentives and external factors significantly influence the desire of the fish to produce offspring. Scientists don't yet know what can be done about it. It is unlikely that people will stop watering fields and taking water from rivers. The only thing that can be a fairly effective deterrent is an artificial narrowing of the Kerch Strait to reduce the flow of water.

Change in Ecosystem

Another problem in the Sea of ​​Azov is also directly related to the increase in water salinity. After all, harmful blue-green algae, which had never been in this body of water before, began to actively multiply in salt water. With the intensive proliferation of algae, the phenomenon of “goby plague” has become more frequent. The bullheads washed ashore and lay on the Belosarayskaya spit and on the Berdyansk spit. Previously, whales were thrown out, but now gobies. They are thrown out due to a lack of oxygen in the water, which they took in with their gills in salt water. Harmful algae multiply intensively, consume a lot of oxygen for their photosynthesis and the gobies become unable to breathe. So they are thrown out and die. The only salvation for fish on hot August days can only be a slight disturbance of the water. The algae themselves do not live very long and also die off over time, increasing the overall siltation of the reservoir. When we talk about “useful black mud”, or part of the biogenic remains of small-celled organisms and plants carried by rivers, they also die and increase the overall siltation, settling to the bottom of the Sea of ​​Azov. The number of these dying microorganisms in last years has increased significantly, so we are seeing general pollution of the sea by natural elements.

Freezing of the Azov Sea

The Sea of ​​Azov is one of the few seas in the world that can completely freeze in winter. For example, the Black Sea never freezes completely, even in the harshest winters, but Azov freezes, and even so that the ice turns out to be “soldered”, it completely freezes to the shore, the sea is covered with ice and in winter you can easily walk with one side of the sea to the other (but this is only subject to good frost for a long time).

THE SEA OF AZOV - IN PICTURES

The smallest, shallowest and most freshwater sea in the world, the Sea of ​​Azov is not inferior to the Black Sea in popularity among Crimean tourists. Warm water, sandy beaches, cozy bays - the best place recreation for children and adults. The shores of the Azov Sea are chosen by skysurfers and divers. Despite environmental problems, fishermen are still interested in local waters. In the generous sea you can still catch gobies, flounder, mullet and anchovy... And the Sea of ​​Azov is also called the paradise of shellfish, because this is where it lives great amount mussels!

By the blue sea

Many millions of years ago, the Sea of ​​Azov was part of the vast Tethys Ocean. The history of the formation of the reservoir is closely connected with the geological past of the Crimea, the Caucasus, the Black and Caspian Seas. Under the influence of internal processes, the earth's crust either sank or rose, forming mountain ranges. Subsequently stone blocks washed away the waters and destroyed the winds, turning them into plains. As a result, the waters of the World Ocean either flooded individual areas of land or exposed them. Only in the Cenozoic era did the outlines of continents and seas become what we are used to seeing them on modern maps. At this time, in the process of raising Crimean mountains one of the Black Sea bays turns into a separate body of water. Crimea emerges, separated by the narrow Kerch Strait from the mainland and connecting the Black and Azov Seas. In ancient times, this strait was called the Cimmerian Bosporus. The hint of the shallowness of the strait is obvious, since “bospor” translated means “bull ford”.

Within Crimean peninsula South coast The Sea of ​​Azov mostly consists of steep cliffs. Such, for example, is Cape Kazantip, at the base of which lies a reef - an atoll. To the west of this cape is the Arabat Bay, to the east - Kazantip Bay. To the east of Kazantip there is a low-lying alluvial section of the coast. The shores of the bays are composed of soft clayey rocks. South of Cape Kazantip is the relict salt lake Aktash. It is a remnant of the Kazantip Bay, which once protruded deeply into the land.

There are no large islands in the Sea of ​​Azov, but there are a number of shoals, partially flooded with water and located near the coast. Such are, for example, the islands of Biryuchiy, Turtle and others.

The depth of the smallest and shallowest sea in the world does not exceed 14 meters. The volume of the entire reservoir is 320 cubic meters. For comparison, the Aral Sea is 2 times larger in area than the Sea of ​​Azov, and the Black Sea is almost 11 times larger!

