European Seas Trivia Quiz

Answer: Black Sea

The Black Sea also has Russia and Georgia to the east, and Romania and Bulgaria to the west. Istanbul and Odessa are the two largest cities on the Black Sea coast. The 2014 Winter Olympics were held in Sochi, Russia, on the Black Sea.

Answer: Sea of Azov

The Sea of Azov is very shallow, with a maximum depth of 14 metres. This makes it difficult (but not impossible) for large ships to navigate in it.

Answer: Sea of Marmara

The Sea of Marmara, and control of the straits on either end, have been important control points for trade and military control going back to antiquity. The capital of the Roman Empire was moved to Byzantium (also known as Constantinople, modern day Istanbul) so it could be closer to the center of its trade empire, and closer to its largest military threat, the Sassanian Empire.

Answer: Aegean Sea

The Aegean Sea is bounded by mainland Greece to the north and west, to the east by Turkey, and to the south by the island of Crete. Almost all the islands in the Aegean Sea are part of Greece.

Answer: Adriatic Sea

In addition to Italy and Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Albania have coastlines on the Adriatic Sea. Famous cities on this sea include Venice and Dubrovnik.

Answer: Ionian Sea

The Ionian Sea is bounded by the Strait of Otranto to the north, and a line between the southern tips of Sicily and the Peloponnese to the south. Ionia is a region in modern Turkey, and does not have any coast along the Ionian Sea.

Answer: Tyrrhenian Sea

The sea was named after the mythological leader of the first Greek settlers in the area, Tyrrhenus. The first Punic war in ~250 BCE was largely fought between the Roman Republic and Carthage in the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Answer: Baltic Sea

The Baltic sea is connected to the Atlantic Ocean through Danish straits. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania together are called the "Baltic states."

Answer: Bothnian Sea

The Bothnian Sea is technically the southern half of the Bothnian Gulf, with the northern half called Bothnian Bay. It is connected to the Baltic Sea to the south.

Answer: White Sea

Despite being so far north and sometimes frozen, the ports in the White Sea are busy and important for Russian trade. There is a canal that connects the White Sea to the Baltic Sea at Saint Petersburg, but it is too shallow for large freighters. The canal was built using forced prison labour in the 1930s.