Kara Sea
| Kara Sea | |
|---|---|
Map showing the location of the Kara Sea.
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| Location | Arctic Ocean |
| Coordinates | 77°N 77°E / 77°N 77°ECoordinates: 77°N 77°E / 77°N 77°E |
| Type | Sea |
| Basin countries | Russia |
| Surface area | 926,000 km2 (358,000 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 131 m (430 ft) |
| Water volume | 121,000 km3 (98×109 acre·ft) |
| Frozen | Practically all year round |
| References | |
The Kara Sea (Russian: Ка́рское мо́ре, Karskoye more) is part of the Arctic Ocean north of Siberia. It is separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. It is named for the Kara River (flowing into Baydaratskaya Bay), which is now relatively insignificant but which played an important role in the Russian conquest of northern Siberia. The word "kara" is derived from , which in several Turkic languages means "black" and also symbolizes "north".
The Kara Sea's northern limit is marked geographically by a line running from Cape Kohlsaat in Graham Bell Island, Franz Josef Land, to Cape Molotov (Arctic Cape), the northernmost point of Komsomolets Island in Severnaya Zemlya.
The Kara Sea is roughly 1,450 kilometres long and 970 kilometres wide with an area of around 880,000 km2 (339,770 sq mi) and a mean depth of 110 metres (360 ft).
Compared to the Barents Sea, which receives relatively warm currents from the Atlantic, the Kara Sea is much colder, remaining frozen for over nine months a year.
The Kara receives a large amount of fresh water from the Ob, Yenisei, Pyasina, and Taimyra rivers, so its salinity is variable.
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