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Turkish
MARMARA DENIZI, historically PROPONTIS, inland sea partly separating the
Asiatic and European parts of Turkey. It is connected through the Bosphorus
on the northeast with the Black Sea and through the Dardanelles on the
southwest with the Aegean Sea. It is 175 miles (280 km) long from northeast
to southwest and nearly 50 miles (80 km) wide at its greatest width. Despite
its small area, 4,382 square miles (11,350 square km), its average depth
is about 1,620 feet (494 m), reaching a maximum of 4,446 feet (1,355 m)
in the center. It has no strong currents. Salinity, which averages 22
parts per thousand, is greatest at the end nearest the Dardanelles. The
sea was formed as a result of crystal movements that occurred approximately
2,500,000 years ago, in the Late Pliocene Epoch. It is an area of frequent
earthquakes.
The sea has two distinct island groups. The
first is the Kizil Islands in the northeast near Istanbul;
these islands are primarily resort areas. The second group consists of
the Marmara islands proper in the southwest, off Kapidagi
Peninsula; these have granite, slate, and marble that have been quarried
since antiquity hence the sea's name (Greek marmaros, "marble").
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