The A, B, Cs of the Seven Seas Quiz

Answer: Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean was important to developing civilizations in the ancient world, such as Egypt, Greece, Rome, lands in north Africa such as Carthage, and the Phoenicians of the Near East. Seafaring helped them trade with others, exchange ideas, and sometimes wage war.

Answer: The climate

Surrounding countries such as Russia and Ukraine and other eastern European countries have harsh winters, so the mild climate with resorts around the Black Sea make a welcome winter vacation spot for many. Sunny days in winter are a welcome change from winter's icy fingers.

Answer: Ross Sea

The Ross Sea was discovered by James Ross in 1841. It is a southern part of the Pacific Ocean and reaches into the Antarctic Continent. It is a shallow sea, mostly less than 3,000 feet deep.

Answer: Sea of Tranquility/Moon

Apollo 11 landed at the Sea of Tranquility in 1969, and Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a momentous occasion. Buzz Aldrin also stepped out there on the same journey.

Of course it wasn't a sea with water, but basalt. The site had been named Mare Tranquillitatis (Latin) in 1651 by two astronomers, Grimaldi and Riccioli on their lunar map. Mare is latin for sea. This name may reflect that this sea on the moon, has a slight bluish color that may have looked like water.

Answer: True

The Red Sea has almost always been important - to the people of today, as well as ancient civilizations. Ancient people such as the Egyptians, the Persians and the Greeks used the sea for travel and trading. Canals were built between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean as early as the 4th century B.C. The ancient canals didn't last long, however, as sand was a major problem.

Answer: The Southern Ocean

Created by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), the Southern Ocean completely surrounds Antarctica. This creation was voted on by the non-landlocked countries of the world, and they all approved it except Argentina.

Some of the many seas included in the Southern Ocean, are the Ross Sea, Amundsen Sea and the Weddell Sea. There are at least eleven others, with changes always possible.

Answer: Tasman Sea

In 1642 a Dutch explorer, Abel Tasman, sailed the sea that would become known as the Tasman Sea. Later, in the 1770s, the great British explorer, Capt. James Cook, led a scientific expedition to the Pacific and explored the coasts of Australia and New Zealand. Along with Cook was botanist Joseph Banks who studied the plants of the areas and increased western knowledge of such species as eucalyptus, acacia and the genus, Banksia.

Due to the belt of westerly winds known as the "roaring" forties, the Tasman Sea is a stormy sea.

Answer: The White Sea

The White Sea ports were a major problem for Russia in the past, due to the ice covered conditions in winter. Located so far north, the waters in summer remain cold. It is fortunate that with progress, transportation on the White Sea has been improved with the development of icebreakers to keep the sea open in winter.

The fishing industry on the White Sea has been quite small although the sea supports many kinds of fish and some fur-bearing mammals. People of the far north find fur a warm and welcome item to wear, a necessity.

Answer: Bering Sea and Strait

The Bering Sea is the northern part of the Pacific Ocean. At the northern part of the Bering Sea is the Bering Strait, only about 53 miles across. It is believed that during an ice age, the sea was lowered and the Bering Strait became a land bridge joining Asia and North America. It seems likely that this land bridge enabled the earliest people of America to cross over from Asia.

The modern boundary line between Russia and the U.S. runs through the Bering Strait and Sea.

And, no, Sarah Palin didn't exactly say she could see Russia from her house. She said ""They're our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska".

Answer: False

The Yellow Sea is an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, north of the South China Sea.
The area has monsoons in the winter and typhoons in the summer, making the sea and its shores frequently stormy and foggy. The sea is west of the Koreas.

Some major Chinese rivers that drain into the Yellow Sea carry a yellow silt which affects the sea's color - hence its name.