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Where is the Adriatic Sea located?
The Adriatic Sea (/ˌeɪdriˈætɪk/) is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to the northwest and the Po Valley.
Why is Adriatic Sea so blue?
One factor as to why the Croatian water is so blue is that the Mediterranean Sea is oligotrophic, meaning there is a lack of nutrients required by algae to grow, which results in the water's top layer being better able to absorb and scatter sunlight and keep a vibrant blue appearance.
What is special about the Adriatic Sea?
Also known as Jadransko in Croatian, the Adriatic Sea was named after an ancient port, Adria, in what is now Northern Italy. It extends from the clear waters of the Mediterranean Sea and is noted for its warm temperatures and calm currents.
What countries lie on the Adriatic Sea?
Croatia borders the Adriatic Sea. But other countries with the Adriatic coast include Italy, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea.
Where is the clearest ocean in the world?
The Weddell Sea has been claimed by scientists to have the clearest waters of any ocean in the world. Described by a historian as “the most wretched and dismal region on earth”, due to the flash freezes that caught Shackleton's ship, its clarity is only belied by the sheer depth of the ocean below.
What is the calmest sea in the world?
"Sargasso Sea" .
Why does the Adriatic Sea not freeze?
As the lowest SST is well above zero, the conditions needed for seawater to freeze are on average not fulfilled. Air temperatures in the coastal areas surrounding the northern Adriatic Sea during the winter months vary between 5° and 10°C.
Is it safe to swim in the Adriatic Sea?
The Adriatic Sea is still deemed extremely safe for swimming. There are only two dangerous species of shark (Mako and Great White), and attacks are incredibly rare.
Why is Adriatic Sea so cold?
Due to the Bura, which brings cold air from the mainland, winter in the northern Adriatic is colder than in the southern Adriatic. In the north, snow is more frequent, and sometimes sea shallows might freeze. The southern part of the Adriatic is classified as hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa).
Why is Croatia so beautiful?
Croatia is famed for its scenic pebbled beaches, which are beautifully lapped by crystal-clear waters. One of the most well known is Brac's Zlatni Rat, also referred to as the Golden Cape. The tip of the beach is everchanging with the wind, meaning you never know quite what shape it'll take when you visit.
What did the Romans call the Adriatic?
The name has existed since antiquity; in the Latin of the Romans (Ancient Latin) it was Mare Superum; in medieval Latin it was Mare Hadriaticum or Mare Adriaticum.
What is the name of the sea between Italy and Croatia?
Adriatic SeaAdriatic Sea, Italian Mare Adriatico, Bosnian, Croatian, and Montenegrin Jadransko More, Albanian Deti i Adriatikut, arm of the Mediterranean Sea, lying between the Italian and Balkan peninsulas.
Is it safe to swim in the Adriatic Sea?
The Adriatic Sea is still deemed extremely safe for swimming. There are only two dangerous species of shark (Mako and Great White), and attacks are incredibly rare.
Why is the Mediterranean Sea turquoise?
Most nutrients are found in the bottom layers, but algae thrive in the top layers, where the sun shines, as they need light to grow. The result of all these factors is the clear, blue water that all mediterranean divers know and love so well.
What Color Is Adriatic blue?
The hexadecimal color code #285790 is a medium dark shade of cyan-blue. In the RGB color model #285790 is comprised of 15.69% red, 34.12% green and 56.47% blue. In the HSL color space #285790 has a hue of 213° (degrees), 57% saturation and 36% lightness.
Where is the clearest water in the Mediterranean?
The Ionian Sea is known for having some of the clearest waters in the Mediterranean, and you don't want to miss out. The stunning cliffs around most of the beaches rise high above the turquoise water, beckoning you into a place of sheer beauty and relaxation.
What is the Adriatic Sea?
