Names of the sea bays of the Sea of ​​Azov. Sea of ​​Azov: Useful Properties, Origin and Depth of the Sea of ​​Azov

Sea of ​​Azov (Ukrainian Sea of ​​Azov, other Greek Μαιῶτις λίμνη, lat. Palus Maeotis) is a semi-enclosed sea of ​​the Atlantic Ocean in eastern Europe. The shallowest sea in the world: the depth does not exceed 13.5 meters, the average depth is about 7.4 m (according to various estimates, from 6.8 to 8 m).

The Sea of ​​Azov is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by a long chain of straits and seas ( Kerch Strait- Black Sea - Bosphorus - Sea of ​​Marmara - Dardanelles - Aegean Sea - Mediterranean Sea - Strait of Gibraltar - Atlantic Ocean).

Two largest rivers flow into the sea - and the Kuban River.

COASTS OF THE SEA OF AZOV AND DELTA

The coast of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov is less picturesque and diverse than the Black Sea. But it also has its own unique beauty. The steppes come close to the sea, and in some places the floodplains overgrown with reeds. The shores are treeless, they are either low and gentle, with a sandy-shell beach, or low, but steep, composed of yellow loess-like loams. Coastline the sea forms rather smooth bends, and only long sandy spits give it some indentation. A large number of spits is one of the characteristic features of the shores of the Sea of ​​Azov.

West Coast.
The western shore of the Sea of ​​Azov is represented by a long oblique - the Arabat arrow. It stretched along the seashore for 112 km, separating the shallow Sivash Bay from it. The width of this flat sand-shell spit ranges from 270 m in its southern and middle parts to 7 km in its northern part, where there are several small hills.
Arabat arrow- it's huge natural beach. Parallel to it, a series of long shoals stretched. They are perfectly visible from the walls of the old Genoese fortress located near the village of Arabat, or directly from the elevated native shore. In a quiet sunny weather the greenish-blue waves of the sea with a slight noise gently run over the sandy-shell beach and the foam of the light surf borders it, like a narrow white lace. Rolling on the wing, white-winged gulls glide low over the water. In the distance, on the spit, salt extracted from Sivash dazzlingly shines under the rays of the hot sun. Beautiful sea and in a storm. When the fierce nordost blows, it darkens, becomes severe.
With an angry noise, boiling with white foam, steep-walled waves fall on the shores. You can spend hours admiring the foamy expanse of the sea, the rapid run and the stormy surf of the waves.

Any person who has visited the Sea of ​​Azov will forever have a memory of its discreet, but soul-stirring beauty.
Hot spots are open on the Arabat Spit mineral water, which are superior to Matsesta in their chemical composition and medicinal properties. Based on these healing waters it is supposed to create new resort- Azov Matsesta.

South coast.
It is represented by the territory of the Kerch and Taman peninsulas, between which the Kerch Strait is located, connecting the Azov and Black Sea. The Kerch Peninsula is the eastern tip of the Crimea. Its area is about 3 thousand square meters. kilometers. In the bowels of the peninsula, large deposits of iron ores have been discovered that feed the metallurgy of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov, oil and natural gas.
Northern and northeastern parts Kerch Peninsula composed of marls, clays, limestones; Tertiary sandstones occur in places.
The western part of the Kerch Peninsula is flat, the eastern part is hilly. Within the peninsula, the southern coast of the Sea of ​​Azov for the most part drops steeply into the sea, leaving only a narrow strip of beach. In some places, the steep banks are composed of bryozoan limestones, staunchly resisting the onslaught sea ​​waves. Such, for example, is Cape Kazantip, at the base of which lies a bryozoan reef - an atoll. To the west of this cape is Arabatsky Bay, to the east - Kazantipsky. To the east of Cape Kazantip, a low-lying alluvial stretch of coast stretches. The shores of both bays are composed of soft clay rocks. Yuzhnemysa Kazantip - Aktash salt Lake. This relic lake. It is a remnant of the Kazantip Bay, which once jutted far into the land.
In the middle of the Kerch Peninsula, a low Parpach ridge stretches from west to east. Between this ridge and the shore of the Sea of ​​Azov. there is a wide longitudinal valley. In its lower parts there are salt lakes, and in particular Lake Chokrakskoye, known for its healing properties, as well as a number of mud volcanoes.
East of the Kazantip Bay, near the Kerch Strait, the coast of the Sea of ​​Azov is calmer, but here it is characterized by capes composed of hard bryozoan limestones, for example, capes Zyuk, Tarkhan and others.

The Kerch Strait, which connects the Black and Azov Seas, is shallow and relatively narrow. Its width varies from 4 to 15 km. The length of the strait is 41 km. The depth is about 4 m.
In ancient times, the Kerch Strait was called the Cimmerian Bosporus. The name itself contains a hint of the strait's milkiness, since "bosporus" in translation into Russian means "bull ford".
The Crimean coast of the strait is steep in places. In its northern part is the port city of Kerch.

The Caucasian coast of the Kerch Strait is low, sandy, sometimes with dunes. The fairway of the strait is cluttered with reefs, sandbars and coastal shoals, which previously hampered navigation. Now a channel has been dug in the strait for the passage of ships with a large draft.
Communication across the strait between the Crimea and the Caucasus was previously carried out by ordinary steamships carrying cargo and passengers. In the spring of 1955, a railway crossing was opened. On the Crimean coast, northeast of Kerch, a railway station Crimea was built, and on the Caucasian coast, on the Chushka Spit, a railway station Kavkaz was built.

On large diesel-electric ferries, trains are easily and quickly transported through the Kerch Strait. The railway route between the Crimea and the Caucasus is thereby significantly shortened.
Taman Peninsula, which is part of Krasnodar Territory covers an area of ​​approximately 1900 sq. km. Of these, a little more than 900 sq. km, and the rest of the territory is estuaries and floodplains.
Its nature is unique. From a geological point of view, this is a young peninsula, since it was formed in the Quaternary period. Back in the 1st century A.D. e. in its place there were about five islands, the transformation of which into a peninsula occurred, apparently, in the 5th century AD. e. under the influence of the accumulative "activity of the Kuban River, mud volcanoes and tectonic uplifts. The formation of the Taman Peninsula continues.

