The Black Sea

 The Black Sea is an inland sea which borders with The Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania.
 

The Strait of Kerch connects The Black Sea with the Sea of Azov  in the north. In the southwest, the Black Sea runs through the Bosporus  Strait, into the Sea of Marmara, out through the Dardanelles Strait and  finally discharging into the Aegean Sea.
 

Mountains border most of the coast of the Black Sea. Only in the north west there is sandy lowland instead of mountains.
 

The maximum width of the Black Sea is about 710 miles (1,140 km) and  width of  about 390 miles (630 km) covering an area of approximately  163,000² miles (422,000² km). It's greatest depth is 7,254 feet (2,211 m).
 

Because of the large amount of river water and precipitation, the  salinity of the Black Sea is only about 50% (18 to 18.5 parts per  thousand) of normal ocean waters (30 to 40 parts per thousand).
 

Below an average depth of approximately 1312 feet (400 meters) from the  surface, virtually no plant or animal life exists due to the lack of  oxygen needed to support the majority of marine life. This 'dead' water  accounts for over 90% of the sea's water volume
 

The Black Sea is important to shipping through it, especially due to it being nearly ice free through out the year.
 

The Black Sea is also home to important naval bases and also supports  commercial fishing fleets, however, during the 1980's and early 1990's,  due to over fishing and pollution, the commercial fishing industry has  been severely damaged.