Why is it called the Black Sea

Where the Black Sea is located may be the first doubt when talking about it, since some people do not know or do not know with certainty if it belongs to the area of ​​Europe or Asia. The truth is that the Black Sea is between Asia and Europe , so we can say that it is part of the Eruo-Asian supercontinent or Eurasia , since it is part of the two aforementioned continents. Specifically, this sea is surrounded by 6 countries , which are:

• Turkey: it is south of the Black Sea.
• Bulgaria: to the West.
• Romania: also to the West.
• Ukraine: it is located north of this sea.
• Russia: it is in the East.
• Georgia: also in the East.

This sea that was formerly called Ponto Euxino , although it seems to be in the middle of a totally terrestrial area, far from other seas and oceans, is actually connected to the Mediterranean Sea through the Bosphorus Strait in Turkey.

How long is the Black Sea is another of the most frequently asked questions and, exactly, it measures about 600 km from north to south and about 1,175 km from east to west. Its area is 436,400 km2. The maximum depth of this sea is 2,245 meters and its capacity or volume is 547,000 km3.

The main question that we want to solve in this article is why this sea is called the Black Sea , but there is also another frequent doubt, as we have indicated at the beginning and that is reflected in its name, and that is why is the Black Sea of that color ?

The reason for this name, which is the most current, is not exactly known, as ancient civilizations called it in other ways. But among the most recognized reasons why it is called by this name today, we find that the Black Sea is so called because its color is very dark , in fact nothing can be seen beyond 100 meters away. The reason that it has this dark color and is called that is considered to be because at the bottom there is a quantity of vegetal matter and black mud that have formed because in these waters there is a high content of hydrogen sulfide .

In addition, this sea does not have a high level of salt , unlike the salt that the Dead Sea contains, which is high and in which both animal and plant life are very difficult. On the other hand, in the Black Sea, mainly, you can find phytoplankton, zebra mussels, common carp and round gobies, which are a type of fish.

The Black Sea has a great geostrategic importance , that is to say that its geographical position has a great strategic utility for humans. Among the modern uses of this region we can highlight the following:

• Ports.
• Trade between the countries that surround it.
• Navigation.
• Tourism, spas and hotels.
• Fishing.
• Hydrocarbon exploration and drilling.
• Military use.

Except for military use, everything else, especially tourism , increased in this area after the Cold War.

Many people also have doubts as to whether the Black Sea is navigable or not. The truth is that it is navigable, although of course it has different characteristics than other seas and the oceans and, therefore, the boats that cross it need to prepare for it and pass the necessary revisions to adapt to the characteristics of this sea.

As we have seen in the previous section, there is commercial navigation and also tourist navigation , and there are even ferries in the Black Sea that go in a short time from one port to another carrying tourists and citizens of these regions.

Anyway, it is true that there have been times throughout history in which this sea was not navigable, either because it had not yet been fully formed or because there have been times of drought in this geographical area and even the waters have been icy, preventing navigation.