The 

Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying

between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of
the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia,
Turkey, and Ukraine. The Black Sea is supplied by major rivers, principally the Danube, Dnieper,
and Don. Consequently, while six countries have a coastline on the sea, its drainage
basin includes parts of 24 countries in Europe.[2]
The Black Sea covers 436,400 km2 (168,500 sq mi) (not including the Sea of Azov),[3] has a
maximum depth of 2,212 m (7,257 ft),[4] and a volume of 547,000 km3 (131,000 cu mi).[5] Most of
its coasts ascend rapidly. These rises are the Pontic Mountains to the south, bar the southwest-
facing peninsulas, the Caucasus Mountains to the east, and the Crimean Mountains to the mid-
north. In the west, the coast is generally small floodplains below foothills such as
the Strandzha; Cape Emine, a dwindling of the east end of the Balkan Mountains; and
the Dobruja Plateau considerably further north. The longest east–west extent is about 1,175 km
(730 mi).[6] Important cities along the coast
include Odessa, Varna, Samsun, Sochi, Sevastopol, Constanța, Trabzon, Novorossiysk, Burgas,
and Batumi.
The Black Sea has a positive water balance, with an annual net outflow of 300 km3 (72 cu mi) per
year through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles into the Aegean Sea.[citation needed] While the net flow
of water through the Bosporus and Dardanelles (known collectively as the Turkish Straits) is out
of the Black Sea, water generally flows in both directions simultaneously: Denser, more saline
water from the Aegean flows into the Black Sea underneath the less dense, fresher water that
flows out of the Black Sea. This creates a significant and permanent layer of deep water that
does not drain or mix and is therefore anoxic. This anoxic layer is responsible for the
preservation of ancient shipwrecks which have been found in the Black Sea.
The Black Sea ultimately drains into the Mediterranean Sea, via the Turkish Straits and the
Aegean Sea. The Bosporus strait connects it to the small Sea of Marmara which in turn is
connected to the Aegean Sea via the strait of the Dardanelles. To the north, the Black Sea is
connected to the Sea of Azov by the Kerch Strait.
The water level has varied significantly over geological time. Due to these variations in the water
level in the basin, the surrounding shelf and associated aprons have sometimes been dry land.
At certain critical water levels, connections with surrounding water bodies can become
established. It is through the most active of these connective routes, the Turkish Straits, that the
Black Sea joins the world ocean. During geological periods when this hydrological link was not
present, the Black Sea was an endorheic basin, operating independently of the global ocean
system (similar to the Caspian Sea today). Currently, the Black Sea water level is relatively high;
thus, water is being exchanged with the Mediterranean. The Black Sea undersea river is a
current of particularly saline water flowing through the Bosporus Strait and along the seabed of
the Black Sea, the first of its kind discovered.