An inland sea located in Eastern Europe and is an extension of the Black Sea in its northern part, connected to it through the Kerch Strait, the shalliest seas in the world, surrounded by Ukraine, Russia and Crimea. It has great importance throughout history as a waterway linking Asia and other continents of the world due to its connection to the Black Sea and beyond the oceans, and is an important water outlet for international trade and its coasts are home to tourism.
Human colonies have been established on its shores since the sixth century BC, and major powers have struggled over its possession since ancient times, and the struggle for influence over it still exists, as Russia was able, through stages of conflict that extended since 2014, to tighten its control over all its coasts after its war on Ukraine in 2022.
Location and geography
Located in Eastern Europe, the Sea of Azov is an inland sea that extends from the mouth of the Don River to the Kerch Strait, and is a northern extension of the Black Sea and connects to it through the Kerch Strait.
It is surrounded by mainland Ukraine to the north, Russia to the northeast, east and southeast, and Crimea to the southwest and west.
It has a total area of between 37,40 and 340,365 square kilometers, and its length from east to west is about 137 kilometers, and according to some estimates, it may reach 180 kilometers, and its width from north to south ranges between <> and <> kilometers.
Azov is the shallow, with a maximum depth of about 14 metres, so ship movement is difficult in some areas, and in Taganrog Bay it has the lowest depth, requiring continuous dredging of channels in order to cross deep-sea ships.
The seabed is topographically flat with a slight slope towards the center, and deposits of silt, sand and shells have accumulated at the bottom as river water flows, which has caused an increase in the number of bays, sandy tongues, lakes and harbors.
A cargo tanker sails in the Volga-Don canal linking the Caspian Sea to the Sea of Azov (Reuters)
There are a few islands in the Sea of Azov, all close to the coast, such as the island of Perioche, the island of Chiribacha and the Pechchani Islands.
The northeastern part of the sea narrows to form Taganrog Bay or Azov Bay; it is the largest of its bays and forms the mouth of the Don River.
Azov also has a few other smaller bays such as Arabat Bay, Obitushna Bay, Berdyansk Bay, Tamriuk Bay and Taman Bay.
The coastline of Azov is generally low except for the southern shore from the Kerch Strait to Lisan Arabat; it is high and steep, the northern shore is also steep, and the northern, eastern and western shores are low-lying areas, with long sandy coastlines, bays and shallow lakes.
Coastal sandboards dot the Sea of Azov, the most famous of which is San Arabat, a strip of sandy located in the western part of the sea and separating it from the salt lake of Sivash. It is about 113 kilometers long and is one of the longest sandboards in the world.
There are also a number of other tongues such as Fedotov's tongue, Achuvsk's tongue and Opitochina's tongue, and the unique feature of these formations is that they extend from north to south and constantly change shape every few years.
A freight train runs on the railway to the Crimean bridge connecting the Russian mainland and Crimea (AP)
Tributaries and water
The Kuban and Don rivers are the main tributaries of Azov, supplying about 90% of its water, and besides these tributaries, several small rivers flow into it, including Ubitushna and Perda, Kalmyus, Mios, Yea, Pisog, Molochna and Atmanai.
These rivers supply it with large quantities of fresh water, in addition to the annual rainfall accompanied by low evaporation, which causes low salinity in its water.
On the other hand, Azov exchanges water with the saltier Black Sea, so that the Sea of Azov loses about 66.2 cubic kilometers of water in the Black Sea, while receiving about 41 cubic kilometers of it annually.
Water exchange also takes place between Azov and Lake Sivash in Crimea, which has a salinity of 60% and this exchange explains the balance in the salinity of its water.
Its overall salinity rate is between 11% and 13%, and salinity is lower on the northeastern shores due to the current that carries fresh water from rivers, ranging from 2% to 3%, but in the southern and western parts that receive salt water from the Black Sea and Lake Sivaş, salinity rises to about 17.5%.
The average sea surface temperature in the warm months is between 25 and 30 °C, and in winter it drops below 0 °C and visibility is disrupted by heavy fog and frost.
Water is prone to freezing during peak winter due to its lack of depth and low salinity, with the Sea of Azov freezing for two months at the Kerch Strait and 4 months at Taganrog Bay. Before the invention of icebreakers, the sea was not navigable during the winters.
