View source for Earth:Inland sea

{{Short description|Shallow sea within continental land areas}}
An '''inland sea''' (also known as an '''epeiric sea''' or an '''epicontinental sea''') is a [[Earth:Continent|continent]]al [[Earth:Body of water|body of water]] which is very large in area and is either completely surrounded by dry land or connected to an [[Earth:Ocean|ocean]] by a [[Earth:River|river]], [[Earth:Strait|strait]] or "[[Earth:Inlet|arm of the sea]]". An inland sea will generally have higher [[Earth:Salinity|salinity]] than a freshwater lake, but usually lower salinity than [[Earth:Seawater|seawater]]. As with other seas, inland seas experience tides governed by the orbits of the Moon and Sun.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Klein |first1=George Devries |last2=Ryer |first2=Thomas A. |date=1 July 1978 |title=Tidal circulation patterns in Precambrian, Paleozoic, and Cretaceous epeiric and mioclinal shelf seas |url=https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-abstract/89/7/1050/187565/Tidal-circulation-patterns-in-Precambrian |journal=Geological Society of America Bulletin |volume=89 |issue=7 |pages=1050–1058 |doi=10.1130/0016-7606(1978)89<1050:TCPIPP>2.0.CO;2 |bibcode=1978GSAB...89.1050K |access-date=21 April 2023}}</ref>

==Definition==
What constitutes an "inland sea" is complex and somewhat necessarily vague.<ref name=rieswatson>{{cite book|last1=Ries|first1=Heinrich|last2=Watson|first2=Thomas L.|title=Elements of Engineering Geology|location=New York|publisher=J. Wiley & Sons|date=1947|oclc=486745|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F8MOAwAAQBAJ|page=286|isbn=9785877732124 }}</ref> The United States Hydrographic Office defined it as "a body of water nearly or completely surrounded by land, especially if very large or composed of salt water".<ref>{{cite book|author=United States Hydrographic Office|title=Navigation Dictionary|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=Supintendent of Documents|date=1956|oclc=3040490|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RNKMJykFRCkC|page=189}}</ref>

Geologic engineers Heinrich Ries and Thomas L. Watson say an inland sea is merely a very large lake.<ref name=rieswatson /> Rydén, Migula, and Andersson<ref name=ryden /> and Deborah Sandler of the [[Organization:Environmental Law Institute|Environmental Law Institute]] add that an inland sea is "more or less" cut off from the ocean.<ref name=sandler /><ref name=ryden /> It may be semi-enclosed,<ref name=ryden /> or connected to the ocean by a [[Earth:Strait|strait]] or "arm of the sea".<ref name=sandler /> An inland sea is distinguishable from a [[Earth:Bay|bay]] in that a bay is directly connected to the ocean.<ref name=sandler>{{cite book|last=Sandler|first=Deborah|title=Protecting the Gulf of Aqaba: A Regional Environmental Challenge|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=Environmental Law Institute|date=1994|isbn=9780911937466|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EeSqklMsgSwC|page=45}}</ref>

