Everything about The Sea Of Japan totally explained
The
Sea of Japan is a
marginal sea of the western
Pacific Ocean, bordered by
Japan,
Korea and
Russia and is referred to in
South Korea as the
East Sea. Like the
Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no
tides due to its nearly complete enclosure.
Physical characteristics
The Sea of Japan is bound by the Russian mainland and
Sakhalin island to the north, the
Korean Peninsula to the west, and the
Japanese islands of
Hokkaidō,
Honshū, and
Kyūshū to the east.
It is connected to other seas by five shallow
straits: the
Strait of Tartary between the
Asian mainland and Sakhalin;
La Perouse Strait between the islands of Sakhalin and Hokkaidō; the
Tsugaru Strait between the islands of Hokkaidō and Honshū; the
Kanmon Straits between the islands of Honshū and Kyūshū; and the
Korea Strait (genkainada) between the
Korean Peninsula and the island of Kyūshū. The Korea Strait is composed of the Western Channel and the
Tsushima Strait, on either side of
Tsushima Island.
- Deepest point: 3,742 meters below sea level
- Mean depth: 1,753 meters
- Surface area: about 978,000 km²
The sea has three major
basins: the
Yamato Basin in the southeast; the
Japan Basin in the north; and the
Tsushima Basin (Ulleung Basin) in the southwest. The Japan Basin has the deepest areas of the
sea, while the Tsushima Basin has the shallowest.
On the eastern shores, the
continental shelves of the sea are wide, but on the western shores, particularly along the Korean coast, they're narrow, averaging about 30 kilometres wide.
The Tsushima Warm Current, a branch of
Kuroshio Current, flows northward through the Korea Strait along the Japanese shore, and the Liman Cold Current flows southward through the Strait of Tartary along the Russian shore.
The Sea of Japan was once a
landlocked sea when the
land bridge of
East Asia existed.
Economy
The areas in the north and the southeast are rich
fishing grounds. The importance of the fishery in the sea is well illustrated by the
dispute between South Korea and Japan over
Liancourt Rocks. The sea is also important for its
mineral deposits, particularly
magnetite sands. There are also believed to be
natural gas and
petroleum fields. With the growth of East Asian economies, the Sea of Japan has become an increasingly important commercial waterway.
Biology
The last documented observation of the
Japanese Sea Lion (
Zalophus californianus japonicus) was a sighting of 50 or 60 individuals on Liancourt Rocks in 1951. These animals bred in flat, open, sandy beaches and were indigenous to the Northwest Pacific shores of Japan and the Korean Peninsula. Hunted to extinction by fishermen, there's some disagreement as to whether the Japanese Sea Lion were a distinct species or a subspecies of the
California Sea Lion.
Naming dispute
The name of the water is disputed. While
Sea of Japan is the commonly used term to refer to the sea amongst most other countries, both North Korea and South Korea have advocated for different names to be used, either instead of or concurrent with "Sea of Japan". North Korea proposes the "East Sea of Korea" while South Korea proposes the "East Sea", or the "Sea of Korea/Korean Sea" As a result of Korean objections to the name "Sea of Japan", some
English-language publications refer to it as "Sea of Japan (East Sea)", incorporating a version of the Korean name.
On August 27, 2007, both Korean states made proposals to the Ninth Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names instituted by the
United Nations, asking for the official adoption of their respective preferred names. The conference made no decision on the issue but called on all parties to find a commonly accepted solution. The chairman of the session stated that "individual countries couldn't impose specific names on the international community and standardization could only be promoted when a consensus existed". In practice, this meant that UN institutions would continue to use the name "Sea of Japan".
Further Information
Get more info on 'Sea Of Japan'.
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