About Aegean Sea, facts and maps

The Aegean Sea has been historically important, especially in regards to the civilization of Ancient Greece, who inhabited the area around the coast of the Aegean and the Aegean islands. The Aegean islands facilitated contact between the people of the area and between Europe and Asia. Mythology. According to Greek Mythology, the Aegean Sea owes its name to the King of Athens, Aigeas (Aegeas). King Minos ‘Minoas’ of Crete in order to punish the Athenians who had killed his son Androgeo, declared war on Athens and won. The Athenians subsequently became subjects of the Minoan Empire.

Aegeus, in Greek mythology, the son of Pandion and grandson of Cecrops. He was king of Athens and the father of Theseus. Aegeus drowned himself in the sea when he mistakenly believed his son to be dead. The sea was thereafter called the Aegean.

An arm of the Mediterranean Sea, the Aegean Sea lies between the countries of Greece and Turkey. The region was the site of two great ancient civilizations, those of Crete and Greece. The Aegean Sea is about 380 miles (610 kilometers) long and 185 miles (300 kilometers) wide. Due to the security requirements of Türkiye, the demilitarized status of the Eastern Aegean islands has been an essential element of the Aegean status quo ever since they were placed under Greek sovereignty.

The blue used in the islands’ houses in the blue Aegean sea was made from a mixture of limestone and a cleaning product called ‘indigo. In addition to climate change, the dramatic decline of fish stocks in the Aegean Sea is caused by overfishing and the invasion of alien (non-native) species.

According to the International Hydrographic Organization, the limits of the Aegean Sea as follows:

On the south: A line running from Cape Aspro (28°16′E) in Asia Minor, to Cum Burnù (Capo della Sabbia) the Northeast extreme of the Island of Rhodes, through the island to Cape Prasonisi, the Southwest point thereof, on to Vrontos Point (35°33′N) in Skarpanto [Karpathos], through this island to Castello Point, the South extreme thereof, across to Cape Plaka (East extremity of Crete), through Crete to Agria Grabusa, the Northwest extreme thereof, thence to Cape Apolitares in Antikithera Island, through the island to Psira Rock (off the Northwest point) and across to Cape Trakhili in Kithera Island, through Kithera to the Northwest point (Cape Karavugia) and thence to Cape Santa Maria (36°28′N 22°57′E) in the Morea.
In the Dardanelles: A line joining Kum Kale (26°11′E) and Cape Helles.

The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some 215,000 square kilometres. In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea and the Black Sea by the straits of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus. The Aegean Islands are located within the sea and some bound it on its southern periphery, including Crete and Rhodes. The sea reaches a maximum depth of 2,639m to the west of Karpathos. The Thracian Sea and the Sea of Crete are main subdivisions of the Aegean Sea.

The Aegean Islands can be divided into several island groups, including the Dodecanese, the Cyclades, the Sporades, the Saronic islands and the North Aegean Islands, as well as Crete and its surrounding islands. The Dodecanese, located to the southeast, includes the islands of Rhodes, Kos, and Patmos; the islands of Delos and Naxos are within the Cyclades to the south of the sea. Lesbos is part of the North Aegean Islands. Euboea, the second-largest island in Greece, is located in the Aegean, despite being administered as part of Central Greece. Nine out of twelve of the Administrative regions of Greece border the sea, along with the Turkish provinces of Edirne, Canakkale, Balıkesir, Izmir, Aydın and Muğla to the east of the sea. Various Turkish islands in the sea are Imbros, Tenedos, Cunda Island, and the Foça Islands.

The Aegean Sea has been historically important, especially in regards to the civilization of Ancient Greece, who inhabited the area around the coast of the Aegean and the Aegean islands. The Aegean islands facilitated contact between the people of the area and between Europe and Asia. Along with the Greeks, Thracians lived among the northern coast. The Romans conquered the area under the Roman Empire, and later the Byzantine Empire held it against advances by the First Bulgarian Empire. The Fourth Crusade weakened Byzantine control of the area, and it was eventually conquered by the Ottoman Empire, with the exception of Crete, which was a Venetian colony until 1669. The Greek War of Independence allowed a Greek state on the coast of the Aegean from 1829 onwards. The Ottoman Empire held a presence over the sea for over 500 years, until it was replaced by modern Turkey.