The term "epeiric sea" was coined by Joseph Barrell in 1917. He defined an epeiric sea as a shallow body of water whose bottom is within the [[Physics:Wave base|wave base]] (e.g., where bottom sediments are no longer stirred by the wave above).<ref name=prattholmden>{{cite book|last1=Pratt|first1=Brian R.|last2=Holmden|first2=Chris|title=Dynamics of Epeiric Seas|location=St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada|publisher=Geological Association of Canada|date=2007|isbn=9781897095348|page=1}}</ref> An epeiric sea as one with limited connection to an ocean,<ref name=matzner /><ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Morris|editor-first=Christopher|title=Academic Press Dictionary of Science and Technology|location=San Diego|publisher=Academic Press|date=1992|isbn=9780122004001|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nauWlPTBcjIC|page=757}}</ref><ref name=ryden /> and shallow.<ref name=ryden />{{Efn|Geologist Richard A. Matzner defines shallow as usually under {{convert|250|m}} in depth.<ref name=matzner>{{cite book|editor-last=Matzner|editor-first=Richard A.|title=Dictionary of Geophysics, Astrophysics, and Astronomy|location=Boca Raton|publisher=CRC Press|date=2020|isbn=9780367455279|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v4bLBQAAQBAJ|page=156}}</ref> Rydén, Migula, and Andersson do not define shallow, but cite examples of inland seas with a depth of {{convert|100|m}} or less.<ref name=ryden />}} An inland sea is only an epeiric sea when a continental interior is flooded by marine transgression due to [[Earth:Sea level rise|sea level rise]] or [[Earth:Epeirogenic movement|epeirogenic movement]].<ref name=prattholmden /><ref name=monkhouse>{{cite book|last=Monkhouse|first=Francis J.|title=A Dictionary of Geography|location=New Brunswick, N.J.|publisher=Aldine Transaction|date=2008|isbn=9780202361314|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4lYPEAAAQBAJ|page=124}}</ref>

An epicontinental sea is synonymous with an epeiric sea.<ref name=monkhouse /> The term "epicontinental sea" may also refer to the waters above a continental shelf. This is a legal, not geological, term.<ref>{{cite book|last=Zaklin|first=Ralph|title=The Changing Law of the Sea: Western Hemisphere Perspectives|location=Leiden, Netherlands|publisher=Sijthoff|date=1974|isbn=9789028600843|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j5CkK_2TPf4C|page=109}}</ref> Epeiric, epicontinental, and inland seas occur on a continent, not adjacent to it.<ref name=ryden>{{cite book|last1=Rydén|first1=Lars|last2=Migula|first2=Pawel|last3=Andersson|first3=Magnus|title=Environmental Science: Understanding, Protecting, and Managing the Environment in the Baltic Sea Region|location=Uppsala|publisher=Baltic University Press|date=2003|isbn=9789197001700|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VIopLSQyI5MC|page=123}}</ref>

The law of the sea does not apply to inland seas.<ref>{{cite book|last=Galletti|first=Florence|chapter=Transformations in International Law of the Sea: Governance of the Space or Resource|title=Governance of Seas and Oceans|editor-last1=Monaco|editor-first1=André|editor-last2=Prouzet|editor-first2=Patrick|location=London|publisher=Wiley|date=2015|isbn=9781848217805|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9WPhCgAAQBAJ|page=31}}</ref>

==Modern inland seas==
[[File:Maslens Inland Sea of Australia.jpg|right|thumb|This 1827 map of Australia depicts a 'Great River' and a 'Supposed Sea' that both proved nonexistent.]]
In modern times, continents stand high, eustatic sea levels are low, and there are few inland seas.

