Question #152134. Asked by
RedRobin7.
Last updated Jun 20 2025.
Originally posted Jun 20 2025 12:55 AM.
Sea has several definitions:
*A division of an ocean, delineated by landforms, currents (e.g., Sargasso Sea), or specific latitude or longitude boundaries. This includes but is not limited to marginal seas, and this is the definition used for inclusion in this list.
*A marginal sea is a division of an ocean, partially enclosed by islands, archipelagos, or peninsulas, adjacent to or widely open to the open ocean at the surface, and/or bounded by submarine ridges on the sea floor.
*The World Ocean. For example, the Law of the Sea states that all of the World Ocean is "sea", and this is also common usage for "the sea".
*Any large body of water with "Sea" in the name, including lakes.
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Entities called "seas" which are not divisions of the World Ocean are not included in this list. Excluded are:
Lakes, ponds, etc.: Salt lakes with "Sea" in the name: Aral Sea, Dead Sea, Caspian Sea, Salton Sea; Freshwater lakes with "Sea" in the name: Sea of Galilee
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(Note) There is no accepted technical definition of sea among oceanographers. A rather weak definition is that a sea is a subdivision of an ocean, which means that it must have oceanic basin crust on its floor. This definition, for example, accepts the Caspian Sea, which was once part of an ancient ocean, as a sea. The Introduction to Marine Biology defines a sea as a "landlocked" body of water, adding that the term "sea" is only one of convenience, but the book is written by marine biologists, not oceanographers. The Glossary of Mapping Sciences similarly states that the boundaries between seas and other bodies of water are arbitrary.
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