The surface of the peninsula is a hilly plain with low domed elevations, elongated in the form of interrupted ridges from the southwest to the northeast. Scattered almost everywhere mud volcanoes and ancient cemeteries - burial mounds. .The landscape is enlivened by numerous estuaries. The floodplains, overgrown with reeds and sedge, are also widespread.

The Taman Peninsula contains in its bowels such natural resources as oil, combustible gases, iron ores, salt, building materials in the form of limestone, clay and gravel.
The climate of the peninsula is moderately warm. The sun generously supplies it with the heat of its rays, but there is little precipitation here - only 436 mm per year - and therefore there is a lack of moisture.
On the peninsula there are fertile chernozem-like and chestnut soils, covered with drought-resistant steppe, and along the valley of the Kuban River - with floodplain vegetation.
It is now famous for its vineyards.
The shores of the Taman Peninsula are quite diverse, but two types of shores prevail: high, steep - abrasion, that is, formed as a result of the destructive work of sea waves, and low, flat - accumulative. The latter were formed from sandy-argillaceous deposits as a result of the activity of sea waves and currents.

The shore of the Taman Bay, from Cape Tuzla up to the village of Taman, is elevated and steep. On average, its height here ranges from 15 to 30 m. To the east of the village of Taman, the coast goes down and remains low throughout the southern and east coast bay. Only in some places there are steep cliffs, and then often due to the cultural layer of ancient Phanagoria.
The northern shore of the bay is also elevated and in some places abruptly breaks off to the sea.
"Accumulation" in Latin means "accumulation". This term in geology refers to the process of deposition of loose material of various origins.

Spit Chushka, composed largely of quartz sand and broken shells, has low banks.
Farther to the east, the coast of the Taman Peninsula is high (up to 50-60 m above the level of the Sea of ​​Azov) and often has a stepped landslide character. It is composed mainly of loess-like clay and is bordered by a strip of beach, consisting of sandy-clay deposits, in places with an admixture of shells, pebbles and rubble.
Then, up to the village of Golubitskaya, the shore of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov either lowers or rises again, but, starting from this village, it becomes low, and in the area of ​​​​the delta of the Kuban River it acquires a swampy character.

It is interesting to note that in the area of ​​the village of Kuchugury on the low coast of the Sea of ​​Azov, eolian landforms are observed in the form of low (1–3 m) sandy mounds - dunes, formed under the influence of northern winds.

An attraction of the Taman Peninsula are mud volcanoes (salses), of which there are up to 25. Many of them look like low cones with truncated tops. Some salsas are temporarily inactive. The rest emit dirt and gases, such as methane, nitrogen. carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen.
Eruptions of mud volcanoes are usually calm and quiet, but sometimes they resemble eruptions of real volcanoes, as they are accompanied by an explosion, and then the products of volcanic activity are scattered hundreds of meters from the crater, and liquid mud forms large streams.
A very interesting phenomenon is represented by mud volcanoes at the bottom of the Sea of ​​Azov near the shores of the Taman Peninsula. So, intense mud volcanic activity was observed near the village of Golubitskaya. One of the eruptions was noted on September 6, 1799. An underground rumble was heard, then a deafening crack was heard and over the sea, 300 meters from the shore, a column of fire and black smoke rose. The eruption continued for about two hours, leading to the formation of an island of mud with a diameter of more than 100 m and a height of up to 2 m. A few months later, it disappeared, washed out by the waves of the sea.
Similar eruptions were repeated later - in 1862, 1906, 1924, 1950 and 1952. In 1952, to the west of the village of Golubitskaya, 5 km from the coast, also as a result of mud volcanic activity, a mud island was formed, then washed away by sea waves.

Cossack erik is the left-bank branch of the Kuban, it carries its waters to the large Akhtanizovsky estuary, which has a connection with the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov through the Peresyp arm.
The modern delta of the Kuban River is a whole labyrinth of shallow lakes or estuaries, interconnected by channels, or, in the local language, eriks, which form bizarre loops between low-lying swampy land.
In the Kuban Delta, vast areas are occupied by floodplains that stretch for tens of kilometers. The floodplains of the Kuban delta, adjacent to the Sea of ​​Azov, are called the Sea of ​​Azov. They are divided by the Protoka river into two massifs: the Azov floodplains proper in the western part and the Angelino-Cheburgolsky in the eastern part.
The Azov floodplains are bizarre labyrinths of swamps and estuaries of various sizes, with fresh, semi-salty and salt water, overgrown with surface and underwater vegetation. The former is dominated by reeds, reeds, sedges, cattails and burdocks. Underwater, or “soft” vegetation of estuaries is charophytes, pondweeds, hornwort, water lilies, etc.

In the Azov estuaries there are thickets of a wonderful plant - lotus. During the flowering period, large pink flowers rise on stems above the spreading emerald leaves. amazing beauty flowers with a strong fragrance. This tropical newcomer, brought to us from Africa, is a useful medicinal and food plant.
The estuaries of the Kuban delta are rich in fish. More than 70 species of it are found here, including ram, bream, pike perch, shad, sprat, carp weighing up to 15 kg, catfish weighing up to 100 kg.
In the floodplains and estuaries of the delta, a lot of birds live, especially waterfowl: wild geese, ducks. There are whole colonies of cormorants and pelicans. Swans, herons, many birds of prey live here. Of the mammals, foxes are numerous, there are wild cats and wild boars in the deaf floodplains. The muskrat has been acclimatized, producing beautiful brown fur.

The bowels of the delta are rich in minerals - natural gas, oil, mineral waters.
Most of the Kuban river delta has not yet been developed for agriculture, although the soils here are very fertile.
But gradually the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov is changing the landscape. In the floodplains, instead of dense reeds and rotten estuaries, blue squares of rice paddies already stretch for many kilometers. In 1952, the Kuban irrigation system with an area of ​​23,000 hectares was put into operation. In 1967, 62 thousand hectares of land were occupied for rice, reclaimed by meliorators from the floodplains. When the Krasnodar reservoir on the Kuban River comes into operation, rice fields expand to 250,000-300,000 hectares and produce up to 700,000 tons of high-quality rice annually for our Motherland.

