by notmrjohn on May 2nd, 2005
Size is important, Oceans ARE bigger than seas, ( smallest ocean Arctic 5,427,000 sq miles, largest sea Mediterranean 1,144,800 sq mi). But a sea is more or less enclosed and separated from the larger ocean by land.
The Mediterranean is completely surrounded by land with only the Straits of Gibraltar as an outlet, while the Bering Sea is separated from the Pacific to the south by only a narrow string of widely spaced islands. Seas generally are larger than gulfs, ( also "more or less enclosed and separated from the larger body of water by land.") but the Gulf of Mexico,615,000 sq mi ,is larger than the East China Sea, 482,300. Gulfs and seas are larger than bays (again "more or less enclosed and separated from the larger body of water by land.") "but The Bay of Bengal, 1,300,000 square miles is larger than the Mediterranean . A large inland saline lake without an outlet or connection to a larger body is also called a sea, such as the Caspian Sea, 152,239 square miles.. The Caspian, though saline and no outlet, is sometimes considered to be the world's largest LAKE, Lake Superior,largest fresh water body and with an outlet, 31,820 sq mi , is larger than the saline Dead Sea, 394 square miles. The Sea of Galilee is a small freshwater lake with a natural outlet, but it's called Sea anyway. Sometimes it's just a matter of what people call it, sea?
by Ganzy on November 7th, 2007
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SEAS AND OCEAN ARE:
THE OCEAN IS LARGER THAN THE SEAS, AND
SEAS IS PARTIALLY ENCLOSED BY LAND.
by Alatea on November 30th, 2005
Technically, all the world's oceans and seas are part of one continuous mass of seawater. Oceans are the largest uninterrupted expanses of water. Seas are usually smaller than oceans and are partially enclosed by land.
Side Note - The Caspian Sea is, strictly speaking, not really a sea but instead the world's largest lake.
by Glenn Blaylock on May 2nd, 2005
The difference is a matter of size. The oceans are much larger than the seas. In many cases, the seas are considered to be subdivisions within an ocean. For example, the North Sea and the Caribbean Sea are considered to be part of the Atlantic.
by Bruja. on September 28th, 2007
An ocean is larger than a sea, and its only because a sea is partially enclosed by land....
by Anonymous on July 20th, 2009
I think the difference between "sea" and "ocean" is in the first place one of size and importance. An ocean is always large, a sea can be large or small, but never so large as the ocean itself. An ocean tends to be open, a sea is usually (but not always) closed and can be in the hinterland, too. An ocean is always deep, the sea can be deep or shallow.
Also, etymologically speaking, "ocean" comes from Greek, whereas "sea" is a pure Germanic word. Therefore, "ocean" is a more learned term: oceanography, oceanology. An ocean is often something unknown and mysterious, whereas the sea seems to be something more knowable and palpable.
In many cases and contexts, the two words are interchangeable.
But technically, it seems, the ocean always includes the sea.
by Sunshine1 on January 31st, 2009
if this was asked in "deep thoughts" i wonder if the answers would have been any different?
Oceans sound deeper than seas... other than that i have no idea... sounds too much the same when you think about it as geography :)
by cakhoai on October 30th, 2008
Mediterranean is not the largest sea Mediterranean (2.5 million km²). The largest sea is South China Sea (3.5 million km²).
by KobesQuas on October 14th, 2008
Seas are much gayer then oceans. Oceans aref famous 2
by elai on April 24th, 2008
Oceans are larger than seas in terms of size but actually they are the same because seas are large expanses of saline water connected with an ocean.
by Anonymous on September 28th, 2007
An ocean is larger in area than a sea
by Gideon on September 13th, 2007
From http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/env99/env131.htm
It's not a rigid definition. Seas are delineated by land masses, whether or not they are largely enclosed. They should also communicate with the ocean.
The Meditteranean and Black seas qualify here, because saltwater actually flows IN to both those bodies of water. The Caspian Sea is, strictly speaking, not really a sea but instead the world's largest lake. Why aren't the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of California, Hudson Bay, and the Bay of Bengal not called seas? No real reason. It's just a matter of names. If
different people had named them, they might have been called seas.
by iheartoceanography on September 13th, 2007
The ocean covers a large amount of space and is shared by many different places and countries. A sea, usually much smaller in size than an ocean, belongs to a certain area and is named so. Therefore, the ocean is shared by many and a sea is shared by few.
by renato on September 9th, 2007
ocean are deeper than sea,and also ocean are bigger than sea.
by DRLAURAHATER on August 17th, 2007
Seas are smaller then Oceans
by Wideout on August 17th, 2007
It's semantics really. When the oceans and seas were originally named, they didn't have the benefit of seeing the world on the scale that we now see it. So they gave it their best guess whether it was an ocean, sea, gulf, whatever. Really, it's just a name.
by nj6666 on April 2nd, 2007
oceans are bigger than seas
by dave1945 on February 2nd, 2007
seas divide countries oceans divide continents
by Granny on April 7th, 2007
According to:
http://school.discovery.com/schooladventures/planetocean/ocean.html
"You've heard of "one world?" Well, technically, all the world's oceans and seas are part of one continuous mass of seawater. But because the ocean is so big, humans have divided it up and named the different parts. There are five oceans and several dozen seas.* Seas are usually smaller than oceans and are partially enclosed by land. But otherwise, they're exactly the same thing."
Hope I've been some help. Welcome to AB!
by singwell-is off researching a lot on April 7th, 2007
In reality, there is no difference. They are two words that mean exactly the same thing. The word "ocean" comes from the Latin "oceanus" and "sea" comes from the Germanic word "see". English is a Germanic language in origin, but has absorbed over half its vocabulary from latin, either directly or via French, due to its history (the Norman invasion 1066 and the influence of the Roman catholic church). So, often there are two words for the same thing. In the Middle Ages, the Latin based words were more used by the upper classes and the Germanic ones by the lower, but, as the classes mixed and the Norman Invasion became part of history, the two words would be used interchangably.
by royal77 says hello friend on July 22nd, 2009
Ocean are larger than seas.
Is it possible to get high off of seaweed?
by Pontiac25 on December 9th, 2009
| 3 people like this
What makes the Black Sea so unique?
by Kewl Guy - has gone 360 on November 21st, 2009
| 5 people like this
What is the the most frequent starter for a tsunami?
by littlekid on February 25th, 2009
| 3 people like this
If you took all of the man-made objects from the ocean (boats, ships, planes, litter, etc, etc), would there be a noticeable drop in the world's see levels? If so, might this at least partly account for see level increases attributed to global warming?
by Tonibee on August 4th, 2009
| 5 people like this
Tell me what you know about the sea?
by Sunshine1 on January 19th, 2009
| 5 people like this
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Whats the difference between an ocean and a sea?
What is the difference between ocean and sea?
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Comments
Another divergence from your definition is the Arabian Sea. It's not surrounded by land.
by Glenn Blaylock on May 3rd, 2005
by pickle4u on December 4th, 2005
very good!like the pun at the end...
by cockles73 on February 4th, 2010