1121 



BLACK SEA. 



BLACK SEA. 



1122 



probably no portion of the ocean which receives the drainage of a 

 greater extent of country than the Black Sea. By far the greatest 

 part of its basin belongs to Europe. This portion may be indicated 

 by lines drawn from Constantinople to the sources of the Inn, thence 

 to those of the Dnieper, and then to those of the Medwidicza, a 

 branch of the Don rising near Saratow. From Saratow the boundary 

 runs near the banks of the Volga, and approaching the shores of the 

 Caspian Sea at the sources of the Mauish, terminates at the eastern 

 extremity of the Black Sea. The countries included by these lines 

 occupy an area exceeding 860,000 square miles, and consequently 

 nearly one-fifth of the whole surface of Europe. This extensive 

 surface is drained by numerous large rivers, among which are the 

 Danube and the Dnieper, the largest rivers of Europe, if we except 



e Volga. That part of the basin of the Black Sea which is 

 considered as lying in Asia probably contains somewhat less than 

 100,000 square miles. A large portion of the drainage of the eastern 

 slope of the Caucasus is carried into the Black Sea by the Kuban ; on 

 stern slope there are no rivers worth naming, except the Rion, 

 or Phanis. South of the Phasis the basin of the sea extends still 

 only ittle way from the shore, merely including the basin of the 

 Cliori Sn, which drains the northern slopes of the Armenian 

 continuations of the Anti-Taurus. In Asia Minor the basin of the 

 Black Sea includes all the countries drained by the Yeshil, the Kizil, 

 the Saknriyeh, and numerous other rivers, and .is bounded by the 

 range of the Anti-Taurus, which runs southward from the Almali- 

 Dagh to the Arjish-Dagh, near Kaisariyeh. Thence the boundary 

 sweeps round to the north-west at a little distance from the left bank 

 of the Kizil, along the Kojah-Dagh ; then to the west along the 

 Karajah-Dagh to the Emir-Dagh and the highlands that connect this 

 range with the Morad-Dagh. Here the boundary takes a northern 

 direction along the crest of a secondary range that strikes Mount 

 Olympus about 50 miles west of the Sakariyeh ; it then follows at a 

 small distance the shores of the Sea of Marmara, and terminates on 

 the Bosporus, or Strait of Constantinople. 



As the basin of the sea comprehends 960,000 square miles, and its 

 surface only 170,000. square miles, it follows that each square mile of 

 this sea receives the drainage of 5J square miles, besides the rain-fall 

 on its own area. This will account for the small degree of saltness of 

 its waters. Their specific gravity compared with that of fresh-water 

 is 1142 to 1000. The water of the Atlantic is 1288 ; but it contains 

 more salt than the water of the Baltic, the specific gravity of which 

 is only about 1039 or 1042. 



The shores of the Euxine present a very varied aspect. From the 

 Bosporus eastward the coast is rather low as far as Cape Baba, though 

 the hills arn never far from the coast. From Cape Baba to Cape 

 Karempe (Cararnbis), and hence to Sinup (Sinope), and even to the 

 mouth of the Kizil the highlands advance close to the shore : then 

 follows as far as Cape Yasoun (the Jasonium of the Greek geogra- 

 phers) a low shore, the formation of which is ascribed to the alluvial 

 deposits of the three rivers, the Kizil, the Yeshil, and the Thermeh, 

 which empty themselves into the sea within these limits. To the east 

 of Cape Yasoun, up to the mouth of the llion, and hence to Anapa, to 

 which place the western extremity of Mount Caucasus extends, the 

 coast is alternately low and high, the offsets of the mountains which 

 inclose the sea at no great distance advancing frequently to the very 

 shores. The shores of the island of Tainan, which on the west 

 advance* to the Strait of Yenikale', are very low and marshy. But 

 though the peninsula of Kertch, which forms the opposite shore of 

 the strait, rises to a considerable elevation, the coast continues low 

 and Kandy as far as the town of Kaffa. West of Kaffa however the 

 mountain range of the Yaila rises to a considerable height and skirts 

 the shore to Sevastopol, so that in some places to the east of 

 'Sevastopol it rises to some hundred feet, and in the promontory of 

 Aia (the ancient Kriou Metopon) to above 1000 feet. This Cape Aia 

 i opposite Cape Kerempe in Asia Minor, and there is a story, as old 

 as Strabo, that a ship sailing midway between them is within view of 

 both. This statement, as well as that of Rennell in his ' Geography 

 if Herodotus' that the highland of the Crimea is visible from 

 Carambii, seems totally incredible when we consider the distance 

 and that Cape Kerempe is not remarkable for its height. The 

 remainder of the shore, as far as the mouth of the Danube, is low and 

 sandy, and continues so to Mangali (about 43" 53' N. lat.), north of 

 Cape Shabla, where the western offsets of the Balkan Mountains 

 approach the sea. Here the shore becomes rocky, but does not rise so 

 high as between the port of Varna and Cape Einineh. South of this 

 cape the rocky shore continues to the Strait of Constantinople, but 

 risen to a moderate height only in a few places. 



