The Bering Sea is one of the marginal seas in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean. It along with the Bering Strait acts as a partition for the continents of North America and Asia. Apart from that, it also boasts of several interesting facts.
A Russian explorer Semyon Dezhnyov was the first European to visit in 1648. But the Bering Sea and the strait is named after Vitus Bering, a Danish captain who explored the area in 1728 with Russian soldiers.
The Bering Sea covers an area of more than 2 million square km. It can be divided into 2 equal areas, one with a shallow area and the other deeper.
The deeper area of the Bering Sea is divided into 3 basins – the Aleutian Basin, Komandor Basin, and Bowers Basin. The deepest point is at a depth of 4,097 m in the Bowers Basin.
Zhemchug Canyon, located at the center of the Bering Sea, is the largest and deepest underwater canyon. There are 15 more submarine canyons in the sea.
The Bering Sea gets most of its water from the Pacific Ocean. The salinity of the water increases as you go deeper into the sea.
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The Bering Sea boasts of several islands like Diomede, King, Pribilof, St. Lawrence, Hagemeister, Sledge, Komandorski, Nunivak, etc.
Bering Sea is considered as one of the best fishing grounds in the world with 400+ fish species and producing nearly $1 billion worth of seafood for the USA. It provides habitat to fish like salmon, Pacific cod, halibut, herring, etc.
The Bering Sea area is also known for its wildlife. From varied whale species and rare species like the North Pacific right whale, marine mammals like polar bears, to almost 30+ species of seabirds.
Unfortunately, endemic species of Bering Sea like the Steller’s Sea Cow, Spectacled Cormorant, and the Bering Canada Goose are now extinct due to human exploitation.
Apart from the animal life, the Bering Sea is also rich in floating plant life with 160+ plant species. These plants act as a food source for various animals or birds in this habitat.
The Bering Sea is known for protracted storms, which are caused due to the collision of warm Pacific waters and the cold Arctic Ocean. It is one of the most difficult water bodies to navigate, in the world.
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The Bering Sea comes under the jurisdiction of both the United States and Russia. The middle region is known as the ‘Donut hole’ and is considered as international waters.
Anadyr is the largest city on the shores of the Bering Sea and is home to 15,000 people. Gulf of Anadyr, Norton Sound, and Bristol Bay are the largest engulfment.
It is believed that the Bering Strait came into existence in the most recent ice age. The sea level went considerably low which resulted in humans and animals moving on foot to North America from Asia.
A meteor with a diameter of 32 feet and weighing 1,500 tons, exploded 25 kilometers above the surface of the Bering Sea on Dec 18, 2018.