To the north of Primorsko-Akhtarsk, up to, floodplains are found only at the mouths of the Azov steppe rivers - Beisug and Chelbas.
The shores of the Sea of ​​Azov are represented in this area by low and gently sloping sandbars, but for the most part the coast here is steep or steeply descending to the sea. It is complex, like the coastal plain, with loess and loess-like loams and clays of the late glacial period. Loess is a rock that is easily washed away by waves, and therefore the seashore here is quickly destroyed. The average rate of destruction along the entire coast is 3 m per year. The maximum is up to 18 m. The soils of this part of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov are represented by carbonate West Caucasian fertile chernozems. Previously, this entire area was a feather-grass-forb steppe, on which herds of wild horses—tarpans and herds of swift-footed saigas grazed. There were even moose. Now these lands are plowed up, and in the summer here [a boundless yellow-green sea of ​​\u200b\u200bcorn sways, fields of corn and sunflowers are spread.
In addition to the Kuban River, such steppe rivers (counting from south to north) flow into the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov from the east, such as Kirpili, pouring their waters into the Kirpilsky estuary; Beisug, which flows into the Beisug estuary; Chelbas, flowing into the sweet estuary; Eya, which carries water to the large Yeisk estuary, and, finally, the small rivers Wet Chuburka and Kagalnik, which flow directly into the Sea of ​​Azov.
A characteristic feature of the landscape of the eastern coast of the Sea of ​​Azov, as noted above, is the presence of numerous estuaries.

Don Delta.
In its northeastern part, the Sea of ​​Azov forms a vast, strongly elongated Taganrog Bay, into which one of the largest rivers in the European part of the USSR, the Don, flows. Its length is 1870 km, and the catchment area is 422,000 square meters. km. Don annually takes out to the sea an average of about 28.6 cubic meters. km of water. Significant masses of river water greatly desalinate the Taganrog Bay, and the sediment carried by the river shallows it and leads to, which occupies an area of ​​340 square meters. km. The modern Don delta begins 6 km below Rostov-on-Don, where the non-navigable branch of the Dead Donets separates from the river to the right.
There is always a lot of activity on the Don River; various and numerous ships float up and down the stream. The calm expanse of the mighty river is cut through by passenger ships, cargo ships and fishing boats.
Below the village of Elizavetinskaya, the Don begins to meander strongly along a wide low-lying valley, breaking up into numerous branches and channels, which, in the local language, are not called eriks. There are more and more of these branches and eriks as we approach the Sea of ​​Azov.
The landscape here is unique. Everywhere you can see islands slightly rising above the water with intricately indented shores, covered with dense thickets of reeds. Islets close to the sea are constantly flooded with sea water, and the vegetation on them is scarce or completely absent. With strong westerly winds, the waters of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov rush to the mouth of the Don, prop up the river waters, the Don overflows its banks, flooding not only the delta, but also almost all 100 km upstream.
East winds blowing downstream of the Don have the opposite effect. There is a surge of water, and sometimes so strong that not only the branches of the river, but also the Taganrog Bay become shallow, which disrupts normal navigation. The amplitude of surge phenomena is +3, -2 m.

The Don brings into the sea an average of about 14 million tons of river sediment and about 9.5 million tons of dissolved minerals. Due to sediments, the Don Delta is growing, gradually moving further and further into the sea at a rate of about 1 km per century.

Bays and estuaries are formed between the spits and the native coast, for example, Berdyansk and Obitochny. If we exclude alluvial spits, then the rest of the northern shore of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov is a flat steppe, for the most part descending to the sea by a cliff. The spits and narrow coastal strip are composed mainly of Quaternary marine sediments. To the north, the plain is composed of loess, loess-like loams and clays of the late glacial period. Fertile chernozems have developed on these rocks. Even in the last century, boundless feather grass-forb steppes stretched here, and in the western half - feather grass-fescue steppes. Tarpans, feral camels grazed in them, and even earlier there were even noble deer and elk. There were beavers in the rivers. During the flowering period, these steppes, according to N.V. Gogol, represented a green-golden ocean, over which millions of flowers splashed. However, such steppes have long disappeared, they are almost completely plowed up. They were replaced by endless fields of wheat, corn, sunflower, orchards and vineyards.

HISTORY OF THE SEA OF AZOV
Meotida
In ancient times, the Sea of ​​Azov did not exist, and the Don flowed into the Black Sea in the area of ​​the modern Kerch Strait. The theory of the Black Sea flood suggests that the filling of the waters of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov happened around 5600 BC. e.
In antiquity, the Sea of ​​​​Azov was called among the Greeks Meotian Lake (ancient Greek Μαιῶτις), among the Romans Palus Maeotis (“Meotian swamp”), among the Scythians Kargaluk, among the Meotians Temerinda (which means “mother of the sea”), among the Arabs - Bahr al -Azuf, among the Turks - Bahr el-Assak or Bahr-y Assak (Dark blue sea; modern tour. Azak Denizi) and also - Balysyr (Balisira), among the Genoese and Venetians - Mare delle Zabacche.
The sea was renamed many times (Samakush, Salakar, Mayutis, etc.). At the beginning of the XIII century. the name of the Saksinsk Sea is approved. The Tatar-Mongol conquerors replenished the collection of the names of Azov: Balyk-dengiz (fish sea) and Chabak-dengiz (chabache, bream sea). According to some reports, Chabak-dengiz as a result of transformation: chabak - dzybakh - zabak - azak - azov - happened modern name sea ​​(which is doubtful). According to other sources, Azak is a Turkic adjective, meaning low, low, according to other sources, Azak (Turkic mouth of the river), which was transformed into Azau, and then into Russian Azov. In the interval of the above names, the sea also received the following: Barel-Azov (Dark Blue River); the Frankish Sea (the Franks meant the Genoese and Venetians); Surozh Sea (Surozh was the name of the modern city of Sudak in the Crimea); Kaffa Sea (Kaffa is an Italian colony in place modern city Feodosiya in the Crimea); Cimmerian Sea (from the Cimmerians); Akdeniz (Turkish meaning White Sea). It is most reliable that the modern name of the sea comes from the city of Azov.