Kerch Strait connecting the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea (Shutterstock)
In summer, southwest winds generate strong water currents and storms with waves of up to 6 meters near Taganrog Bay, and the sea does not experience changes in tides, but the water level fluctuates from 250 to 500 millimeters, due to the difference in inflows and outflows.
Because Azov is a small sea and shallow water, water movement is fast and can mix from top to bottom, so there is little difference in temperature and salinity between the surface and the bottom. Currents in the Sea of Azov generally go counterclockwise, but can sometimes be reversed by wind.
Climate
The Sea of Azov has a temperate continental climate with a short and relatively cold winter, hot and dry summers, and the autumn and winter period is characterized by the Siberian hurricane, which carries cold and dry air from the regions of Siberia, which leads to a lowering of the temperature and alternates frost and melting in this season and fog often prevails.
The average temperature in July, the hottest month of the year, is between 23 and 25 degrees Celsius, while in January temperatures drop below zero and the highest temperature recorded in summer is 40 degrees Celsius, and in winter it can drop to minus 30 degrees Celsius.
Locals fish in the port of Berydriansk on the Sea of Azov (Reuters)
Nomenclature
In ancient times, the Sea of Azov was called the "Mayotis Swamp", as it was covered with swamps and wetlands in the northeast, while the term "Mayotis" was used for the inhabitants of the coastal settlements of the Sea of Azov.
It was also known by several names such as the Mayottes Sea, Lake Mayottes, the Mayotian Sea, and the Bosphorus Sea, and is said to have been called "Temalonda" or "Temarinda" by Mayotes, meaning "mother of water". In the Middle Ages, the Russians called it the Sea of Sluj after the nearby city now known as Sudak.
In Ottoman Turkish, it was known as "Baluk Denis" ("Sea of Fish", due to its high productivity. The name Azov is believed to have been derived from the Russian town of Azak in the Rostov province, and the word Azak has its roots in the extinct Turkish language and refers to the lowlands.
In a famous 18th-century Russian tale, Amir Koman, who died defending his city on the northern coast of the sea, was called "Asov" or "Azam", and this name was given to the sea in his honor.
The geological history of the Sea of Azov cannot be separated from the Black Sea, and it is believed that they were among the remaining basins of the ancient Tethys Sea, which were formed at the end of the Paleocene period about 55 million years ago, when large-scale movements of the earth's crust led to the elevation of mountain ranges, which divided the ancient Tethys ocean into several water basins, and formed a great lake whose remains include the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea.
As early as the Miocene about 20 million years ago, the Black Sea and with it the Sea of Azov gradually separated from the Caspian region with the Pontic Mountains, the Caucasus, Crimea and the Carpathians rising around them.
Subsequently, land movements and other sea level changes associated with glaciers occurred in the Pleistocene period that led to intermittent contacts with the Mediterranean Sea, until secession occurred and the features of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov were defined.
View from a train window on the Crimean Bridge (Reuters)
Date
The importance of the Sea of Azov began in prehistoric times, when Greek colonies were founded on its shores in the sixth century BC, and the colony of Tanais, which was founded at the mouth of the Don River, controlled the entrance to the northern sea, and other colonies controlled its entrance at the Kerch Strait, and these colonies all belonged to the Bosphorus Kingdom, which controlled all the cities of the Azov coast.
Between the first and third centuries AD, the empire of Rome dominated the region, and Greek cities traded with the inhabitants of the interior of the Scythians, Mayotians, Sarmatians, and others, and supplied Greece and Italy with fish and grains.
A movement of successive migrations began to invade the region in the 3rd century AD and beyond, and many peoples and tribes came from the interior of Asia, as well as from the northwest, such as the Huns, Avars, Bulgarians and Goths.
The Antis and other Slavic tribes began to colonize the region from the 4th century, and their rule lasted until the 7th century when the cities of Azov came under the influence of 3 powers: the Byzantine Empire, the Turkish Khazar state and the Kievan Russians.
In the 13th century, the colony of Genoa flourished on the coast of Azov and became an important trading center, and the Golden Horde controlled other parts of the region, and its rule lasted until the mid-15th century and the region then came under the control of the Crimean Khanate state.
