12/28/2020 List of seas - Wikipedia

List of seas
This is a list of seas – large divisions of the World Ocean, including areas of water,
variously gulfs, bights, bays, and straits.

Contents
Terminology
Biggest seas in the world
Marginal seas
Atlantic Ocean
The Americas
Africa and Eurasia Marginal seas as defined by the International Maritime
Northern islands Organization
Arctic Ocean
Southern Ocean
Indian Ocean
Pacific Ocean
Americas
Asia and Oceania
Defined by currents
Proposed
Not included
See also
Notes
References
External links

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]
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.[4]
A division of an ocean, delineated by landforms,[5] 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.
The World Ocean. For example, the Law of the Sea states that all of the World Ocean is "sea",[6][7][8][b] and this is also common usage for
"the sea".
Any large body of water with "Sea" in the name, including lakes.
River - A small strip of water that flows inland
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 - Man-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:[10]

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 very small, typically sheltered bay
Inlet – A skinny bay that are like peninsulas but for the sea
Polynya – Least used out of all, 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.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_seas#Marginal_seas 1/10
12/28/2020 List of seas - Wikipedia

Biggest seas in the world

Top 80 large seas:[11][12][13]

1. Australasian Mediterranean Sea - 9.080 million km² 40. Baffin Bay - 689,000 km²
2. Philippine Sea - 5.695 million km² 41. Laptev Sea - 662,000 km²
3. Coral Sea - 4.791 million km² 42. Arafura Sea - 650,000 km²
4. American Mediterranean Sea - 4.200 million km² 43. Ross Sea - 637,000 km²
5. Arabian Sea - 3.862 million km² 44. Chukchi Sea - 620,000 km²
6. Sargasso Sea - 3.5 million km² 45. Timor Sea - 610,000 km²
7. South China Sea - 3.5 million km² 46. North Sea - 575,000 km²
8. Weddell Sea - 2.8 million km² 47. Bellingshausen Sea - 487,000 km²
9. Caribbean Sea - 2.754 million km² 48. Beaufort Sea - 476,000 km²
10. Mediterranean Sea - 2.510 million km² 49. Red Sea - 438,000 km²
11. Gulf of Guinea - 2.35 million km² 50. Black Sea - 436,000 km²
12. Tasman Sea - 2.3 million km² 51. Gulf of Aden - 410,000 km²
13. Bay of Bengal - 2.172 million km² 52. Yellow Sea - 380,000 km²
14. Bering Sea - 2 million km² 53. Baltic Sea - 377,000 km²
15. Sea of Okhotsk - 1.583 million km² 54. Caspian Sea - 371,000 km²
16. Gulf of Mexico - 1.550 million km² 55. Libyan Sea - 350,000 km²
17. Gulf of Alaska - 1.533 million km² 56. Mawson Sea - 333,000 km²
18. Barents Sea - 1.4 million km² 57. Levantine Sea - 320,000 km²
19. Norwegian Sea - 1.383 million km² 58. Java Sea - 320,000 km²
20. East China Sea - 1.249 million km² 59. Gulf of Thailand - 320,000 km²
21. Hudson Bay - 1.23 million km² 60. Celtic Sea - 300,000 km²
22. Greenland Sea - 1.205 million km² 61. Gulf of Carpentaria - 300,000 km²
23. Somov Sea - 1.15 million km² 62. Celebes Sea - 280,000 km²
24. Mar de Grau - 1.14 million km² 63. Tyrrhenian Sea - 275,000 km²
25. Riiser-Larsen Sea - 1.138 million km² 64. Sulu Sea - 260,000 km²
26. Argentine Sea - 1 million km² 65. Cooperation Sea - 258,000 km²
27. East Siberian Sea - 987,000 km² 66. Persian Gulf - 251,000 km²
28. Sea of Japan - 978,000 km² 67. Flores Sea - 240,000 km²
29. Lazarev Sea - 929,000 km² 68. Gulf of Saint Lawrence - 226,000 km²
30. Kara Sea - 926,000 km² 69. Bay of Biscay - 223,000 km²
31. Scotia Sea - 900,000 km² 70. Aegean Sea - 214,000 km²
32. Labrador Sea - 841,000 km² 71. Gulf of Anadyr - 200,000 km²
33. Andaman Sea - 797,700 km² 72. Molucca Sea - 200,000 km²
34. Laccadive Sea - 786,000 km² 73. Oman Sea - 181,000 km²
35. Irminger Sea - 780,000 km² 74. Ionian Sea - 169,000 km²
36. Solomon Sea - 720,000 km² 75. Gulf of California - 160,000 km²
37. Mozambique Channel - 700,000 km² 76. Balearic Sea - 150,000 km²
38. Cosmonauts Sea - 699,000 km² 77. Adriatic Sea - 138,000 km²
39. Banda Sea - 695,000 km²

Marginal seas
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.[14]