According to the etymology of the word “azov”, there are a number of hypotheses: after the name of the Polovtsian prince Azum (Azuf), who was killed during the capture of the city in 1067; by the name of the Osos (Asses) tribe, which in turn allegedly came from the Avestan, meaning "fast"; the name is compared with the Turkic word azan - "lower", and the Circassian uzev - "neck". The Turkic name of the city of Azov is Auzak. But even in the 1st c. n. e. Pliny, listing the Scythian tribes in his writings, mentions the Asoki tribe, similar to the word Azov. It is generally accepted that the modern name of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov came to Russian toponymy at the beginning of the 17th century, thanks to the annals of Pimen. Moreover, at first it was fixed only for its part (the Taganrog Bay, which before the appearance of the city of Taganrog was called the Don Estuary). Only in the second half of the 18th century, the name "Sea of ​​​​Azov" was assigned to the entire reservoir. The sea gave its name to the villages of Azovskaya and Azovskaya, and the cities of Azov (in the lower reaches of the Don River, Rostov region) and Novoazovsk, the village of Priazovskoye and other settlements.

In the history of the study of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov, there are three stages:
Ancient (geographical) - from the time of Herodotus to the beginning of the 19th century.
Geological and geographical - XIX century. - 40s of the XX century.
Complex - the middle of the XX century. - Today.
The first map of Pontus Euxine and Meotida was made by Claudius Ptolemy, he also determined geographical coordinates for cities, estuaries, capes and bays of the coast of the Sea of ​​Azov.
In 1068, the Russian prince Gleb Svyatoslavich, who ruled at that time in Tmutarakan, measured the distance between Kerch and Taman on the ice. As the inscription on the Tmutarakan stone testifies, the distance from Tmutarakan to Korchevo ( ancient name Kerch) was approximately 20 km (over 939 years this distance increased by 3 km.) From the XII-XIV centuries. the Genoese and Venetians began to draw up portolans (pilots and sea charts) of the Black and Azov Seas.

GEOGRAPHY OF THE SEA OF AZOV
The extreme points of the Sea of ​​Azov lie between 45°12′30″ and 47°17′30″ N. latitude and between 33°38′ (Lake Sivash) and 39°18′ east. longitude. Its greatest length is 380 km, the greatest width is 200 km; coastline length 2686 km; surface area - 37,800 km² (this area does not include islands and spits, occupying 107.9 km²).
According to morphological features, it belongs to flat seas and is a shallow water body with low coastal slopes. In terms of distance from the ocean, the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov is the most continental sea on the planet.
IN winter period partial or complete freezing is possible, while the ice is carried into the Black Sea through the Kerch Strait. As a rule, ice formation is typical for January, but in cold years it can occur a month earlier.

Map of the depths of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov

The underwater relief of the sea is relatively simple. With distance from the coast, the depth slowly and smoothly increases, reaching 13 m in the central part of the sea. The main area of ​​the bottom is characterized by depths of 5–13 m. greatest depths located in the center of the sea. The location of the isobaths, which is close to symmetrical, is disturbed by their slight elongation in the northeast towards the Taganrog Bay. The 5 m isobath is located about 2 km from the coast, moving away from it near the Taganrog Bay and in the bay itself near the mouth of the Don. In the Taganrog Bay, the depths increase from the mouth of the Don (2–3 m) towards the open part of the sea, reaching 8–9 m at the boundary of the bay with the sea. western (Morskaya and Arabatskaya banks) coasts, the depths over which decrease from 8–9 to 3–5 m. For the underwater coastal slope north coast characterized by wide shallow water (20-30 km) with depths of 6-7 m, for the southern coast - a steep underwater slope to depths of 11-13 m.
The catchment area of ​​the Sea of ​​Azov Basin is 586,000 km².
Sea coasts are mostly flat and sandy, only hills are found on the south coast volcanic origin, which in some places turn into steep advanced mountains.
Sea currents are dependent on the very strong northeast and southwest winds blowing here and therefore change direction very often. The main current is a circular current along the shores of the Sea of ​​Azov counterclockwise.

Salinity
Changes in the salinity of the Sea of ​​Azov in the 20th century
Hydrochemical features of the Sea of ​​Azov are formed primarily under the influence of abundant inflow river waters(up to 12% of the volume of water) and difficult water exchange with the Black Sea.
The salinity of the sea before the regulation of the Don was three times less than the average salinity of the ocean. Its value on the surface varied from 1 ppm at the mouth of the Don to 10.5 ppm in the central part of the sea and 11.5 ppm near the Kerch Strait. After the creation of the Tsimlyansk hydroelectric complex, the salinity of the sea began to rise. By 1977, the average salinity of the sea had increased to 13.8 ppm, and in the Taganrog Bay - to 11.2. In a larger area of ​​the sea, the water salinized to 14–14.5 ‰. During the period of relatively high humidity (1979–1982), a rapid decrease in salinity to 10.9 ‰ was noted, but by 2000 its value increased again and stabilized at the level of 11 ‰. Average seasonal fluctuations in salinity rarely reach 1-2 percent.
In the northern part of the Sea of ​​Azov, the water contains very little salt. For this reason, the sea freezes easily, and therefore, before the advent of icebreakers, it was unnavigable from December to mid-April. The southern part of the sea does not freeze and remains moderate in temperature.
During the 20th century, almost everything is more or less major rivers, flowing into the Sea of ​​Azov, were blocked by dams to create reservoirs. This has led to a significant reduction in the discharge of fresh water and silt into the sea.
The main ionic composition of water in the open part of the sea differs from the salt composition of the ocean in the relative depletion of chlorine and sodium ions and the increased content of the predominant components of land waters - calcium, carbonates and sulfates.