* The Marmara Sea located in modern-day Turkey is surrounded by land all around, except where it connects the two Turkish Straits, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles.
* The [[Place:Baltic Sea|Baltic Sea]] is a [[Earth:Brackish water|brackish]] inland sea, arguably the largest body of brackish water in the world. Other possibilities include the White Sea and the northern half of the Black Sea (its deep southern basin is a closed-off relic of the now-vanished Tethys Sea).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fimr.fi/en/tietoa/yleiskuvaus/en_GB/yleiskuvaus/ |title=Baltic Sea Portal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090922193134/http://www.fimr.fi/en/tietoa/yleiskuvaus/en_GB/yleiskuvaus/ |archive-date=22 September 2009}}</ref> The origin of the Baltic Sea basin is not clear as there are differing views on the role of erosion and tectonics.<ref name=Sliaupa>{{cite book |first1=Salius |last1=Šliaupa |first2=Peer |last2=Hoth |chapter=Geological Evolution and Resources of the Baltic Sea Area from the Precambrian to the Quaternary |editor-last1=Harff |editor-first1=Jan |editor-last2=Björck |editor-first2=Svante |editor-last3=Hoth |editor-first3=Peter |date=2011 |title=The Baltic Sea Basin |publisher=[[Company:Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]] |isbn=978-3-642-17219-9 }}</ref>
* Hudson Bay, including James Bay at its southern end, reaches within the [[Earth:North America|North American continent]] from Baffin Island, [[Earth:Nunavut|Nunavut]] in the north to Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba in the south. The bay shares some similarities with the Gulf of Bothnia in Fennoscandia; it lies in the middle of a [[Earth:Shield (geology)|shield]] and it was the centre of an [[Earth:Ice sheet|ice sheet]] during the Quaternary glaciations. However, the origin of both depressions is unrelated to glacier erosion.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Lidmar-Bergström |first=Karna |date=1997 |title=A long-term perspective on glacial erosion |journal=[[Earth:Earth Surface Processes and Landforms|Earth Surface Processes and Landforms]] |volume=22 |issue= 3|pages=297–306 |doi= 10.1002/(SICI)1096-9837(199703)22:3<297::AID-ESP758>3.0.CO;2-R|bibcode=1997ESPL...22..297L }}</ref>
* The Seto Inland Sea in Japan is not a true inland sea but rather a body of water separating Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū, three of the four main islands of Japan.
* The Caspian Sea is a very large, inland body of water at least hundreds of miles from the nearest part of the [[Earth:Ocean#World ocean|World Ocean]] (such as the Persian Gulf) and has some characteristics of the sea, like being composed of at least a good portion of saltwater. However, it is also considered the largest lake in the world.

The Great Lakes, despite being completely [[Earth:Fresh water|fresh water]], have been referred to as resembling or having characteristics like inland seas from a USGS management perspective. Lake Ontario is the only Great Lake connected to the [[Earth:Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic Ocean]] after Niagara Falls.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rao |first1=Yerubandi R. |last2=Schwab |first2=David J. |date=2007-01-01 |title=Transport and Mixing Between the Coastal and Offshore Waters in the Great Lakes: a Review |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0380133007700485 |journal=Journal of Great Lakes Research |language=en |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=202–218 |doi=10.3394/0380-1330(2007)33[202:TAMBTC]2.0.CO;2 |s2cid=53538578 |issn=0380-1330}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Great Lakes and Inland Seas {{!}} U.S. Geological Survey |url=https://www.usgs.gov/science/science-explorer/ocean/great-lakes-and-inland-seas |access-date=2023-02-06 |website=www.usgs.gov}}</ref>

Modern examples might also include the recently (less than 10,000 years ago) reflooded Persian Gulf, and the South China Sea that presently covers the Sunda Shelf.{{efn|The [[Earth:Lord Howe Rise|Lord Howe Rise]] that covers much of the sunken "continent" of [[Earth:Zealandia|Zealandia]] and the largely submerged Mascarene Plateau that includes the Granitic Group islands of the Seychelles could not be considered "inland".}}

== Former epicontinental seas in Earth's history ==
At various times in the geologic past, inland seas covered central areas of continents during periods of high [[Sea level|sea level]] that result in [[Earth:Marine transgression|marine transgression]]s. Inland seas have been greater in extent and more common than at present.

