Seas within a Sea: The Mediterranean Quiz

Answer: Adriatic Sea

The Gulf of Venice, in Italy, is part of this sea's northwestern reach, while the Gulf of Manfredonia is somewhat near its middle and also part of Italy's coastline. The Gulf of Taranto is the body of water between the "toe" and "heel" at the end of Italy's boot-like peninsula.

There are over a thousand islands in the Adriatic Sea, most of them belonging to Croatia. They are a significant factor when calculating Croatia's surprisingly lengthy coastline. By the International Hydrographic Organization's (IHO) definition even the Greek island of Corfu is within the Adriatic, though it is slightly south of the Strait of Otranto, a 72 km (45 mi) strait between Italy and Albania.

Answer: Aegean Sea

The Aegean Sea has been known as "Archipelago", meaning "chief sea" in Greek, though this word has evolved in the English language to refer to a chain of islands, like the islands within the Aegean. It is more or less bordered by the Sea of Crete to the south, where these waters meet the general Mediterranean. Two modern regions of Greece take its name from this sea, the North Aegean and South Aegean.

Answer: Balearic Sea

The Balearic Islands are part of a province of Spain known for cuisine which includes traditional sausages like sobrassada and botifarró as well as Mahón cheese. The latter is named after Mahón, a port and capital city of the island Minorca. The capital city of the Balearic Islands as a province is Palma, found on the island Majorca.

The Balearic Sea may also go by the name Iberian Sea in reference to its location off the coast of the Iberian Peninsula, which includes Spain, Portugal, and Andorra.

Answer: Tyrrhenian Sea

The name of this sea comes from an ancient area of central Italy which was once called Etruria (Tyrrhenia in Greek and Latin). This civilization existed perhaps as early as the ninth century BC and its people were called Etruscans.

There is a massive submarine volcano, called Marsili, beneath the surface of the ocean in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea. While it is about 3000 m (9800 ft) high, it is still 450 m or so below the surface. Despite being in the depths of the ocean, volcanologists believe it could erupt at any time, causing tsunamis along the Italian coast.

Answer: Ligurian Sea

The region of Liguria, particularly its capital city Genoa, is also the 'birthplace' of pesto sauce, often a green sauce colored by crushed basil. Malta, not part of Italy, lends its name to the Malta Channel, while the city of Venice shares its name with the Gulf of Venice, part of the Adriatic Sea. The Italian region of Umbria is landlocked by Tuscany, Marche, and Lazio.

Answer: Thracian Sea

The Thracian Sea is the northernmost extension of the Aegean Sea. It is bordered by the land of Thrace, a historical region which has lent its name to a few modern administrative regions, such as "East Thrace" in Turkey and "East Macedonia and Thrace" in Greece.

Answer: Sea of Crete

Greece's largest island, Crete, is the location of two of the country's three aquariums. These are the Cretaquarium and Aquaworld Aquarium, the latter of which has a focus on housing rescued and unwanted animals and the former boasting over 250 species of animals from the Mediterranean region.

But you don't just have to go to an aquarium to see many of these marine animals, as the very seas around the island are home to large numbers of them. These include sea turtles, squids, hammerhead sharks, common stingrays, and the endangered Mediterranean monk seal.

Answer: Alboran Sea

The Alboran Sea, the westernmost portion of the Mediterranean, is to the south of Spain and to the north of Morocco and Algeria. It is somewhat enclosed by an arc of mountains on both the European and African sides, called the Gibraltar Arc. This is where Spain's highest peak, Mulhacén, is located on the European side.

Answer: Ionian Sea

The Ionian Sea is the location of the deepest part of the Mediterranean Sea, Calypso Deep, at a maximum of 5267 m (17,280 ft) deep. While it's close in depth to the deepest part of the Arctic Ocean (Litke Deep at 5450 m deep), this hardly compares to the Atlantic Ocean's greatest depth, 8468 m (28,373 ft) at Milwaukee Deep to the north of Puerto Rico.

The Ionian Sea is also the site of ferry routes between the Italian and Greek mainlands.

Answer: Levantine Sea

The name of this sea is taken from Levant, the Middle Eastern or, more specifically, Near Eastern region comprised of the countries Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan. It is a kind of confluence of the Middle East with Africa and the Asian/Mediterranean area made up of Turkey.

The name Levant is said to have originally meant "East", as from the French word "levant", meaning "rising", in reference to where the sun rises.