Transparency and color of water
The transparency of the waters of the Sea of ​​Azov is low. It is not the same in different areas and at different times of the year and ranges from 0.5 to 8 m. Azov water significant masses of plankton determine its low transparency. The lowest transparency is observed in the Taganrog Bay (0.5–0.9 m, occasionally up to 2 m). The color of the water here varies from greenish-yellow to brown-yellow. In the eastern and western regions of the sea, transparency is much higher - on average 1.5–2 m, but can reach 3–4 m. In the central region of the Sea of ​​Azov, due to great depths and the influence Black Sea waters transparency has values ​​​​from 1.5-2.5 to 8 m. The water here is greenish-blue in color. In summer, transparency increases almost everywhere, but in some parts of the sea, due to the rapid development of the smallest plant and animal organisms in the upper layers of the water, it drops to zero and the water acquires a bright green color. This phenomenon is called the "bloom" of the sea.

Flora and fauna
Phytoplankton and benthos are developed. Phytoplankton consists (in%): diatoms - 55, peridinium - 41.2, and blue-green algae - 2.2. Among the biomass of benthos, mollusks occupy a dominant position. Their skeletal remains, represented by calcium carbonate, have a significant share in the formation of modern bottom sediments and accumulative surface bodies.
The ichthyofauna of the Sea of ​​Azov currently includes 103 species and subspecies of fish belonging to 76 genera, and is represented by anadromous, semi-anadromous, marine and freshwater species.
Anadromous species of fish feed in the sea until puberty, and enter the river only for spawning. The breeding period in rivers and or on borrowings usually does not exceed 1-2 months. Among the Azov anadromous fish there are the most valuable commercial species, such as beluga, stellate sturgeon, herring, fish and shemaya.
Semi-anadromous species for breeding come from the sea into the rivers. However, in rivers they can linger for a longer time than anadromous (up to a year). As for the juveniles, they leave the spawning grounds very slowly and often stay in the river for the winter. Semi-anadromous fish include mass species such as pike perch, bream, ram, sabrefish and some others.
Marine species breed and feed in salty waters. Among them, species that constantly live in the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov stand out - pelengas, Black Sea Kalkan, flounder-glossa, tyulka, percarina, three-spined stickleback, long-snouted needle fish and all types of gobies. And finally there is large group marine fish entering the Sea of ​​Azov from the Black Sea, including those that make regular migrations: the Azov and Black Sea anchovy, Black Sea herring, red mullet, golden mullet, sharp nose, striped mullet, Black Sea kalkan, horse mackerel, mackerel, etc.
Freshwater species usually constantly live in one area of ​​the reservoir and do not make large migrations. These species usually inhabit desalinated water areas of the sea. Here you can find such fish as sterlet, silver carp, pike, ide, bleak, etc.

Marine mammals in the Sea of ​​Azov are represented by one species - the harbor porpoise (other names are Azovka, Azov dolphin, puffer, pig). The porpoise leads a herd life. Groups consist of two to ten individuals. The population has always been small, there are no modern data. Azovka is the smallest animal from the group of cetaceans. And representatives of the local Azov-Black Sea population are smaller than dolphins from other parts of the range. Females are slightly larger than males: 90-150 cm. Known maximum sizes of males reached 167 cm, and females - 180 cm. The average weight of azovok is 30.2 kg. Life expectancy - 25-30 years.
In terms of the number of plant and animal organisms, the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov has no equal in the world. In terms of fish productivity, that is, the number of fish per unit area, the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov is 6.5 times greater than the Caspian Sea, 40 times the Black Sea, and 160 times the Mediterranean Sea.

Sea of ​​Azov, city of Yeysk

Geographical features of the Sea of ​​Azov
Large or of particular interest listed geographic features in the order they follow clockwise along the coast starting from the Genichesk Strait.

Bays and estuaries:
On the territory of Ukraine:
in the northwest: Utlyuk estuary, Molochny estuary, Obitochny Bay, Berdyansk Bay.
On Russian territory:
in the north-east: Taganrog Bay, Miussky Estuary, Yeysky Estuary;
in the east: Yasensky Bay, Beisugsky estuary, Akhtarsky estuary;
in the south-east: Temryuk Bay;
in the southwest: Kazantip Bay, Arabatsky Bay;
in the west: Sivash Bay (since April 1, 2014, it has been de facto a section of the Russian-Ukrainian state border).

Spit, capes, largest islands:

Main article: Spit of the Sea of ​​Azov
On the territory of Ukraine:
in the northwest: Fedotova Spit and Spit Biryuchy Ostrov (Utlyuk Estuary), Obitochnaya Spit (Obitochny Bay), Berdyansk Spit (Berdyansk Bay);
in the northeast: Belosarayskaya Spit, Curve Spit.
On Russian territory:
in the northeast: Beglitskaya Spit, Petrushina Spit, Taganrog Cape;
in the east: Cape Chumbursky, Glafirovskaya spit, Long spit, Kamyshevatskaya spit, Yasenskaya spit (Beisugsky estuary), Achuevskaya spit (Akhtarsky estuary), Yeyskaya spit, Sazalnikskaya spit;
in the southeast: Cape Achuevsky and Cape Kamenny (Temryuk Bay);
in the Kerch Strait: Chushka Spit, Tuzla Spit, Tuzla Island;
in the south-west: Cape Khroni, Cape Zyuk, Cape Chagany and Cape Kazantip;
in the west: Arabatskaya Strelka spit.

Rivers flowing into the sea:
On the territory of Ukraine:
in the northwest: Maly Utlyuk, Molochnaya, Korsak, Lozovatka, Obitochnaya, Berda, Kalmius, Gruzsky Elanchik;
On Russian territory:
in the northeast: Wet Elanchik, Mius, Sambek, Don, Kagalnik, Wet Chuburka, Eya;
in the southeast: Protoka, Kuban.

Legal status
The international legal status of the sea is determined by a number of sources of law, the most relevant of which is the Treaty between the Russian Federation and Ukraine on Cooperation in the Use of the Sea of ​​Azov and the Kerch Strait (ratified by both parties in 2004). In this document, Azov is categorized as inland waters of Russia and Ukraine.