* During the [[Earth:Oligocene|Oligocene]] and Early Miocene large swaths of [[Place:Patagonia|Patagonia]] were subject to a marine transgression. The transgression might have temporarily linked the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, as inferred from the findings of marine invertebrate fossils of both Atlantic and Pacific affinity in [[Earth:La Cascada Formation|La Cascada Formation]].<ref name=Encinasetal2014>{{cite journal|author-last1=Encinas |author-first1=Alfonso |author-last2=Pérez |author-first2=Felipe |author-last3=Nielsen |author-first3=Sven |author-last4=Finger |author-first4=Kenneth L. |author-last5=Valencia |author-first5=Victor |author-last6=Duhart |author-first6=Paul |date=2014 |title=Geochronologic and paleontologic evidence for a Pacific–Atlantic connection during the late Oligocene–early Miocene in the Patagonian Andes (43–44°S) |journal=Journal of South American Earth Sciences |volume=55 |pages=1–18 |doi=10.1016/j.jsames.2014.06.008 |bibcode=2014JSAES..55....1E |hdl=10533/130517 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author-last=Nielsen |author-first=S.N. |date=2005 |title= Cenozoic Strombidae, Aporrhaidae, and Struthiolariidae (Gastropoda, Stromboidea) from Chile: their significance to biogeography of faunas and climate of the south-east Pacific |journal=Journal of Paleontology |volume=79 |pages=1120–1130 |doi=10.1666/0022-3360(2005)079[1120:csaasg]2.0.co;2|s2cid=130207579 }}</ref> Connection would have occurred through narrow epicontinental seaways that formed channels in a [[Earth:River incision|dissected topography]].<ref name=Encinasetal2014/><ref name=Guillaumeetal2009>{{cite journal|author-last1=Guillame |author-first1=Benjamin |author-last2=Martinod |author-first2=Joseph |author-last3=Husson|author-first3=Laurent |author-last4=Roddaz |author-first4=Martin |author-last5=Riquelme |author-first5=Rodrigo |date=2009 |title=Neogene uplift of central eastern Patagonia: Dynamic response to active spreading ridge subduction? |journal=Tectonics |volume=28}}</ref>
* A vast inland sea, the [[Earth:Western Interior Seaway|Western Interior Seaway]], extended from the Gulf of Mexico deep into present-day Canada during the Cretaceous.
* At the same time, much of the low plains of modern-day northern France and northern Germany were inundated by an inland sea, where the chalk was deposited that gave the [[Earth:Cretaceous|Cretaceous]] Period its name.
* The Amazon, originally emptying into the Pacific, as South America rifted from Africa, found its exit blocked by the rise of the Andes about 15 million years ago. A great inland sea developed, at times draining north through what is now Venezuela before finding its present eastward outlet into the South Atlantic. Gradually this inland sea became a vast freshwater lake and wetlands where sediment flattened its profiles and the marine inhabitants adapted to life in freshwater. Over 20 species of [[Biology:Stingray|stingray]], most closely related to those found in the Pacific Ocean, can be found today in the freshwaters of the Amazon, which is also home to a freshwater dolphin. In 2005, fossilized remains of a giant crocodilian, estimated to have been {{convert|46|ft|abbr=on}} in length, were discovered in the northern rainforest of Amazonian Peru.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_12-9-2005_pg6_6 |title=Peru finds giant crocodile fossil in Amazon |newspaper=Daily Times |date=12 September 2005 }}</ref>
* In Australia, the Eromanga Sea existed during the [[Earth:Cretaceous|Cretaceous]] Period. It covered large swaths of the eastern half of the continent.<ref>{{cite book|last=Clode |first=Danielle |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/895759221 |title=Prehistoric marine life in Australia's inland sea |publisher=Museum Victoria |date=August 2015 |isbn=978-1-921833-16-8 |oclc=895759221}}</ref>{{efn|Also in Australia the promise of an inland sea is often said to have been one of the prime motives of inland exploration during the 1820s and 1830s. Although this theory was championed by the explorer Charles Sturt, it enjoyed little support among the other explorers, most of whom were more inclined to believe in the existence of a Great River which discharged into the ocean in the north-west corner of the continent.<ref>{{cite book |first=Michael |last=Cathcart |title=The Water Dreamers: How Water and Silence Shaped Australia |year=2009 |location=Melbourne |publisher=Text Publishing |isbn=9781921520648 |at=chapter 7 }}</ref>}}

== See also ==
* {{annotated link|Earth:Endorheic basin}}
* {{annotated link|Earth:Mediterranean sea (oceanography)}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150923225535/http://www.colorado.edu/engineering/ETH/projects/geology/beach.html Geology Project - Inland Sea Movement Through Time]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Inland sea}}
[[Category:Historical geology]]
[[Category:Bodies of water]]

tg:Баҳри дохилӣ

{{Sourceattribution|Inland sea}}