In total, Russia is washed by the waters of the twelve seas of three oceans. Also in Russia there is an inland Caspian Sea. In our country, there is a large commercial and industrial, as well as a navy. All natural resources of these seas are under state protection. Like other countries, Russia is struggling with pollution of the World Ocean, which occurs due to the release of oil and other harmful substances into its waters.
What oceans wash Russia from the north?
In fact, from the northern part, our Homeland is washed by the waters of only the Arctic Ocean. Six of its seas are washed by the shores of Russia. These are the Barents, White, Kara, Laptev, Chukchi and East Siberian Seas. All of them are marginal, and only the White Sea is the inland sea. They belong to shallow ones for the reason that they were formed by flooding the land area with ocean waters. The average depth of these seas is not more than 200 m.
The seas are separated by various mountain archipelagos and islands: these are Novaya Zemlya, Severnaya Zemlya, Wrangel Island, and also the Novosibirsk Islands. Therefore, the question "What oceans wash Russia from the north?" not quite correct. It is best to name one ocean and list its seas washing the northern territory of Russia.
Harsh Arctic Ocean
The territory of these seas is characterized by very severe climatic conditions. The water temperature is year-round low, and the sea’s ice coverage increases from west to east. Only a small piece of the Barents Sea is not covered by ice in winter. This is because a branch of the warm North Atlantic Current enters this territory. On this territory is located Murmansk - a port that never freezes.
Due to winds and currents, the ice floes of these seas are constantly moving, or drifting. When they collide, huge hummocks form, the height of which reaches 15-20 meters. There are especially many of them in the Kara and Chukchi Seas.
On the territory of the seas of the Arctic Ocean lies the Northern Sea Route, which is the shortest route from the western part of Russia to the Far East. Its length is about 5600 km.
What oceans wash Russia from the east?
From this part, our Motherland is washed by the seas of the Pacific Ocean, namely: Japan, Okhotsk and Bering. These seas are separated from the open ocean by islands. They are the largest and deepest in Russia. Through the straits of these seas there is an exchange of water with the Pacific Ocean. Here the periods of the ebb and flow are well manifested. The largest tides are characteristic of the Sea of Okhotsk. Here the tide can reach 14 meters.
Therefore, the answer to the question “What oceans wash Russia from the north and east?” will be the following: in the north, the border of the Russian Federation is washed by the seas of the Arctic Ocean, and in the east - the Pacific. Both in depth and in relief, the seabed of the Pacific Ocean fundamentally differs from the seas of the Arctic Ocean.
Interestingly, the total territory of the Bering Sea (about 2 million sq. Km) is even larger than the area of Saudi Arabia. In the Bering Sea there are about 400 species of various fish.
And over the Sea of Japan, waves are frequent, the height of which reaches ten meters. Hurricanes in autumn are especially frequent here. During severe storms, the waves rise even higher. About nine hundred types of fish inhabit its waters.
In the relief of these seas, one can clearly trace the outskirts of the continent, deep-sea basins, and the continental slope. The greatest depths of these seas are about 3.5-4 thousand m, and they are located near the island arcs that limit them. They have a large number of active volcanoes. Deep trenches are also located here, and severe tsunamis, earthquakes and seismic shocks are often observed at the border of lithospheric plates.
Pacific Features
The question of which oceans wash Russia is connected, first of all, with the peculiarities of their seas. Since the Pacific seas are located in the temperate climate zone, their waters are characterized by warmer temperatures. But in the cold season, chilled air from the continent is carried to these seas. Because of this, almost the entire territory of the Sea of Okhotsk, as well as sections of the Bering and Sea of Japan, are covered with ice.
The natural world of these seas is much richer than in the seas of the North Atlantic Ocean. In the Far East, a valuable animal lives - fur seal, as well as sea otter. Of great importance to the industry are salmon, cod, herring, mussels and crabs.
South and west coasts
What oceans wash Russia from the south and west? Here, the coast of Russia is dominated by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic includes the inland seas: the Baltic, Black and Azov. They are located deep on land and are practically not connected to the main ocean. These seas are quite warm. Their shores are important for the tourism industry. For a short period of time in winter, ice cover forms on the Azov Sea, as well as in the shallow parts of the Black and Caspian Seas.
Interestingly, the ancient Greeks were not inclined to give Azov such a high sea rank. They called it simply - Meotian Lake.
The youngest and shallowest is the Baltic Sea. Russia is washed by the waters of its two bays: Finnish and Gdansk. Sometimes strong winds raise the waters of the Gulf of Finland, which often causes flooding in St. Petersburg. Which oceans wash Russia is of great importance for industry. For example, in the Gulf of Finland, the following fish species are caught: herring, Baltic sprats, cod. The fauna of the Azov and Caspian seas is richer: for example, in the Caspian Sea there are up to 80% of the global stock of sturgeon fish.
The Gulf of Finland has many interesting features. For example, due to its fresh water in the 18-19th centuries, this body of water "sunk" a lot of ships. The wood from which they were made was not salted by its waters, and therefore the ships very quickly went to the bottom.