Aegean Sea

Home > ... > Places > Oceans, Continents, and Polar Regions > Oceans and Continents > ...

Essential reading Compare
side-by-side World Encyclopedia The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition

Aegean Sea

Aegean Sea Gr. Aigaion Pelagos, Turkish Ege Denizi, arm of the Mediterranean Sea, c.400 mi (640 km) long and 200 mi (320 km) wide, off SE Europe between Greece and Turkey; Crete and Rhodes mark its southern limit. Irregular in shape, it is dotted with islands, most of which belong to Greece; they include Évvoia , the Sporades , the Cyclades , Sámos , Khíos , Lesbos , Thásos , and the Dodecanese . The Aegean Sea's greatest depths (more than 11,600 ft/3,540 m) are found E of Crete. The Dardanelles strait connects the Aegean Sea with the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea.

Sardines and sponges taken from the Aegean are economically important. There has been considerable tension between Greece and Turkey since the 1970s over oil deposits and mineral rights in the Aegean. The name Aegean has been variously derived from Aegae, a city of Évvoia; from Aegeus, father of Theseus, who drowned himself in the sea believing his son had been slain by the Minotaur; and from Aegea, an Amazon queen who drowned in it. The sea's ancient name, Archipelago, now applies to its islands and, generally, to any island group.

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1E1-AegeanSe" title="Facts and information about Aegean Sea">Aegean Sea</a>

Give this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"Aegean Sea." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 23 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Aegean Sea." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (November 23, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-AegeanSe.html

"Aegean Sea." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved November 23, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-AegeanSe.html

Learn more about citation styles

Aegean Sea

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Â© World Encyclopedia 2005, originally published by Oxford University Press 2005. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Aegean Sea Part of the Mediterranean Sea between Greece and Turkey, bounded by Crete to the s and connected to the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara by the Dardanelles to the ne. Oil and natural gas have been discovered in the area, but the principal income is derived from tourism, fishing, and crops such as citrus fruits, olives, and grapes.

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O142-AegeanSea" title="Facts and information about Aegean Sea">Aegean Sea</a>

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"Aegean Sea." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 23 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Aegean Sea." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (November 23, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-AegeanSea.html

"Aegean Sea." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved November 23, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-AegeanSea.html

Learn more about citation styles

Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Russian Navy ship under tow by Greek frigate after issuing distress signal in Aegean Sea News Wire article from: AP Worldstream; 2/18/2008
	Greek fighter jet reported missing during training mission over Aegean Sea News Wire article from: AP Worldstream; 12/5/2007
	TURKEY: TURKISH, GREEK FOREIGN MINISTERS REACH AEGEAN SEA SECURITY MEASURES AGREEMENT.(Abdullah Gul and George Papandreou are the foreign ministers)(Brief Article) Newspaper article from: IPR Strategic Business Information Database; 5/27/2003

Facts and information from other sites

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

	Aegean Sea Water Masses during the Early Stages of the Eastern Mediterranean Climatic Transient (1988-90) Magazine article from: Journal of Physical Oceanography; 9/1/2006; ; 700+ words ; ...water mass formation in the Aegean Sea that triggered the outflow...found that the central Aegean Basin is the site of the...arid periods in the Aegean Sea region, and to the enhanced...LSW) advected into the Aegean Sea. The enhanced salinity...
	Aegean Sea rivals make efforts to tide over feud.(World)(Briefing/Europe) Newspaper article from: The Washington Times; 10/22/2000; ; 700+ words ; ...in sight to the quarrel over the Aegean Sea shelf and the division of Cyprus...the island, the situation in the Aegean Sea has several times brought Greece...the facade of idyllic charm in the Aegean lie deep tensions over what constitutes...
	An Oligocene extrusion wedge of blueschist-facies nappes on Evia, Aegean Sea, Greece: implications for the early exhumation of high-pressure rocks Magazine article from: Journal of the Geological Society; 5/1/2007; ; 700+ words ; ...Blueschist Unit in other parts of the Aegean, because this would strongly imply...the island of Evia in the western Aegean Sea, blueschist-facies structures...have rarely been documented in the Aegean (Vandenberg & Lister 1996...
	Greek Leader Makes Use Of Aegean Sea Dispute; Even Critics Line Up Behind Papandreou Newspaper article from: The Washington Post; 3/31/1987; ; 700+ words ; ...socialist leader sought to provoke the Aegean crisis, there is widespread agreement...exploration in a disputed area of the Aegean Sea. The paper praised the government...ship, the Sismik-1, into the Aegean to begin seismic studies for oil...
	A Proposal for a Joint Maritime Development Regime in the Aegean Sea Magazine article from: Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce; 1/1/2006; ; 700+ words ; ...Greece and Turkey are separated by the Aegean Sea not only in geographical terms1 but...baselines, once proposed for Turkey's Aegean coasts, is challenged by Greece...now been engaged in talks on the Aegean issues since March 2002,12 but...
	The extensional Messaria shear zone and associated brittle detachment faults, Aegean Sea, Greece Magazine article from: Journal of the Geological Society; 7/1/2005; ; 700+ words ; ...from c. 15 km depth. Keywords: Aegean Sea, Greece, exhumation, extension...extending Hellenide orogen in the Aegean Sea of Greece (Fig. 1) exposes...Ring et al. 2001a). On some Aegean islands, the brittle detachments...
	Aegean Sea incident spurs anger in Greece; Turkey's bid to join EU seen at risk.(WORLD) Newspaper article from: The Washington Times; 6/5/2003; 700+ words ; ...of a "heated incident" over the Aegean Sea after airspace violations and hostile...and aggression from Turkey in the Aegean," said Greek Defense Minister Yiannos...will fly wherever they want over the Aegean Sea." Greece and Turkey, who are...
	Turkey Stages Military Exercise in Aegean Sea News Wire article from: Xinhua News Agency; 5/10/2001; 477 words ; ...maneuvers, code-named "Sea Lion 01," in international waters of the Aegean Sea on Thursday, the Anatolia...grew sour over dispute on the Aegean Sea. Greece on Tuesday expressed...Dodecanese chain in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Turkey rejected the flight...
	Island-hopping odyssey in the aegean sea Newspaper article from: South Wales Evening Post; 2/16/2008; 700+ words ; ...aware of the itinerary across the Aegean Sea on our ship, the Spirit of Adventure...berth in many small ports in the Aegean. That's not the only benefit...dolphins. Once into the sparkling Aegean, our first stop was Lesbos, the...
	Tanker threatens Spanish coastline. (Aegean Sea tanker leak) Newspaper article from: The Oil Daily; 12/4/1992; 700+ words ; LONDON -- The Greek oil tanker Aegean Sea, loaded with 12,000 bbl of crude...the Lloyds spokesman said. The Aegean Sea was surrounded by five tugs and...the port, the spokesman said. The Aegean Sea is a so-called ore-bulk...