Nobody knows exactly how many seas there are in the world. But at the moment, the old categorization of Seven Seas is used to describe all seas. There are 7 seas or large masses of water in the world according to ancient beliefs. These included the Arctic, the North Atlantic, the South Atlantic, the North Pacific, the South Pacific, the Indian Ocean, and the Southern Oceans.
Table of Contents
Why the answer to how many seas are there in the world constantly changes
From ancient times, navigation and exploration have lead people to think about the number of seas. But this has changed from the classic ‘7 seas’ when America was discovered. But today, things are a bit confusing given seas are defined differently.
There are 50 seas when counting by the book
A sea is a mass of water partially or surrounded by land. If you count these bodies of water, you will discover there are 50 seas around the world. But even this number can suffer modifications. Take the Gulf of Mexico as an example. The water mass here isn’t considered a sea.
Then there are the completely landlocked seas. They include the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. But the Caspian Sea is also the world’s largest lake, so it wouldn’t count as a sea in all statistics.
Even oceanographers can’t exactly name the number of seas in the world. Some count only masses of saltwater as seas. Others are inclined to call landlocked seas lakes. However, some seas are established and accepted in their status by all oceanographers.
The number of seas in the world by region
You can count your seas to find out how many you can find. To avoid further confusion, you need to group these seas by region.
Atlantic Ocean
The actual Atlantic only covers about a third of the entire Atlantic Ocean. It includes multiple seas such as the Caribbean Sea and the Labrador Sea.
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean region is also an area with multiple seas. You can find the Kara Sea here together with the Queen Victoria Sea and the Greenland Sea. Characterized by the cold waters of the arctic, these seas are among the most difficult to sail.
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean area is located around the South Pole. It includes the Cooperation Sea and the Somov Sea among others. These seas are also less traveled given their remoteness.
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean also covers a vast Asian area. Bodies of saltwater here include the Arabian Sea and the Laccadive Sea.
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean covers a wide mass of water around the Americas. It includes the Bearing Sea, Grau Sea, and even the Gulf of Alaska.
In history, the number of seas constantly changed. Even the definition of seas as we know them is constantly changing as the scientific world interprets them differently. It’s worth knowing as much about these seas as possible if you’re passionate about geography. But all counts started on the ancient belief of 7 Seas.