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SOURCE OF PHOTO AND MATERIAL:
Team Nomads
The Sea of ​​Azov // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.
Neznamov P. A. Map of the Sea of ​​Azov in 1699 // Proceedings of the State. ist. museum. - 1941. - Issue. 14. - S. 73-81, repr. cards.
Velokurova N. I. Hydrometeorological characteristics of the Sea of ​​Azov / N. I. Velokurova, D. K. Starov. - Moscow-Leningrad: Gidrometeoizdat, 1947.
Tushin Yu. P. Russian navigation in the Azov, Caspian and Black Seas (XVII century) / Yu. P. Tushin; Auth. foreword V. V. Mavrodin; Artistic D. Stankevich; Leningrad Order of Lenin State University named after A.A. Zhdanov. - M .: Nauka (Chief edition of the eastern literature), 1978. - 184 p. — 10,000 copies. (reg.)
Encyclopedia of Taganrog. - Rostov-on-Don: Rostizdat, 2003. - 512 p. — ISBN 5-7509-0662-0.
Brodyanoy A.V. Names of the Sea of ​​Azov. - Vradievka: Publishing house Kovalenko A.G., 2008. - 48 p. - ISBN 978-966-2035-01-8.
http://club.foto.ru/
Wikipedia site

Depth of the Sea of ​​Azov

It is considered the smallest of the seas in the world. The Sea of ​​Azov is located in the eastern part of Europe. Its relief under water is not distinguished by originality or a chain of some complex patterns - the depth slowly and smoothly increases, the further you move away from the coastline. In the central part, the depth is about 14m. Most often the depth larger area seabed from 5 to 13 m. Deepest in the center.

Elevations are guessed in the structure of the sea bottom, they go along the eastern and western coast, thus the depth there correspondingly decreases from 8-9 to 3-5m. The northern coast is known for its wide shallow area of ​​30 km, the depth of which is no more than 7, while the southern coast is a steep slope up to 12 meters deep.

The catchment area of ​​the entire sea basin is 586 thousand km2. Its shores are mostly sandy and flat, only the southern coast is covered with hills of obviously volcanic origin, passing in some places into mountains.

Sea currents are more dependent on the direction of the wind, so they are very changeable in terms of direction. The main current of the Sea of ​​Azov is circular along the coast.

Shores of the shallow sea

The landscape on the coast of Azov is somewhat inferior to its fellow Black in terms of picturesqueness and variety of objects. However, it still has its own unique style and beauty. The neighbors of the sea are the steppes, in some places the floodplains, abundantly overgrown with reeds. The shores are either low and flat, where the beach is sandy with shells, or low with cliffs. The general line of coasts has a smooth outline, indented to some extent by sand spits. There are especially many of them here and this is also part of the unique picture.

Of course, if you compare it with other seas, the Sea of ​​Azov is considered shallow. However, this in no way detracts from either its significance on the world map, or its beauty and natural features.

The Sea of ​​Azov has the shape of a semi-enclosed water area of ​​the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the southern part of the Russian Plain. Its area is one of the smallest on the planet, only about 40 thousand km 2. It is connected to the Black Sea through the Kerch Strait and washes the shores of two countries: Russia and Ukraine. A distinctive feature is its small depth, on average 6-8 m, even the most low point does not exceed -30 m. The legal status of the sea is determined by several approved documents recognizing it inland waters Russia and Ukraine.

Part scientific community does not recognize Azov as a sea in the general sense of this definition. Some scientists call it a shallow bay of the Black Sea, because of the insignificant depth, small area and composition of the water (mixing of Black Sea and river flows).

The shores of the Sea of ​​Azov in the eastern and northern parts are subject to the destructive action of erosion, as they are composed of sandstones and clays. More durable parts of the coast belong to the Kerch and Taman peninsulas, limestone rocks are common there. The coast of Azov is composed of sandy beaches with an abundance of shells. There are a lot of estuaries here - this is how the near-sea oblong reservoirs are called in this area.

Shores of the Sea of ​​Azov in Russia

To the territory Russian Federation include the following geographical units washed by the Sea of ​​Azov:

• In the north-east: Miusskiy estuary, Taganrog Bay, Yeyskiy estuary, Beglitskaya spit, rivers: Yeya, Kagalnik, Sambek, Wet Elanchik, Wet Chuburka, Don, Mius;
• In the east: Glafirovskaya spit, Beisugsky estuary, Yasensky bay, Akhtarsky estuary, Cape Chumbursky, Yasenskaya spit (Beisugsky estuary), Long spit, Kamyshevatskaya spit, Achuevskaya spit (Akhtarsky estuary);
• In the southeast: Cape Achuevsky, Temryuk Bay, Cape Kamenny, rivers: Kuban, Protoka;
• On the territory of the Kerch Strait: Chushka Spit.

After the annexation of Crimea to Russia in 2014, the Arabat Spit and the Sivash Bay (Rotten Sea) became the de facto administrative borders of the Republic of Crimea and the Kherson region. They partially belong to both countries, but the Ukrainian side considers this zone temporarily occupied by Russia.

The shores of the Sea of ​​Azov in Ukraine

The coastline of the Sea of ​​Azov on the territory of Ukraine is represented by saddling geographical objects:

• In the northwest: Molochny estuary, Obitochny Bay, Berdyansk Bay, Utlyuksky estuary, Biryuchy Island spit, Berdyansk spit, Obitochnaya spit, Fedotova spit, many small rivers: Berda, Obitochnaya, Lozovatki and many others;
• In the northeast: Krivaya Spit, Belosarayskaya Spit.

Cities on the Sea of ​​Azov in Russia

The list of Russian cities washed by the Sea of ​​Azov includes settlements Southern Federal District:

• Republic of Crimea ( Leninsky district, Kerch city district);
• Rostov region (Neklinovsky district, Azovsky district);
• Krasnodar region(Kanevsky district (goes to the Beisugsky estuary), Slavyansky district, Yeysk district, Primorsko-Akhtarsky district, Temryuksky district, Shcherbinovsky district);
• City district of Taganrog.