The rocks making up the floor of the Aegean are mainly limestone, though often greatly altered by volcanic activity that has convulsed the region in relatively recent geologic times. Of particular interest are the richly coloured sediments in the region of the islands of Santorini and Milos, in the south Aegean.[3] Notable cities on the Aegean coastline include Athens, Thessaloniki, Volos, Kavala and Heraklion in Greece, and İzmir and Bodrum in Turkey. The Aegean Sea groundwater itself has a high salinity content leading one to think that the soil would be infertile due to the volcanic region, but actually has an equilibrium with its soil content structure making it able to grow fertile crops on land that would seem infertile.[tone]

A number of issues concerning sovereignty within the Aegean Sea are disputed between Greece and Turkey. The Aegean dispute has had a large effect on Greek-Turkish relations since the 1970s. Issues include the delimitation of territorial waters, national airspace, exclusive economic zones and flight information regions.

Aegean surface water circulates in a counterclockwise gyre, with hypersaline Mediterranean water moving northward along the west coast of Turkey, before being displaced by less dense Black Sea outflow. The dense Mediterranean water sinks below the Black Sea inflow to a depth of 23–30 metres (75–98 ft), then flows through the Dardanelles Strait and into the Sea of Marmara at velocities of 5–15 cm/s (2–6 in/s). The Black Sea outflow moves westward along the northern Aegean Sea, then flows southwards along the east coast of Greece.

The physical oceanography of the Aegean Sea is controlled mainly by the regional climate, the fresh water discharge from major rivers draining southeastern Europe, and the seasonal variations in the Black Sea surface water outflow through the Dardanelles Strait.

Analysis of the Aegean during 1991 and 1992 revealed three distinct water masses:

Aegean Sea Surface Water – 40–50 metres (130–160 ft) thick veneer, with summer temperatures of 21–26 °C and winter temperatures ranging from 10 °C (50 °F) in the north to 16 °C (61 °F) in the south.
Aegean Sea Intermediate Water – Aegean Sea Intermediate Water extends from 40 to 50 m to 200–300 metres (660–980 ft) with temperatures ranging from 11 to 18 °C.
Aegean Sea Bottom Water – occurring at depths below 500–1000 m with a very uniform temperature (13–14 °C) and salinity (3.91–3.92%).

Do dolphins live in the Aegean Sea?

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Striped dolphins constitute the biggest population of dolphin species in the NE Aegean but are unfortunately also the species most commonly found stranded in nearby coasts.

Can you swim in the Aegean Sea?

Swimming is the simplest way to interact with the marine environment. The Aegean Sea is home to the Sporades Islands, which hold a magnificent marine park of pristine waters. The area also holds many archaeological sites, at sighting distance from many of the swimming locations.

Is the Aegean Sea very salty?

The Aegean Sea is around 400 miles long and 200 miles wide.

Aegean Sea.

Quick Facts:Aegean Sea
Major Rivers:Greece: Vardar & Maritsa Turkey: Büyük Menderes & Gediz
Max. depth:3.540 m (11.600 ft)
Temperature:Winter: 14 -16°C Summer: 25°C
Salinity:39.1 – 39.2%

How warm is the Aegean Sea?

Surface water temperature in winter + 11 … + 15 ° C, in summer + 22 … + 25 ° C.

Are there poisonous fish in Greece?

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The Greeks call it Drakena, and in the Adriatic it is called spider fish, dragon… The fish of up to 10cm in size and usually inhabits sand and mud. The fish is hard to notice since it has the same color as sand. On its back it has black spines through which it releases poison into your body if you step on it.

Which sea is warmer Aegean or Mediterranean?

Here is a review of current sea surface temperatures around the country. Generally very warm Ionian sea and central Mediterranean, slightly ‘cooler’ Aegean sea. The western coast of Greece, including the islands Corfu, Lefkada and Cephalonia is very warm, with sea surface temperatures in 28-30 °C range.

Is the Aegean Sea dirty?

Aegean Sea is in danger of becoming another Adriatic due to growing pollution levels from land-based sources. Five months since the sinking of the Sea Diamond cruise ship in the port of Santorini, about 300 tons of fuel are still trapped inside the ship’s hull.

What language is Aegean? Greek

We refer to the pre-Indo-European/pre-Semitic languages spoken in Greece, Asia Minor and Northern Mesopotamia as Aegean-Anatolian. Those include Pre-Greek/Minoan, Hattic, Hurrian-Urartian and Eteo-Cypriot.

What is the Aegean Sea called now?

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The Aegean Sea [Greek: Egeo Pelagos] is part of the Mediterranean Sea located between Greece and Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey).

What is the difference between the Mediterranean sea and the Aegean Sea?

The Mediterranean Sea was the main shipping and travel route of the ancient world. The Aegean Sea is the portion which is located between Greece and Turkey. The Aegean Islands encompass the North Aegean Islands, the Cyclades, the Dodecanese and Crete, among others.