Atlantic Ocean

In addition to the marginal seas listed in the three sub-sections below, the Arctic Ocean itself is sometimes also considered a marginal sea of the
Atlantic.[15][16]

The Americas

(coast-wise 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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_seas#Marginal_seas 2/10
12/28/2020 List of seas - Wikipedia

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
Bermuda Triangle - Note that while this sea is unrecognized by any official authority, it does have strictly defined boundaries.
Gulf of Mexico
Florida Bay
Tampa Bay
Charlotte Harbor Estuary
Pensacola Bay
Mobile Bay
Vermilion 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

Africa and Eurasia

Norwegian Sea
North Sea

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_seas#Marginal_seas 3/10
12/28/2020 List of seas - Wikipedia

Kattegat
Skagerrak
Wadden Sea
Dogger Bank
Baltic Sea
Gulf of Bothnia
Kvarken
Bothnian Sea
South Kvarken
Sea of Åland The Norwegian Sea
Archipelago Sea
Gulf of Finland
Vyborg Bay
Neva Bay
Koporye Bay
Luga Bay
Narva Bay
Gulf of Riga
Curonian Lagoon
Vistula Lagoon
Gdańsk Bay
Bay of Pomerania
Szczecin Lagoon
Bay of Greifswald Aegean, Adriatic, Ionian, and
Tyrrhenian seas
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
Gulf of Venice
Gulf of Trieste
Venetian Lagoon
Kvarner Gulf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_seas#Marginal_seas 4/10
12/28/2020 List of seas - Wikipedia

Ionian Sea
Gulf of Taranto
Gulf of Corinth
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[17]
Gulf of İzmit[17]
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[17]
Gulf of Burgas[17]
Karkinit Bay[17]
Kalamita Bay[17]
Sea of Azov[17]

Syvash[17]
Taganrog Bay[17]
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

Northern islands

(east to west)

Irminger Sea

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_seas#Marginal_seas 5/10
12/28/2020 List of seas - Wikipedia

Denmark Strait (between Greenland and Iceland)

Irish Sea (between Ireland and Great Britain)
Inner seas off the west coast of Scotland
Sea of the Hebrides (Great Britain)

Arctic Ocean

(clockwise from 180°)

Chukchi Sea
East Siberian Sea
Laptev Sea
Kara Sea
Barents Sea (connected to Kara Sea by Kara Strait)
Pechora Sea The Irish Sea
White Sea
Queen Victoria Sea
Wandel Sea
Greenland Sea
Lincoln Sea (recognized by IHO but not IMO)
Baffin Bay
The Northwest Passages
Prince Gustav Adolf Sea
Amundsen Gulf
(more to be listed)
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

Southern Ocean
Amundsen Sea
Bass Strait
Bellingshausen Sea
Cooperation Sea[c]
Cosmonauts Sea[c]
Davis Sea
D'Urville Sea
Drake Passage
Great Australian Bight
Gulf St Vincent
Investigator Strait
King Haakon VII Sea[c]
Lazarev Sea[c]
Mawson Sea[c]
McMurdo Sound
Polynyas in McMurdo Sound
Riiser-Larsen Sea
Ross Sea
Scotia Sea
Somov Sea[c]
Spencer Gulf
Weddell Sea

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_seas#Marginal_seas 6/10
12/28/2020 List of seas - Wikipedia

Weddell Polynya/Maud Rise Polynya

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
The Arabian Sea as a marginal sea
Mozambique Channel
of the Indian Ocean.
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 Coral Sea
Sea of Chiloé
Gulf of Alaska
Cook Inlet
Glacier Bay
Prince William Sound
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
Salish Sea
San Francisco Bay
San Pablo Bay

Asia and Oceania

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
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_seas#Marginal_seas 7/10
12/28/2020 List of seas - Wikipedia

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
Natuna Sea
North Natuna 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

Defined by currents
(Wide) Sargasso Sea – North Atlantic Gyre

Proposed
Small Sargasso Sea (http://ocean71.com/chapters/sea-like-none-other/)

Not included
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_seas#Marginal_seas 8/10
12/28/2020 List of seas - Wikipedia

Entities called "seas" which are not divisions of the World Ocean are not included in this list. Excluded are:

Salt lakes with "Sea" in the name: Aral Sea, Caspian Sea, Dead Sea, Salton Sea
Freshwater lakes with "Sea" in the name: Sea of Galilee
Extraterrestrial oceans: List of largest lakes and seas in the Solar System
Gulfs, bays, and straits and other bodies of water in lakes

Other items not included:

Coral Reefs
Deltas
Glaciers
Marshes
Oceans
Ocean banks
Ocean gyres
Reefs
Rivers
Swamps
Swimming Pools/Water Parks
Wetlands

See also
Inland sea (geology)
Oceanography
Mediterranean sea (oceanography)

