Why is the black sea called the black sea?

+97 votes
asked Aug 7, 2019 in Science by Becky (660 points)
edited Aug 11, 2019
I’ve seen the black sea on a world map and know that it’s there, but I never hear anything about it or from people who have been there. It just sounds kind of dark and dangerous. Is the water actually black at the black sea? How did it get this name?

3 Answers

+28 votes
answered Aug 14, 2019 by Dianne (900 points)
edited Aug 14, 2019
One of the theories behind how the black sea got its name is that it was started by sailors and pirates who talked about how dark the water turned when the sky filled with storm clouds. During the winter, the black sea was known for having heavy storms throughout the season. This caused the water to have the very black tone that these sailors were seeing. In the winter, this sea definitely looked dark and dangerous!
+5 votes
answered Aug 10, 2019 by jacquie (1,070 points)
edited Aug 11, 2019
So why is the black sea called the black sea? I think it probably has something to do with the color of the water like the red sea, which got its name from the color change during certain seasons. There’s a bacteria that lives in the red sea that changes the color of the water from a normal blue-green to a red-brown hue. Perhaps there’s another kind of bacteria or something else that make the black see look very dark.
+3 votes
answered Aug 9, 2019 by Josh (750 points)
edited Aug 12, 2019
The black sea has a very high hydrogen sulfide concentration in the water, and because of this a black sludge forms on things sunk at the bottom of the sea. So, the black sea gets its name from this material that builds up on the sea floor. When things like metal from ships, dead plants, and animal remains sink to the bottom for a long time this sludge forms on the settled pieces. This same concentration in the water makes it impossible for most things to live at the bottom of the black sea, so there’s not a lot of movement to stop this sludge from forming.
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