However, the main advantage is not the size! It is not for nothing that in ancient times the Sea of ​​Azov was called “fish” or “bream”. Its generous waters have fed people from time immemorial.

origin of name

In Rus', the Sea of ​​Azov became known in the 1st century AD. They called it then the Blue Sea. After the formation of the Tmutarakan principality, the reservoir was nicknamed Russian. Subsequently, the sea was renamed many times: Samakush, Salakar, Mayutis, there were many variations. Finally, at the beginning of the 13th century, the name Saksi Sea was approved.

The Tatar-Mongol conquerors added to the collection of names of Azov, calling it in their own way - Balyk-dengiz, which translated means “fish sea”.

Another version of the origin of the name of the reservoir says: azak is a Turkic adjective meaning “low or low-lying.”

In the Middle Ages, the Russians called the Sea of ​​Azov the Surozh Sea.

However, the origin of the name from the city of Azov should be considered the most reliable. There are also a number of hypotheses regarding the etymology of the word “Azov”, one of which is associated with the name of the Polovtsian prince Azum (Azuf), who was killed during the capture of the city in 1067.

It is generally accepted that the modern name of the Sea of ​​Azov came into Russian toponymy at the beginning of the 17th century thanks to the chronicle of Pimen. At first, it was assigned only to its part - the Taganrog Bay, and only during the Azov campaigns of Peter I the name Azov spread to the entire reservoir.

The ancient Greeks, in turn, called the Sea of ​​Azov Mayotis Estuary - “Meotian Lake”, and the Romans - “Meotian Swamp”. In those days, its southern and eastern shores were inhabited by people - the Meotians. This unflattering nickname is associated with shallow and swampy waters. eastern shores reservoir

The first map of Maeotis was made by Claudius Ptolemy, he determined geographical coordinates for cities, river mouths, capes and bays of the Azov Sea coast.

In 1068, the Russian prince Gleb measured the distance between Kerch and Taman along the ice. It is known that the Sea of ​​Azov freezes completely during particularly cold winters, so you can easily walk on it without fear of falling through the ice.

As the inscription on the Tmutarakan stone testifies, the distance from Tmutarakan to Korchev (the ancient name of Taman and Kerch) was approximately 20 kilometers. It turns out that in 939 years this distance has increased by 3 kilometers.

From the 12th to 14th centuries, the Genoese and Venetians also began to compose portolans - nautical charts Black and Azov seas. During the reign of the Italians in Crimea, a variety of fish were actively caught in the Sea of ​​Azov. Trade flourished, and sturgeon caught in Azov were delivered alive to Constantinople.

By the way, one of the routes of the Great Silk Road passed at the confluence of the Don and the Sea of ​​Azov. From here there were roads to all major cities states located on the coast of the Azov and Black Seas, such as Phanagoria, Kafa (Feodosia), Olbia, Sugdeya (Sudak) and Sevastopol.

Catch fish big and small...

Despite its shallow waters, the Sea of ​​Azov has long been famous for its wealth underwater world. This is due to the special composition of the water. For several thousand years, two powerful rivers Don and Kuban flowed into the reservoir, desalinating the local waters. As a result, a special system of community of living organisms was formed, which occupies a middle position between the marine and lake habitats, which is called a biocenosis. “Lightly salted water” attracted attention to the sea of ​​freshwater fish species such as bream and pike perch. At the same time, marine representatives continue to spawn here: sturgeon, ram and others. For a long time, freshwater did not allow blue-green algae to multiply, which causes water to bloom, “sucking” oxygen from it, which is so necessary for fish for normal life. This factor allowed Azov to be very prolific for decades.

Another record for the Sea of ​​Azov - it ranks first in the world in terms of biological productivity. Among the benthos biomass, mollusks occupy a dominant position. Their remains, represented by calcium carbonate, have a significant share in the formation of modern bottom sediment. It’s not for nothing that the Sea of ​​Azov is also called the sea of ​​mollusks. These marine fauna are an important source of fish nutrition. Prominent representatives of this type of underwater inhabitants are the heartfish, sandesmia and mussel.

The Azov Sea is home to more than 70 species of different fish, including: beluga, sturgeon, stellate sturgeon, flounder, mullet, sprat, anchovy, ram, vimba, shemaya, and various types of gobies.

The most numerous fish is the sprat, and today it pleases zealous fishermen. They say that in especially generous years, its catch reached 120 thousand tons!

At the mouths of rivers flowing into the sea, as well as in estuaries, 114 species and subspecies of fish are found. Among them there are predators - pike perch, sterlet and beluga.

