Without the existence of water, life on our planet would be impossible. It is estimated that more than 70% of the land is water, and a large part of the water is the salty water that we find in the ocean. One of the most important continents for water is Asia, which has some of the most important oceans in the world. The seas of asia which are packed with unique features that are quite interesting to know about.
Therefore, we are going to dedicate this article to tell you all the characteristics and curiosities of the different seas of Asia.
Asia Location
The first of all is to know where the Asian continent is located. To talk about the most important oceans in Asia and their location, we must first explain what Asia is and where it is located, because without this information it is difficult to explain the oceans located on this continent.
Asia is one of the six continents of the earth, and It is the continent with the largest area and the largest population. From the glaciers of the Arctic Ocean in the north, to the Pacific Ocean in the south, the Pacific Ocean in the west, and the Ural Mountains in the east.
Asia is made up of 49 countries, 4 dependencies and 6 unrecognized countries. These countries are divided into 6 different regions, which are:
- North asia
- South Asia
- East Asia
- Central Asia
- Southeast Asia
- Western asia
Asia covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometers and is the largest continent in the world, accounting for almost 9% of the earth's surface. Its population is 4.393.000.000 people, which represents 61% of the world's population. On the other hand, it has a density of 99 inhabitants per square kilometer, and in some areas it even has a density of 1.000 inhabitants per square kilometer.
List of seas of Asia
To continue this course on important Asian seas and their locations, we must talk about the different seas that surround the Asian continent. Some belong only to Asia, while others have a part in Asia and a part in another continent.
The seas of Asia are as follows:
- Yellow Sea: It is the northern part of the East China Sea. It is located between mainland China and the Korean peninsula. Its name comes from the grains of sand from the Yellow River that give it this color.
- Arabian Sea: Located on the southwest coast of Asia, between the Arabian Peninsula and the Hindustan Peninsula.
- White Sea: It is a sea located in Europe and Asia. It is found on the coast of Russia and is usually frozen.
- Caspian Sea: the sea located between Europe and Asia.
- Andaman Sea: located in the southeast of the Bay of Bengal, the south of Myanmar, the west of Thailand and the east of the Andaman Islands. It is part of the Indian Ocean.
- Aral Sea: Located in the Central Asian Inland Sea, between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
- Band Sea: Located in the Western Pacific, belonging to Indonesia.
- Bering Sea: it is part of the Pacific Ocean, bordered by Alaska to the north and east, and Siberia to the west.
- Celebes Sea: Located in the western Pacific Ocean. It borders the Sulu and the Philippines islands.
- South China Sea: it is the peripheral sea of the Pacific Ocean. It includes the coast of East Asia, from Singapore to the Taiwan Strait.
- East China Sea: part of the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
- The Philippine Sea: It is the western part of the Pacific Ocean, bordered by the Philippine Islands and Taiwan to the west, Japan to the north, the Mariana Islands to the east, and Palau to the south.
- The Sea of Japan: It is the maritime arm between the Asian continent and the island of Japan.
- Sea of OkhotskIt is bordered by the Kamchatka Peninsula to the east, the Kuril Islands to the southeast, Hokkaido to the south, Sakhalin Island to the west, and Siberia to the north.
- Sea of Joló: Located in the inland sea between the Philippines and Malaysia.
- Seto Inland Sea: the inland sea that separates some islands from southern Japan.
- Kara Sea: a sea belonging to the Arctic Ocean, located north of Siberia.
- Red Sea: the sea located between Africa and Asia. This maritime zone is an important transport channel between Europe and the Middle East.
Seas of Asia in detail
Next, we are going to talk to you about some of the most important Asian seas in more detail since they are better known throughout the world.
Yellow Sea
The Yellow Sea is a fairly shallow sea that only has a maximum depth of 105 meters. It has an immense bay that forms the bottom of the sea and is called the Bohai Sea. This bay is where the Yellow River empties. The Yellow River is the main source of sea water. This river emptied after crossing the province of Shandong and its capital, Jinan, as well as the Hai River that crosses Beijing and Tianjin.
Aral Sea
Although it is known by the name of the Aral Sea, it is an inland lake that is not attached to any sea or ocean. It is located in the northwestern Kyzyl Kum desert between present-day Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The problem is that it is located in a place with a lot of arid lands in Central Asia where the temperatures in summer are quite high. These temperatures are usually around 40 degrees Celsius.
Since the surface of the water and the general volume that this sea retains fluctuates every year, calculating the amount it occupies is somewhat complex. In 1960 it had an area of 68.000 square kilometers while in 2005 it only had an area of 3.500 square kilometers. Although its entire hydrographic basin reaches 1.76 million square kilometers and occupies a large part of the entire center of Asia.
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea lies east of the Caucasus Mountains in a deep depression between Europe and Asia. We are roughly 28 meters below sea level. The riparian countries surrounding the Caspian Sea are Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Russia, and Kazakhstan. This sea is made up of 3 basins: central or middle north and the southern basin.
The first basin is the smallest since it only covers little more than a quarter of the total area of the sea. It is also the shallowest part that we can find in this area. The central basin has a depth of around 190 meters, which allows the existence of a greater quantity of natural resources, although the deepest is in the south. The southern basin holds 2/3 of the total volume of water in the Caspian Sea.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about the seas of Asia and their characteristics.