Notes
a. There is no accepted technical definition of sea among oceanographers. A rather weak definition is that a sea is a subdivision of an ocean,
which means that it must have oceanic basin crust on its floor. This definition, for example, accepts the Caspian Sea, which was once part of an
ancient ocean, as a sea.[1] The Introduction to Marine Biology defines a sea as a "landlocked" body of water, adding that the term "sea" is only
one of convenience, but the book is written by marine biologists, not oceanographers.[2] The Glossary of Mapping Sciences similarly states that
the boundaries between seas and other bodies of water are arbitrary.[3]
b. According to this definition, the Caspian would be excluded as it is legally an "international lake".[9]
c. Proposed names to the IHO 2002 draft. This draft was never approved by the IHO (or any other organization), and the 1953 IHO document
(which does not contain these names which mostly originated from 1962 onward) remains currently in force.[18] Leading geographic authorities
and atlases do not use these names, including the 2014 10th edition World Atlas from the National Geographic Society and the 2014 12th
edition of the Times Atlas of the World. But Soviet and Russian-issued state maps do include them.[19][20]

References
1. Conforti, B; Bravo, Luigi Ferrari (2005). The Italian Yearbook of International Law 2004 (https://books.google.com/books?id=tLcin2NyJQgC&pg=
PA237). ISBN 9789004150270.
2. Karleskint, George; Turner, Richard L; Small, James W (2009). Introduction to Marine Biology (https://books.google.com/books?id=0JkKOFIj5pg
C&pg=PA47). ISBN 9780495561972.
3. The Glossary of the Mapping Sciences – Google Books (https://books.google.com/books?id=jPVxSDzVRP0C&pg=PA365). 1994.
ISBN 9780784475706. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
4. American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (1994). Glossary of the mapping sciences (https://books.google.com/books?id=jPVxSDzVRP0C
&pg=PA469). ASCE Publications. p. 469. ISBN 978-0-7844-0050-0. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
5. "What's the difference between an ocean and a sea?" (http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/oceanorsea.html). Oceanservice.noaa.gov. 11
January 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
6. Vukas, B (2004). The Law of the Sea: Selected Writings (https://books.google.com/books?id=sbqBvQy04XwC&pg=PA271).
ISBN 9789004138636.
7. Gupta, Manoj (2010). Indian Ocean Region: Maritime Regimes for Regional Cooperation (https://books.google.com/books?id=5zpbN8I2ZR4C&
pg=PA57). ISBN 9781441959898.
8. "Discover The Seven Seas of the Earth" (http://geography.about.com/od/waterandice/a/sevenseas.htm). Geography.about.com. Retrieved
2013-04-19.
9. Gokay, Bulent (2001). The Politics of Caspian Oil (https://books.google.com/books?id=uxmInSrE9vQC&pg=PA74). ISBN 9780333739730.
10. "gulf – coastal feature" (https://www.britannica.com/science/gulf-coastal-feature).
11. https://www.livescience.com/29533-the-worlds-biggest-oceans-and-seas.html
12. https://www.worldatlas.com/
13. http://listofseas.com/
14. Wang, James C. F. (1992). Handbook on Ocean Politics & Law (https://books.google.com/books?id=GrEOofrVra4C). Greenwood Publishing
Group. p. 14 (https://books.google.com/books?id=GrEOofrVra4C&pg=PA14&dq=%22the+problem+is+basically+definition%22). ISBN 978-0-
313-26434-4.
15. James C. F. Wang (1992). Handbook on ocean politics & law (https://books.google.com/books?id=GrEOofrVra4C&pg=PA14). Greenwood
Publishing Group. pp. 14–. ISBN 9780313264344. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
16. Longhurt, Alan R. (2007). Ecological Geography of the Sea (https://books.google.com/books?id=QdJZezzrCfQC&pg=PA104). Academic Press.
p. 104. ISBN 978-0-12-455521-1.
17. often treated as part of Mediterranean Sea

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_seas#Marginal_seas 9/10
12/28/2020 List of seas - Wikipedia

18. "Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd (currently in-force) edition" (https://web.archive.org/web/20111008191433/http://www.iho.int/iho_pubs/standard/
S-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf) (PDF). International Hydrographic Organization. 1953. Archived from the original (https://iho.int/uploads/user/pub
s/standards/s-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf) (PDF) on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
19. Антарктида (http://www.rubricon.com/imgbyid.asp?ii=1&iid=219112465), rubricon.com/ (http://www.rubricon.com/) (map)
20. "Антарктида" (https://web.archive.org/web/20150910060624/http://gturs.com/Maps/pic/ant_fiz.jpg). gturs.com. Archived from the original (http://
gturs.com/Maps/pic/ant_fiz.jpg) on 2015-09-10. Retrieved 2015-06-06. (map)

External links
The dictionary definition of marginal sea at Wiktionary

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_seas&oldid=996835976#Marginal_seas"

This page was last edited on 28 December 2020, at 21:09 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_seas#Marginal_seas 10/10