At the end of the 60-70s, the salinity of the sea reached 14% due to the arrival of Black Sea waters, along with which jellyfish entered the sea. Their appearance turned out to be a bad omen.

Lately, the Sea of ​​Azov has not been experiencing the best better times. Environmentalists are sounding the alarm, but there is no real action to save the reservoir’s ecosystem. The main problem is the increase in water salinity. The waters of the Don and Kuban rivers are withdrawn for irrigation and the influx of fresh water into Azov is reduced. At the same time, it is leaking through the Kerch Strait salty water from the Black Sea. The change in salt percentage immediately affected fish that were accustomed to spawning in desalinated water. One problem leads to a chain of others. As soon as the water became more salty, harmful algae, alien to the flora of the Azov Sea, began to multiply in it. In recent years, a sad picture has been observed - a massive pestilence of gobies. Due to the lack of oxygen, which is drawn out by underwater vegetation, the fish are thrown ashore and die.

Today, scientists are puzzling over how to help the Sea of ​​Azov. It is useless to hope that agricultural land will stop being irrigated. There are proposals related to the artificial narrowing of the Kerch Strait. Perhaps this measure would slightly reduce the flow of salt water, and thus the unique ecosystem of the Azov Sea would be saved.

The Sea of ​​Azov is a shelf semi-enclosed body of water, and it belongs to the Mediterranean system. In general, this natural body of water is a mixing zone of the Black Sea and river waters, therefore some researchers consider it as a bay (shallow) of the Black Sea or a spacious, extensive river estuary.

From this article you can learn about the area of ​​the Sea of ​​Azov, its location, the origin of the name and much more. etc.

Sea of ​​Azov: general information

This body of water represents the northeastern basin of the Black Sea. Connects them together

According to its morphological characteristics, Azov belongs to the flat type and is a shallow water body with not very high bank slopes.

Quite noted small area and the depth of the Sea of ​​Azov (the latter is no more than 14 meters, and its average depth is only about 8 meters). Moreover, more than 1/2 of the territory has a depth of up to 5 meters. And this is the main feature.

Without taking into account Sivash, the Sea of ​​Azov has an elliptical shape extended to the southwest from the northeast. It is the smallest natural body of water in the World Ocean.

Two great rivers flow into it - the Kuban and the Don - and many (more than 20) smaller ones, which mostly flow from its northern bank.

Parameters of the Sea of ​​Azov: area

The Azov Sea basin has an area of ​​about 570 thousand square meters. km. Its longest length is 343 km, and its widest part is 231 km. 2686 kilometers - the length of the entire coastline.

Area of ​​the Sea of ​​Azov in sq. km. is about 37,600 (this does not include the area of ​​islands and spits, which occupy 107.9 sq. km). The average volume of all water is 256 km 3 . As noted above, approximately 43% of the territory is located in areas of depths from 5 to 10 meters.

origin of name

The sea received its modern, relatively new name several centuries ago from the name of the Turkish city of Azov. The latter, in turn, comes from the name of the local feudal lord (Azak or Azum).

But even earlier, the ancient Greeks called it “Meotis limne”, which means “lake of the Meotians” (the peoples who lived on the shores). The Romans called it ironically - “Palus Meotis”, which means “swamp of the Meotians”. And this is not surprising for the Sea of ​​Azov. The area, and especially its depth, is not very large.

The Arabs called it “Baral-Azov” and “Nitschlah”, and the Turks called it “Bahr-Assak” (Dark Blue Sea) and “Baryal-Assak”. There were many more names in ancient times, it’s impossible to count them all.

Azov became famous in Rus' in the 1st century AD. e., and the name was given to him - the Blue Sea. After it was formed it was called Russian. Then the sea was renamed many times (Mayutis, Salakar, Samakush, etc.). In the 13th century the sea was established with the name Saksi Sea. The Tatar-Mongol conquerors gave it the name “Chabak-dengiz” (bream or chabach) and “Balyk-dengiz” (translated as “fish sea”). As a result of the transformation of the last name (chabak - dzybakh - zabak - azak - azov) the current name (dubious version) arose. All speculation about the origin cannot be described here.

Types of animals, volumes of water, area: comparisons of the Sea of ​​Azov with other seas

The area is almost 2 times larger than Azov, and Chernoe is almost 11 times larger, and, accordingly, in terms of water volume it is 1678 times larger.

And yet, this area could easily accommodate two European states, for example Luxembourg and Belgium.