Cities on the Sea of ​​Azov in Ukraine

(Berdyansk, Zaporozhye part of Ukraine)

On the territory of Ukraine, the Sea of ​​Azov washes the borders of the following administrative units:

• Kherson region (Genichesk district);
• Zaporozhye region (Melitopol district (top of the Molochny estuary), Pryazovsky district, Akimovsky district, Primorsky district, Berdyansk district)
• Donetsk region (Mangushsky district)
• Mariupol city council (Volnovakhsky district, Levoberezhny district, Primorsky district, Novoazovsky district).

Complete information about the Sea of ​​Azov: its history and origin, where the sea got its name from, information about seasonal fluctuations in water, why the water in the Sea of ​​Azov is muddy and why there is a death of goby fish.

Sea of ​​Azov

The origin of the name of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov

Where did the familiar name for us - the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov come from? They say that in the first century AD they called it Blue, and after the formation of the Tmutarakan Principality, the sea received the name Russian. Then there were a number of new names: Samakush, Salakar and even Mayutis. And at the beginning of the thirteenth century, a new name was established - the Saksinsk Sea. The Tatar-Mongol conquerors replenished the collection of Azov's names with the following names: Balyk-dengiz, which means "sea of ​​fish" and Chabak-dengiz, which means "sea of ​​bream." Some see the root of the name "Azov" in the transformation of the name Chabak-dengiz. Another group believes that the name was the result of the transformation of the word "Azak", denoting the mouth of the river, into Azau, and then into the familiar Azov.

The uniqueness of the Sea of ​​Azov

The Sea of ​​Azov is part of the Atlantic basin. It is a continuation of a long chain of seas that begin with the Mediterranean, Marmara and Black Seas. The Sea of ​​Azov connects directly to the basin of the ocean itself through a network of narrow straits, it is the smallest sea in the world, and at the same time the smallest and freshest, at the same time it is the only sea to which the Donetsk region has access. The Sea of ​​Azov is a real sea, unlike the Caspian and the Aral Sea, which, in fact, are lakes, because they have no connection with the oceans.

Origin of the Sea of ​​Azov

It was formed somewhere at the end of the Mesozoic - the beginning of the Cenozoic, (Cenozoic era) from some bay of the Black Sea during the rise of the Crimean mountains. Crimean mountains- this is part of the Alpine folding, they arose simultaneously with the Alps, Tatras, Carpathians and the Greater Caucasus. Mountains rose and separated the sea, forming the Kerch Strait, connecting the Black and Azov Seas. Part of the land rose - the bottom of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov, so it turned out to be shallow. Average depth the sea is somewhere around 8 meters, the deepest recorded point in the Sea of ​​​​Azov is 14 meters, a well-trained diver easily dives to the bottom anywhere in the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov. The area of ​​the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov is about 38 thousand square meters. km. Two main rivers flow into the sea - Don and Kuban (water-bearing rivers), due to which sea ​​water diluted with fresh, and the sea becomes less salty. This ensured its uniqueness in terms of the various living organisms that live there. The biogeocenosis that has formed in the Sea of ​​Azov occupies a middle intermediate position between the sea and the lake. They go there to spawn fish that are considered freshwater - bream, pike perch. In addition, there are also fish that are considered marine - sturgeon, ram, etc., they coexist peacefully.

Due to the special composition of the water, there were few harmful blue-green algae in the sea, which often cause the water to bloom (the phenomenon when algae multiply is called water bloom). Algae pollute the water, badly affect the fish and the saturation of the water with oxygen, because they take it away. All this provided a unique sanatorium treatment for vertebrates and invertebrates that live there.

Water level fluctuations in the Sea of ​​Azov

Due to the fact that the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov is connected with the World Ocean, tidal fluctuations are observed there, but they are insignificant. Probably, almost any resident of the Donetsk region at least once in his life visited the Sea of ​​Azov during the holiday season, and personally saw the daily fluctuations of water, somewhere within a few tens of centimeters. This is due to the narrowness of the straits that connect the Sea of ​​Azov with the world's oceans, where the influence of tidal phenomena is greatest. There is an effect of hydraulic resistance, while this ebb and flow reaches our Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov, it loses its strength, loses energy in winding and narrow straits. Therefore, in the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov, daily fluctuations are not very noticeable, but seasonal fluctuations in sea level are very noticeable in it, the so-called wind surge phenomena - the movement of mass under the influence of constant winds. The official maximum recorded distance of the water's edge from the summer level is about 4.5 km. The bottom recedes, the bottom is exposed: this effect can be seen if you pour water into a flat plate and blow hard - the mass of water will move from one side of the plate to the other. Because of this phenomenon, small estuaries are filled, the so-called "rotten sea" of Sivash, which is already adjacent to the eastern part of the Crimea (exactly where the Red Army soldiers passed when the Crimea was stormed in the 20th year, when Wrangel was knocked out). In summer, on the contrary, the Sivash becomes shallower, the inlets, even in some places salt appears, due to natural evaporation, pieces of salt come out and remain on the surface, these are the features and tricks of this sea.

Turbid water in the Sea of ​​Azov

The water in the Sea of ​​Azov is muddy, but this is not the fault of the sea itself, this is not because it is somehow dirty, rotten, etc. Two powerful rivers- Kuban and Don flow across the plains, collect silt particles on their way, suspension, clay particles, and throw them into the sea. In the sea, mixing with the remains of microorganisms that are in the water, they form black mud, which accumulates on the bottom of the sea and has, to a certain extent, some kind of healing properties of a balneological type (silty particles mixed with biogenic remains of life in the Sea of ​​Azov).