The Adriatic Sea is a semi-enclosed sea, bordered in the southwest by the Apennine or Italian Peninsula, in the northwest by the Italian regions of Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and in the northeast by Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Albania —the Balkan peninsula. In the southeast, the Adriatic Sea connects to the Ionian Sea at the 72-kilometre (45 mi) wide Strait of Otranto. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defines the boundary between the Adriatic and the Ionian seas as a line running from the Butrinto River 's mouth ( latitude 39°44'N) in Albania to the Karagol Cape in Corfu, through this island to the Kephali Cape (these two capes are in latitude 39°45'N), and on to the Santa Maria di Leuca Cape (latitude 39°48'N). It extends 800 kilometres (500 mi) from the northwest to the southeast and is 200 kilometres (120 mi) wide. It covers 138,600 square kilometres (53,500 sq mi) and has a volume of 35,000 cubic kilometres (8,400 cu mi). The Adriatic extends northwest from 40° to 45° 47' north, representing the Mediterranean 's northernmost portion. The sea is geographically divided into the Northern Adriatic, Central (or Middle) Adriatic, and Southern Adriatic.
Which country is on the Adriatic Sea?
The countries with coasts on the Adriatic are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Montenegro and Slovenia.
What is the name of the plate that separated the Adriatic Sea and Po Valley?
Geophysical and geological information indicate that the Adriatic Sea and the Po Valley are associated with a tectonic microplate —identified as the Apulian or Adriatic Plate —that separated from the African Plate during the Mesozoic era. This separation began in the Middle and Late Triassic, when limestone began to be deposited in the area. Between the Norian and Late Cretaceous, the Adriatic and Apulia Carbonate Platforms formed as a thick series of carbonate sediments ( dolomites and limestones), up to 8,000 metres (26,000 ft) deep. Remnants of the former are found in the Adriatic Sea, as well as in the southern Alps and the Dinaric Alps, and remnants of the latter are seen as the Gargano Promontory and the Maiella mountain. In the Eocene and early Oligocene, the plate moved north and north-east, contributing to the Alpine orogeny (along with the African and Eurasian Plates ' movements) via the tectonic uplift of the Dinarides and Alps. In the Late Oligocene, the motion was reversed and the Apennine Mountains' orogeny took place. An unbroken zone of increased seismic activity borders the Adriatic Sea, with a belt of thrust faults generally oriented in the northeast–southwest direction on the east coast and the northeast–southwest normal faults in the Apennines, indicating an Adriatic counterclockwise rotation.
How deep is the Adriatic Sea?
The Adriatic Sea's average depth is 259.5 metres (851 ft ), and its maximum depth is 1,233 metres (4,045 ft); however, the North Adriatic basin rarely exceeds a depth of 100 metres (330 ft). The North Adriatic basin, extending between Venice and Trieste towards a line connecting Ancona and Zadar, is only 15 metres (49 ft) deep at its northwestern end; it gradually deepens towards the southeast. It is the largest Mediterranean shelf and is simultaneously a dilution basin and a site of bottom water formation. The Middle Adriatic basin is south of the Ancona–Zadar line, with the 270-metre (890 ft) deep Middle Adriatic Pit (also called the Pomo Depression or the Jabuka Pit). The 170-metre (560 ft) deep Palagruža Sill is south of the Middle Adriatic Pit, separating it from the 1,200-metre (3,900 ft) deep South Adriatic Pit and the Middle Adriatic basin from the South Adriatic Basin. Further on to the south, the sea floor rises to 780 metres (2,560 ft) to form the Otranto Sill at the boundary to the Ionian Sea. The South Adriatic Basin is similar in many respects to the Northern Ionian Sea, to which it is connected. Transversely, the Adriatic Sea is also asymmetric: the Apennine peninsular coast is relatively smooth with very few islands and the Monte Conero and Gargano promontories as the only significant protrusions into the sea; in contrast, the Balkan peninsular coast is rugged with numerous islands, especially in Croatia. The coast's ruggedness is exacerbated by the Dinaric Alps ' proximity to the coast, in contrast to the opposite (Italian) coast where the Apennine Mountains are further away from the shoreline.
What is the temperature of the Adriatic Sea?