The Ottomans captured the Genoese colonies along the coast in 1475, and took the Crimean Khanate under their protection. The Sea of Azov remained under Turkish control for nearly 300 years, and was the scene of frequent military clashes between Russia, which seeks to find an outlet towards the warm seas in the south, and the Ottoman Empire, which is the main power in the region.
Russian jet jets fly over a bridge linking the Russian mainland to Crimea (Reuters)
The conflict remained until Russia was able to occupy the northern coast of Azov in 1739, and after the liquidation of the Crimean Khanate in 1783, the entire coast of the Sea of Azov became a vassal of the Russian Empire, which Russia controlled for 134 years.
After the 1917 revolution, the Russian Empire collapsed and Ukraine took advantage of the situation and declared its independence and formed the "Ukrainian People's Republic" or "Ukrainian National Republic", which lasted until 1921, and then Russia annexed it again, thus remaining the supreme power in the Azov region.
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the independent state of Ukraine was created in 1991, with Crimea as its vasal, and Ukraine began to share influence with Russia in the Sea of Azov.
In 2003, Russia and Ukraine entered into a formal agreement to share the waters of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait, but with Russia's seizure of Crimea in 2014, it was able to control the western and southwestern coasts, thus encircling the Sea of Azov from all its sides except part of the northern coast of Ukraine, which gave Russia the greatest dominance over the sea.
In 2018, the military situation between the two countries worsened after Russia opened the Crimean Bridge, which was too low for some ships and prevented their access to Ukrainian ports, and the crisis worsened and the Ukrainian Navy announced in December 2021 that Russia had closed nearly 70% of the Sea of Azov.
The growing conflict led to the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war in early 2022, and by May of the same year Russia had taken full control of Mariupol, then cut off Ukraine's access to the Sea of Azov by controlling the entire northern coast.
Biological life
Biological life thrives in the Sea of Azov due to its shallow waters and warm summer temperatures, as well as the flow of large amounts of organic nutrients that reach it through rivers and its waters include a diverse flora and fauna, making it a unique marine ecosystem.
About 80 species of fish and 300 invertebrates live in it, and there are in its waters local species that live in river swamps, Mediterranean animals that seep into it through the waters of the Black Sea and freshwater animals, and the most important types of fish that live in it are minnows, herring, gray mullet, sardines, bream, salmon and anchovies.
Many types of wildflowers and plants grow in it, such as papyrus, seaweed, water lilies and lotus, and about 600 algae have been found, in addition to zooplankton, mollusks, worms and crustaceans.
Its beaches, estuaries and swamps that surround it are home to many species of waterfowl such as ducks, wild geese and swans, as well as wild animals such as pigs, foxes and cats.
Importance
The Sea of Azov is an important navigational waterway, connecting to the Black Sea and beyond the open seas through the Kerch Strait, and the large rivers that flow into it, such as the Don and the Kuban, connect it to the continental heart.
Maritime trade has become easier since the establishment of the railway network linking Azov to large areas.
Locals fish on a dam in the port of Berdyansk on the Sea of Azov (Reuters)
The importance of Azov increased with the completion of the Volga-Don Canal, as the canal provides the shortest route by connecting the Caspian Sea with the Sea of Azov, and thus reaching open water.
The Manish Canal has also contributed to the boom in maritime trade, linking the Sea of Azov directly to the Caspian Sea and facilitating the transportation of its oil and natural gas production.
A number of ports have been established on the shores of the Sea of Azov such as Taganrog, Mariupol, Yesk and Berdyansk, which are important trade centers and transport terminals, Mariupol and Taganrog have become important ports for the export of coal and minerals due to their proximity to Donbass, and iron ore is exported through the port of Kerch.
The ports also export grains, building materials, minerals, fish, wood and salt, which is extracted in large quantities from Lake Sivaş.
The Sea of Azov is an important source of oil and natural gas for Russia, as it includes a number of oil and gas fields, and these resources are important for Russia's energy needs and increase its national income.
Fishing is a major economic activity in the Sea of Azov due to the increased biological productivity of the sea, which has led to the development of a prominent fishing industry on its shores.
The Sea of Azov also offers dry, warm sandy beaches in summer, so it has become home to spas, holidays and a destination for water sports enthusiasts.