Black Sea Regional Map

Pop Quiz! Did you remember the names of the countries that ring the Black Sea?

Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania.

You can click on the map to see a close up.

Notice how a few more countries are not on the shoreline, but not too far away. Armenia, Greece, Moldova. Even Iraq is just on the other side of Turkey. So is Cyprus, and Syria.

Where does the water in the Black Sea come from? How deep is it? What temperature is it? What is the salinity?

We are going to explore all these questions and more, much more.

The answers will amaze you. Are you starting to see the fractal nature of the Black Sea?

Black Sea Regional overview

Today we zoom out just a little to get a perspective on the entire Black Sea region.

The Black Sea lies near the center of this image with the Caspian Sea to the East (right) and the Mediterranean Sea to the South, below.

A little sliver of the blue of the Persian Gulf is visible in the very bottom right corner. And even a little Red Sea at bottom.

The Baltic Sea is visible near the upper left corner.

From this altitude the Sea of Azov looks like a lake to the North of the Black Sea. But the Sea of Azov is connected to the Black Sea by the Kerch Strait.

This image also gives you a perspective of the Crimean Penninsula that sticks down into the Black Sea from the North.

The Black Sea is connected to the Mediterranean and therefore the Atlantic Ocean by the Bosporus Strait and the Dardanelle Strait. More about these fascinating features later.....

Several major capital cities are visible. Moscow, the capital of Russia, to the north. And Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine between the Black Sea and Moscow. Ankara, the capital of Turkey, in the center of Turkey between the Med and the Black. Tehran, the capital of Iran is visible just south of the Caspian. 

For orientation purposes, due to the current international focus on the war in Iraq, Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, is near the center of the land area between the "5 blue jewels" of Black, Caspian, Persian Gulf, Red and Med. You can even pick out Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, on the west shore of the Caspian.

Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, is just east and south of the Black Sea and Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, is about due east from the Black.

Notice the greenish tinge to the lands to the North of the Black Sea. And to the south you can see the brownish deserts of Iraq, Syria, Jordan and so forth.

We are just getting oriented to the Black Sea region in order to expand our exploration soon into the cultures and economics and opportunities of the Black Sea's dynamics.

The Black Sea Clock

Here is a more regional image showing the Black Sea in the center and the Mediterranean Sea in the lower left. You can just see the edge of the Caspian Sea on the far right.

Are you ready to learn the names of the countries that "ring" the Black Sea?

Let's start at the "top." Things are always easier to remember if you organize them in your mind. Just imagine the Black Sea to be a clock, we will start at 12 o'clock. The first country is Ukraine.

Then as we go clockwise around the rim of the Black Sea.... we next get to .... Russia! About the 1 to 2 o'clock position.

Then as we go further around the rim, we get to Georgia. At least that is what it is called right now in May 2008. We will discuss Abkhazia later and the dynamic changes happening right now. The border between Russia and Georgia hits the Black Sea coast at about 2 o'clock and Georgia continues down to the border with Turkey at about 4 o'clock.

Turkey forms the lower margin of the Black Sea. The rich history of the Ottoman Empire almost defies comprehension. We will explore this fractal boundary also.

Then comes Bulgaria at about 8 o'clock and Romania at about 9 o'clock.

That's it. Have you got that straight? Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania.

6  magical, mysterious countries filled with fascinating people and customs and culture.

Next time we will explore more about the geography and get oriented to discuss the Black Sea news events.