Levantine Sea

The Levantine Sea is a special part of the Mediterranean Sea. It sits at the very eastern edge of that large sea.

Many different lands touch its shores. Turkey sits to the north and northeast. To the east, you will find Syria, Lebanon, and Israel and Palestine. Egypt lies to the south. The Aegean Sea is found to the northwest. The largest island in this part of the water is Cyprus. The sea is very deep in some spots. The deepest place is called the Pliny Trench. It is located south of the island of Crete.

Different parts of the sea have their own names. The water between Cyprus and Turkey is called the Cilician Sea. You can also find two large bays in the north. These are the Gulf of İskenderun and the Gulf of Antalya. Deep areas under the water are called basins. One is the Nile Delta Basin. Another is the Herodotus Basin. This basin might hold the oldest ocean crust in the world. Scientists believe it could be 340 million years old. There is also a place called the Leviathan gas field in the southeast.

In 1869, a big change happened for this sea. Engineers finished the Suez Canal. This path connects the Levantine Sea to the Red Sea. The Red Sea sits at a higher level than the Mediterranean. This means water flows through the canal into the sea. This movement allows plants and animals to move between the two seas. This is called the Lessepsian migration. It is named after Ferdinand de Lesseps, who was the chief engineer. For a long time, very salty lakes called the Bitter Lakes stopped this movement. Now, the salt levels have changed, and more species are moving in.

The Nile River is another important part of this area. It flows into the sea and brings fresh water. It also carries silt, which is fine dirt from the land. In the 1960s, a large structure called the Aswan High Dam was built. This dam sits across the Nile River. It helps farmers in Egypt grow more food. However, the dam also changes how the river reaches the sea. It reduces the amount of fresh water and silt that flows into the ocean. This makes the Levantine Sea a bit saltier and gives it fewer nutrients.

These changes in the water affect the living things there. The less silt and fresh water in the sea can be hard for some. For example, it has hurt the morning sardine catches in fishing nets. But these changes also help different types of life. Many species from the Red Sea are now moving into the eastern Mediterranean. The sea is always changing because of the rivers and canals nearby. It is a place where land and water meet in many ways.

The map shows where these different areas sit.