The Adriatic's surface temperature usually ranges from 22 to 30 °C (72 to 86 °F) in the summer, or 12 to 14 °C (54 to 57 °F) in the winter , except along the western Adriatic coast's northern part, where it drops to 9 °C (48 °F) in the winter. The distinct seasonal temperature variations, with a longitudinal gradient in the Northern and transversal gradient in the Middle and Southern Adriatic, are attributed to the continental characteristics of the Adriatic Sea: it is shallower and closer to land than are oceans. During particularly cold winters, sea ice may appear in the Adriatic's shallow coastal areas, especially in the Venetian Lagoon but also in isolated shallows as far south as Tisno (south of Zadar). The Southern Adriatic is about 8 to 10 °C (14 to 18 °F) warmer during the winter than the more northerly regions. The Adriatic's salinity variation over the year is likewise distinct: it ranges between 38 and 39 PSUs. The southern Adriatic is subjected to saltier water from the Levantine Basin.
How high is the Adriatic basin?
The drainage basin's mean elevation is 782 metres (2,566 ft) above sea level , with a mean slope of 12.1°. Major rivers discharging into the Adriatic include the Po, Soča, Krka, Neretva, Drin, Bojana, and Vjosë.
How many species are there in the Adriatic Sea?
The sea is abundant in flora and fauna—more than 7,000 species are identified as native to the Adriatic, many of them endemic, rare and threatened ones.
Overview
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to the northwest and the Po Valley. The countries with coasts on the Adriatic are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Montenegro, and Slovenia.
Name
The origins of the name Adriatic are linked to the Etruscan settlement of Adria, which probably derives its name from Illyrian adur 'water, sea'. In classical antiquity, the sea was known as Mare Adriaticum (Mare Hadriaticum, also sometimes simplified to Adria) or, less frequently, as Mare Superum '[the] upper sea'. The two terms were not synonymous, however. Mare Adriaticum generally corresponds to the Adriatic Sea's extent, spanning from the Gulf of Venice to the Strait …
Geography
The Adriatic Sea is a semi-enclosed sea, bordered in the southwest by the Apennine or Italian Peninsula, in the northwest by the Italian regions of Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and in the northeast by Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Albania—the Balkan peninsula. In the southeast, the Adriatic Sea connects to the Ionian Sea at the 72-kilometre (45 mi) wide Str…
Coastal management
Venice, which was originally built on islands off the coast, is most at risk due to subsidence, but the threat is present in the Po delta as well. The causes are a decrease in sedimentation rate due to loss of sediment behind dams, the deliberate excavation of sand for industrial purposes, agricultural use of water, and removal of ground water.
Geology
Geophysical and geological information indicate that the Adriatic Sea and the Po Valley are associated with a tectonic microplate—identified as the Apulian or Adriatic Plate—that separated from the African Plate during the Mesozoic era. This separation began in the Middle and Late Triassic, when limestone began to be deposited in the area. Between the Norian and Late Cretaceous, the Adriatic …
Biogeography and ecology
The Adriatic Sea is a unique water body in respect of its overall biogeochemical physiognomy. It exports inorganic nutrients and imports particulate organic carbon and nitrogen through the Strait of Otranto—acting as a mineralization site. The exchange of the substances is made more complex by bathymetry of the Adriatic Sea—75% of water flowing north through the strait recirculates at t…
History
Settlements along the Adriatic dating to between 6100 and 5900 BC appear in Albania and Dalmatia on the eastern coast, related to the Cardium pottery culture. During classical antiquity, Illyrians inhabited the eastern Adriatic coast, and the western coast was inhabited by the peoples of Ancient Italy, mainly Etruscans, before the Roman Republic's rise. Greek colonisation of the Adriatic …
Boundaries
Italy and Yugoslavia defined their Adriatic continental shelf delimitation in 1968, with an additional agreement signed in 1975 on the Gulf of Trieste boundary, following the Treaty of Osimo. The boundary agreed in 1968 extends 353 nautical miles (654 km; 406 mi) and consists of 43 points connected by straight lines or circular arc segments. The additional boundary agreed upon in 1975 c…