Recently, the Sea of ​​​​Azov is going through hard times, despite the fact that environmentalists say that it is polluted, nothing can be done about it yet, and here's why: the waters of the Don and Kuban rivers are very intensively sorted out for irrigation of fields. Because of this, the so-called "daily debit" of the river drops significantly, and the inflow of fresh water decreases. Consequently, the level of the sea itself is falling and water from the Black Sea (through the Kerch Strait) begins to leak into the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov. There is a well-established stable Kerch Current, which carries the water of the Black Sea to the Sea of ​​Azov. Before the start of intensive agricultural activity in the Stavropol Territory, in the Don region, on the contrary, a reverse flow was observed, water flowed from the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov into the Black Sea, where it mixed with the water of the Black Sea (having a very slight effect). Now, on the contrary, there is an influx of salt water and the salinity of the sea increases annually. Most of all, this affected marine life- fish that spawned in less salty (almost fresh) water for a very long time, and now the fish simply do not want to go to spawn in the Sea of ​​​​Azov.

Pestilence of a goby in the Sea of ​​Azov

As soon as the salinity of the water in the sea increased, less useful algae began to multiply in it, which were unusual for the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov. IN last years the pestilence of goby fish in the Sea of ​​Azov has intensified, most often vacationers on the coast of the sea in summer season, on the beaches of many resort towns, gobies are washed ashore. And they are thrown ashore due to a lack of oxygen in the water. Receiving the oxygen dissolved in the water with their gills, they feel its lack, the cause of which is the lack of oxygen in the water. In the sea are a large number of algae, which also need oxygen for their photosynthesis. Taking it out of the water, they deprive it of other marine life.

Silt in the Sea of ​​Azov

In addition, algae increase the siltiness of the sea. The age of life of algae is inexpensive, they die and their organic remains just increase it. Siltiness is influenced not only by currents, but also by the decomposition of the remains of small-celled animals and plants that lived in this water. Dying, their organic remains sink to the bottom, later turning into silt, and since the amount of algae in the sea only increases every year, the amount of silt will also increase proportionally.

The Sea of ​​Azov is one of those seas that completely freezes in winter. The Black Sea never freezes completely, but the Sea of ​​Azov freezes completely in frosty winters. The ice turns out to be mooring, it freezes to the shore and the entire water surface becomes covered with ice, if you wish, you can walk on such ice.

The Sea of ​​Azov is an inland sea in eastern Europe. This is the shallowest sea in the world, its depth does not exceed 13.5 meters. According to morphological features, it belongs to flat seas and is a shallow water body with low coastal slopes. The sea shores are mostly flat and sandy, only on the southern coast there are hills of volcanic origin, which in some places turn into steep frontal mountains. In terms of distance from the ocean, the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov is the continental sea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe planet. The coastline is indented by bays and spits, the territory of which is a protected or resort-recreational area. The shores of the Sea of ​​Azov are low-lying, composed of sand and shell deposits. The large rivers Don, Kuban and numerous small rivers Mius, Berda and others flow into the Sea of ​​Azov.

The salinity level of the Sea of ​​​​Azov is formed primarily under the influence of an abundant influx of river waters (up to 12% of the volume of water) and difficult water exchange with the Black Sea. The water contains very little salt in the northern part of the Sea of ​​Azov. For this reason, the sea freezes easily. In winter, partial or complete freezing is possible, while ice is carried into the Black Sea through the Kerch Strait.

The underwater relief of the sea is relatively simple. With distance from the shore, the depth slowly and smoothly increases, reaching 13 m in the central part of the sea. The main area of ​​the bottom is characterized by depths of 5-13 m. The location of the isobaths, which is close to symmetrical, is disturbed by their slight elongation in the northeast towards the Taganrog Bay. The 5 m isobath is located about 2 km from the coast, moving away from it near the Taganrog Bay and in the bay itself near the mouth of the Don. In the Taganrog Bay, the depths increase from the mouth of the Don (2-3 m) towards the open part of the sea, reaching 8-9 m at the border of the bay with the sea. western (Sea and Arabat banks) coasts, the depths over which decrease from 8–9 to 3–5 m. The underwater coastal slope of the northern coast is characterized by wide shallow water (20–30 km) with depths of 6–7 m, underwater slope to depths of 11-13 m.

Sea currents are dependent on the very strong northeast and southwest winds blowing here and therefore change direction very often. The main current is a circular current along the shores of the Sea of ​​Azov counterclockwise.

The ichthyofauna of the Sea of ​​Azov currently includes 103 species and subspecies of fish belonging to 76 genera, and is represented by anadromous, semi-anadromous, marine and freshwater species.

Anadromous species of fish feed in the sea until puberty, and enter the river only for spawning. The breeding period in the rivers and or on the sites usually does not exceed 1-2 months. Among the Azov anadromous fish there are the most valuable commercial species, such as beluga, sturgeon, stellate sturgeon, herring, fish and shemaya.

Semi-anadromous species for breeding come from the sea into the rivers. However, in rivers they can linger for a longer time than anadromous (up to a year). As for the juveniles, they leave the spawning grounds very slowly and often stay in the river for the winter. Semi-anadromous fish include mass species such as pike perch, bream, ram, sabrefish and some others.

Marine species breed and feed in salty waters. Among them, species that constantly live in the Sea of ​​​​Azov stand out. These are pilengas, flounder-kalkan, glossa, tyulka, perkarina, three-spined komashka, fish-needles and all kinds of gobies. And, finally, there is a large group of marine fish entering the Sea of ​​Azov from the Black Sea, including those that make regular migrations. These include: Azov anchovy, Black Sea anchovy, Black Sea herring, red mullet, golden mullet, sharp-nosed mullet, black sea trout, horse mackerel, mackerel, etc.

Freshwater species usually constantly live in one area of ​​the reservoir and do not make large migrations. These species usually inhabit desalinated water areas of the sea. Here you can find such fish as sterlet, silver carp, pike, ide, bleak, etc.

In terms of the number of plant and animal organisms, the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov has no equal in the world. In terms of productivity, the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov is 6.5 times greater than the Caspian Sea, 40 times the Black Sea, and 160 times the Mediterranean Sea. But in size it is 10 times smaller than Black.

Geologists unanimously agree that the subsoil of the Sea of ​​Azov is very rich. Zircon, rutile, ilmenite were found here. Under the bottom of the sea are minerals containing a good half of the periodic table. There are underwater mud volcanoes in the southeastern part of the sea. Commercial reserves of natural gas have been found in the depths of the Sea of ​​Azov.