The navigation of the Black Sea is neither difficult nor dangerous : 



it is ahnoxt entirely free from islands and rocks. In its whole extent 



there is only one small island, called Oulan Adaui, or Serpent's 



'. which is supposed to be the ancient Leuk(5, or Achillis Insula, 



to which Thetia, according to the ancient legend, transported the 



l.'.dy of Arhilli-i. The geographical position of Oulan Adassi, which 



in also called Zmievoi, i 45" 15' N. lat., 30" 10' E. long. There is a 



ii>ne upon it, and lying under 45" 15' N. lat. at a consi- 



ila distance from the western shore. Rocks occur only near 



.lit 60 miles east of the Bosporus; nor are shoals 



fr."|ii'iit. They are only found near the Str.iit of Constantinople; 



also near Sinup, and at the mouth of the Dnieper, of which the first, 

 called the sands of Domusderd, extend three miles, gradually deepen- 

 ing. In all the other parts the Black Sea is rather deep, the bottom 

 of it not having been found with lines of 120 and 140 fathoms, except 

 towards the coast, where at a distance of two or three miles it varies 

 from 20 to 30 fathoms, and in many places, as off the mouth of the 

 Danube, the soundings decrease so gradually and exactly, that the 

 distance from the shore may be known by soundings within half a 

 mile. It is remarkable that exactly in this part of the Black Sea a 

 bank is placed by Polybius, which, as he says, extends for more than 

 a thousand stadia in length, and on which vessels often ran aground 

 by night. But Arrian, in his ' Periplus of the Euxine,' does not men- 

 tion it, and we must, for this and other reasons, suppose that Polybius 

 was misinformed, or else that the alluvial deposits of the Danube have 

 in the course of ages converted it into dry land and connected it with 

 the continent. 



There is no sensible tide in this sea. Storms are not uncommon, 

 but they are never of long duration. The sea is however short and 

 troublesome, more especially about the entrance of the channel of 

 Constantinople. In summer the prevailing winds blow from north- 

 east and north, but in the sea these winds are more variable than in 

 the channel itself, where they are almost constant during the whole 

 summer, and ships sometimes lie here wind-bound for three months. 

 These northern or north-eastern winds extend as far as the island of 

 Tenedos in the Archipelago. In autumn, winter, and spring the winds 

 are often southerly and various. 



Another disadvantage to navigation arises from some of the northern 

 ports being frozen up from the end of December or the beginning of 

 January to the end of February or the beginning of March. This is 

 always the case with the ports between the Crimea and Odessa. The 

 harbour of Odessa is not often frozen up, but the navigation is ren- 

 dered unsafe during a considerable time by drift ice. Kaffa is open 

 and safe all the year, though the Strait of Yenikale' is completely 

 frozen over, and the navigation of the Sea of Azof is impracticable 

 during the whole winter. [AZOF.] Sevastopol and the other ports of 

 the Crimea are never frozen. 



By far the greatest quantity of water is received by the Black Sea 

 at its north-western corner, where the Dnieper, Bog, Dniester, and 

 Danube fall into it. Most of the countries through which these rivers 

 run are covered for three or four months of the year with snow ; and 

 in spring-time all the moisture which has descended on them during 

 the winter, and has been preserved in a solid state, suddenly dissolves 

 and descends in the channels of the rivers with great velocity and in 

 an immense volume. It then produces a very rapid current along the 

 western shores from the mouth of the Dnieper to the channel of Con- 

 stantinople : this current always exists, and is strong, especially in 

 summer, during the prevalence of the northern and north-eastern 

 winds. The accumulation of the waters towards the Strait of Con- 

 stantinople is so great that the Bosporus is not able to carry off all of 

 it, and a portion is pressed against the coast of Anatolia, where it 

 gives rise to another current running eastward, as to which however 

 it is not certain whether it is constant or not. Rennell is inclined to 

 think that a current runs round the whole of the Black Sea with a 

 varying degree of velocity, and at no great distance from the shore. 



Harbours are numerous. The principal are Burgaz and Varna ; 

 the mouths of the Danube [BESSARABIA ; DANUBE] ; Akerman, on 

 the sestuary or Liman of the Dniester; Odessa; Nicolaiev and 

 Kherson, on the Bog and Dnieper ; the Bay of Kilburn ; in the 

 Crimea . Eupatoria or Koslow, Sevastopol, Balaclava, and Kaffa. On 

 the eastern shore there are a few anchorages, but no good harbour 

 except Batum, which is sheltered by the tongue of land formed by the 

 deposits of the Choruk-Su. [ARMENIA.] On the coast of Anatolia are 

 the harbours of Trebizond, Tereboli, Kerasun, Samsun, Sinup, Ineboli, 

 Erekli, and Kerpen. 



The Black Sea was navigated at an early period by the Greeks. 

 The discovery of the channel which leads to it from the Archipelago 

 is probably indicated by the fable of Helle and Phrixus ; and the first 

 voyage to it in the expedition of Jason. At a later period the Greeks, 

 and more especially the Ionian Greeks of Miletus, formed numerous 

 establishments along its shores, from which they exported slaves, 

 cattle, and corn in great quantities. The ports of the Crimea, 

 Panticapasmm, and Theodosia, and the region near the Borysthenes 

 exported large quantities of corn to Athens and the Peloponnesus, 

 which trade we find mentioned in Herodotus (vii. 147) as existing at 

 the time of the invasion of Xerxes, B.C. 480. Under the Romans the 

 shores of the Euxine became pretty well known, and a ' Periplus ' or 

 survey of this sea is among the works attributed to Arriau. In the 

 times of the Byzantine emperors, Constantinople drew from its basin 

 a considerable part of its provision ; and in the 12th century the 

 Genoese formed some establishments on its north-eastern coast, espe- 

 cially at Kaffa, and carried on a very active commerce overland with 

 India. But when Constantinople was taken by the Turks, the com- 

 merce and navigation of the Black Sea were nearly annihilated, their 

 policy being averse to permitting foreign vessels to pass the Strait of 

 Constantinople. Thus the Black Sea remained closed to sea- 

 faring nations for two centuries. But when the northern shores had 

 fallen into the hands of the Russians they wished to procure a free 

 trade to the ports of the Mediterranean, and they obtained their 



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