An inland sea is a shallow sea that covers central areas of continents during high stands of sea level that result in marine transgressions. In modern days continents stand high, eustatic sea levels are low, and there are few inland seas, none larger than the Caspian Sea. Modern examples might also include the recently (<10,000 ybp) reflooded Persian Gulf and the South China Sea that presently covers the Sunda Shelf. For considerations of sea level change, in particular rise associated with possible global warming, see sea level rise. ... A transgression is a geologic event during which sea level rises relative to the land and the shoreline moves toward higher ground, resulting in coastal flooding. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with sea level. ... The Caspian Sea is the largest lake on Earth by both area and volume,[1] with a surface area of 371,000 square kilometres (143,244 mi²) and a volume of 78,200 cubic kilometres (18,761 mi³).[2] It is a landlocked endorheic body of water and lies between... YBP stands for Years Before Present. ... It has been suggested that Persian Gulf States be merged into this article or section. ... The South China Sea, showing surrounding countries and neighbouring seas and oceans The South China Sea is a marginal sea south of China. ... Geologically, the Sunda Shelf is an extension of the continental shelf of Southeast Asia, covered during interglacials by the South China Sea, which isolates as islands Borneo, Sumatra Java and smaller islands. ...
On a geologic time scale, inland seas have been greater in extent and more common. // For other uses, see time scale. ...
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 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 mya. 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 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 46 ft (14m) in length, were discovered in the northern rainforest of Amazonian Peru[1].
In Australia the promise of an expected inland sea was one of the prime motives of inland exploration of Australia during the 1820s and 1830s. The main champions of the theory were Charles Sturt and John Oxley, but it had a number of other supporters. Notable sceptics included Edward John Eyre.
Gulf of Mexico in 3D perspective. ... The Western Interior Seaway, also called the Cretaceous Seaway and the North American Inland Sea, was a huge inland sea that split the continent of North America into two halves during most of the early and mid-Cretaceous period. ... The Cretaceous Period is one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, reaching from the end of the Jurassic Period (i. ... A satellite image of the mouth of the Amazon River, looking south The Amazon River or River Amazon (Spanish: ; Portuguese: ) of South America is the most voluminous river on earth, having a greater total flow than the next six largest rivers combined. ... Genera Dasyatis Himantura Pastinachus Pteroplatytrygon Taeniura Urogymnus See text for species. ... Genera See article below. ... Suborders Eusuchia Protosuchia †Mesosuchia †Sebecosuchia †Thalattosuchia †Crocodilia is an order of large reptiles that scientists believe branched off from class Reptilia about 220 million years ago. ... Events and Trends Nationalistic independence movements helped reshape the world during this decade: Greece declares independence from the Ottoman Empire (1821). ... Events and Trends Electromagnetic induction discovered by Michael Faraday Dutch-speaking farmers known as Voortrekkers emigrate northwards from the Cape Colony Croquet invented in Ireland Railroad construction begins in earnest in the United States Egba refugees fleeing the Yoruba civil wars found the city of Abeokuta in south-west Nigeria... Charles Sturt c. ... John Oxley John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley (January 1, 1785, Kirkham, Yorkshire - May 26, 1828) was an early English explorer of Australia. ... Edward John Eyre (5 August 1815 - 30 November 1901). ...
Its chief divisions are the Tyrrhenian, Adriatic, Ionian, and Aegean seas; its chief islands are Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Crete, Cyprus, Malta, Rhodes, the Dodecanese, the Cyclades, the Sporades, the Balearic Islands, and the Ionian Islands.
The Mediterranean Sea is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the Strait of Gibraltar on the west and to the Sea of Marmara and Black Sea, by the Dardanelles and the Bosporus respectively, on the east.
As a result of the drying of the sea during the Messinian Salinity Crisis, the marine biota of the Mediterranean are derived primarily from the Atlantic Ocean.
The inlandsea is an estuary, a semi-enclosed body of water where sea water from the open Pacific Ocean is diluted by fresh water from numerous rivers, large and small.
The inlandsea is renowned for its abundant flocks of birds.
Diversion of the fresh water that feeds the inlandsea is essentially a form of degradation or loss of riverine habitat, and it alters water motions and chemistry in the estuary as well.
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