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Black Sea (ancient Pontus Euxinus), inland sea, lying between southeastern Europe and Asia Minor. It is connected with the Aegean Sea by the Bosporus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles. Romania, Bulgaria, and the European portion of Turkey bound it on the west. The northern and eastern shores are bordered by Ukraine, Russia, and Georgia; the entire southern shore is Turkish territory.
The Black Sea has a length of about 1200 km (about 750 mi.) from east to west, a maximum width of 610 km (380 mi.), and an area (excluding its northern arm, the Sea of Azov) of about 436,400 sq km (about 168,500 sq. mi.). The Crimean Peninsula projects into the Black Sea from the north, forming the shallow Sea of Azov on the east and the Karkinitskiy Gulf on the west. The former is almost entirely cut off from the Black Sea. The sea receives the drainage of a large part of central and eastern Europe through the Dnepr, Dnestr, Southern Bug, and Danube rivers. It also receives waters from a considerable section of eastern European Russia, through the Don River (which flows into the Sea of Azov) and from the western Caucasus region through the Kuban (which also flows into the Sea of Azov), and a number of smaller rivers; and the Black Sea drains northern Asia Minor through the Çoruh (Chorokh), Yesil Irmak, Kizilirmak, and Sakarya rivers. The floor of its single central basin lies about 1830 m (about 6000 ft) below the surface, and the greatest depth exceeds 2135 m (about 7000 ft). Severe storms occur frequently on the sea, particularly during the winter season. The prevailing winter winds are from the north.