It is also interesting to compare the number of species of Mediterranean plants and animals in different seas, looking from west to east. In the Mediterranean there are more than 6,000 species of various organisms, in the Black Sea - 1500, in the Azov Sea - about 200, in the Caspian Sea - about 28, and in the Aral Sea there are only 2 species of organisms. This explains the fact that all of them, sometime in the distant past, gradually separated from the Mediterranean Sea.

Water expanses of the Sea of ​​Azov, area of ​​territories coastline accommodate a huge number of different animal species.

There is a lot of diverse waterfowl on the banks: ducks, geese, steppe waders, geese, lapwings, mute swans, black-headed gulls and many others. etc. In the sea and at the mouths of rivers flowing into it, as well as on estuaries, a total of 114 species (together with subspecies) of fish live. This body of water is also called the Sea of ​​Shellfish.

And in terms of biological productivity it ranks first in the world.

Relief underwater

The relief of the sea bottom is simple. The depths here generally increase gradually as you move away from the coast, and, naturally, the most deep places are located in the very center. The bottom of Azov is almost flat.

The entire territory of the Sea of ​​Azov arose thanks to large bays. There are no large islands on it. There are small shallows (Turtle Island, Biryuchiy Island, etc.).

Climate

The area of ​​almost the entire surface of the water quickly warms up already in April-May. From June to September average temperature The water temperature can be more than 20°C, and in July-August it reaches 30°C. And in Sivash (for comparison), the water warms up to 42 degrees.

The swimming season lasts 124 days. During this favorable period, there are only a few days where the water and air temperatures are relatively low or very high.

Due to the small size of the Sea of ​​Azov (area, depth, volume), its influence on the climate of the land surrounding it is rather weak and barely noticeable only in a narrow strip (coastal).

The water here heats up quickly in summer and cools in the same way in winter. The sea freezes completely only in the harshest winters. Moreover, throughout the winter, ice forms and thaws several times, since thaws often occur in these places.

In conclusion, some interesting facts

There are some very interesting and curious facts from history.

1. The sea was part of a huge ocean for many millions of years, called Tethys by geologists. Its endless expanse stretched from Central America through the Atlantic Ocean, part of Europe, the Black, Mediterranean, Caspian and Aral Sea and further east through India to the Pacific Ocean.

2. The Russian prince Gleb in 1068 measured the distance from Kerch to Taman along the ice. The inscription indicates that the distance from Korchev to Tmutarakan (the ancient name of Kerch and Taman, respectively) was approximately 20 km. It turns out that over 939 years this distance has increased by 3 km.

3. Sea water contains little salt (another feature). Because of this, water freezes quite easily. Therefore, the sea is unnavigable from the end of the year (December) until mid-April.

Beaches in the village Resort

Holidays on the Sea of ​​Azov are preferred by those who love warm sea waves, soft golden sand and the magical aroma of steppe herbs. Located on the banks of Azov, it is an ideal place for a summer vacation with children. Here you have the opportunity to wake up at dawn and admire the amazing sunrises from the depths of the sea!

The Sea of ​​Azov in the form it is now was formed several centuries ago. Initially, millions of years ago, it was part of the Tethys Ocean. The formation of continents led to the fact that the Tethys Ocean was divided into more familiar seas and oceans. During the formation of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, parts of the huge ocean were separated new land, thus the Sarmatian Sea appeared. The Azov-Black Sea basin received this name from the tribes that inhabited its shores.

Later, with the arrival in Crimea, it was renamed Pontic. Starting from about this time, scientists have been able to recreate the approximate outlines of the sea from the surviving descriptions of travelers and ancient chronicles. The Pontic Sea had access to the Caspian Sea. Busy trade routes passed along the strait that existed at that time. Several more centuries passed and the strait between the Caspian and Pontic Seas disappeared, the external outlines of the Black and Azov Seas became even more similar to modern ones.

In the 13th century, the Pontic Sea received its modern name - the Sea of ​​Azov. Historians are inclined to believe that the name comes from the Turkic settlement on the Azak coast. Translated, the word means “located in the lowlands” - this is one of the most successful decodings of the name Sea of ​​Azov.

Today, along the entire coast of the Azov Sea there are numerous resort villages and cities. On the seashores in Russia and Ukraine there are quite large sea ​​ports, receiving ships from all over the world. A hotel, recreation center, mini-hotel in Yeisk, Mariupol, Berdyansk complement the port character of the cities.

 

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