Talk:Inland sea

Inland sea
This page should have a list of current inland seas. Is there any referenceable listing of such? The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language describes Hudson Bay as an inland sea (but I don't know how authoritative the AHD is on hydrographical topics); the Hudson is much larger than the Caspian Sea, making it, I would assume, the largest in the world. - Jeff Worthington 14:52, 26 November 2006 (UTC)

The issue raised here has never been addressed. In fact this article contradicts the "Hudson Bay" article, which asserts that Hudson Bay "is relatively shallow and is considered an epicontinental sea," providing a link to this article. Ishboyfay (talk) 05:06, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

It's my understanding that inland-sea-related transgressions & regressions involve relatively rapid changes in coastline, which in the last 15,000 years or so is entirely due to melting glaciers. The North Sea and the Japanese Inland Sea both have an average depth under 100m and were dry during the height of the last ice age, so they would qualify. Hudson Bay is a little deeper and was under ice anyway, so it might not quite fit the definition. Rskurat (talk) 06:24, 21 January 2016 (UTC)

Definition of a Sea?
I understand that a body must be composed of salt water to be considered a sea. Since the Great Lakes are (or would naturally be) fresh water, should they really be listed as examples of the phenomenon? 24.89.207.7 17:49, 17 March 2007 (UTC)
 * No, they are the relics of glacial lakes, not of marine incursion. --Wetman 23:01, 17 March 2007 (UTC)
 * So, given the fact that the Great Lakes are listed in this article currently as examples, would it be appropriate to remove them? 24.89.207.7 22:21, 21 March 2007 (UTC)
 * No, they've been deleted now. All in agreement? --Wetman 20:15, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

How do you consider Zealandia and the Mascarene Plateau to be inland seas? They're not marine incursions into continents' centers; they're flooding of almost entire continents! They don't seem to fit the definition. Do you have any references that list them in this category? Jeff Worthington 18:54, 10 August 2007 (UTC)
 * Good point, Jeff Worthington; they're in a footnote now. Better? --Wetman 20:15, 10 August 2007 (UTC)
 * Yes, Wetman (great name for this topic, BTW), thanks. Jeff Worthington 16:37, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

Other examples?
What about these bodies of water; Lake Chad (once an inland sea), the Salish Sea, the Inland Sea, the semi-enclosed Yatsushiro Sea and the ancient Tethys Ocean? Should they be listed? - Shiftchange (talk) 04:29, 30 December 2007 (UTC)


 * The Tethys Ocean was not an inland sea, but an open ocean (well, a succession of at least two oceans). Associated epeiric seas such as the so-called Tethys Seaway covering parts of Eurasia would seem to qualify, however. Orcoteuthis (talk) 18:54, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

Lake Chad is the remnant of a large pluvial endorheic lake that accumulated only because of the climate at the time; the Great Salt Lake is a similar remnant of Lake Bonneville. They probably started out as fresh water lakes and only became saline as the water concentrated, but still they were enormous, much much bigger than anything now. If salinity is a requirement, as well as communication with the ocean, then the Great Salt Lake is "just" a lake, while the Visayas Sea in the Philippines would be an inland sea. The Sibuyan Sea immediately to its north (and with which it shares tides & currrents) however, looks like an inland sea, but is over a thousand feet deep and would never dry out. The distinctions between inland sea, estuary, and large continental lake might require an edict from a Professor of Geography. Rskurat (talk) 07:04, 21 January 2016 (UTC)

Inland Sea
The usage of Inland Sea is under discussion, see Talk:Inland Sea. 65.95.14.96 (talk) 05:34, 19 February 2011 (UTC)


 * This discussion now includes the possibility of this page's title (Inland sea) being used for a disambiguation page, with this article moving to Inland sea (geology) to make way. This is not a formal move request (yet), but one is not unlikely. Your views would be very welcome. Thryduulf (talk) 08:49, 25 February 2011 (UTC)


 * I moved this page to "Inland sea (geology)" because maintaining separate pages named "Inland sea" and "Inland Sea" struck me as unnecessarily confusing. Kauffner (talk) 06:01, 6 March 2011 (UTC)

Merge from Epeiric sea
I've suggested that Epeiric sea be merged here, as both articles cover the same topic, and this title is the user-friendly one. (The other would remain as a redirect for our Greek-literate readers).--Wetman (talk) 18:43, 25 May 2011 (UTC)


 * I think the two are different. Inland sea being a sea in the 'centre' of a continent while Epeiric seas (such as the north sea) are not really 'inland' though they do cover the margin of a continent - basically it looks the merge would mean that any sea which is entirely continental shelf - would be an 'inland sea' - what's the definition of sea as opposed to ocean, are all seas "epeiric" unless they are "inland" ? I think the Sea article needs a clarification what defines it as a sea rather than an ocean- the Borders_of_the_oceans article says this "Geologically, an ocean is an area of oceanic crust covered by water" and seems to cover most of the questions very well. It lists there being 3 oceans it calls several 'seas' salt lakes, I guess they might be 'inland seas' ? EdwardLane (talk) 09:29, 29 September 2011 (UTC)


 * Merge. Geologically an epeiric sea is an inland sea. The articles aren't about oceans, but areas of continental crust covered by sea water whether having a direct connection to an ocean or not. They arise either thru sea level fluctuations or tectonic uplift or subsidence. Vsmith (talk) 14:26, 29 September 2011 (UTC)


 * Hi Vsmith, Doesn't that definition (based on the overview in Borders_of_the_oceans) mean all 'seas' are 'inland/epeiric' apart from the mediteranean, caspian and black? - so shouldn't it all merge into the 'sea' article? EdwardLane (talk) 11:14, 30 September 2011 (UTC)
 * this should go with sea, why is it here in full form 38.92.150.135 (talk) 04:00, 27 March 2023 (UTC)

= Origin of the Australian misconception =

There seem to be a grain of truth behind the idea of the “Great Australian Inland Sea”. Flash floods due to rain storms sometimes occur in the area in question. I have read that one such was captured on a satellite photo on the 6th of February 1974. Is this satellite photo found anywhere on the Net? If so, where?

2015-01-03 Lena Synnerholm, Märsta, Sweden. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.114.158.174 (talk) 20:11, 3 January 2015 (UTC)

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Did the K-salt deposits come from plants capturing K and dying off and leaving huge deposits?
In the article on potassium mines it reads, most K comes from deep mines made up of potassium salt deposits. In potash, it reads: ""Most of the world reserves of potassium (K) were deposited as sea water in ancient inland oceans.", but where does it come from? Does it come from the sea plants capturing all that K or it is dissolved out of rocks into water? Thy, SvenAERTS (talk) 04:08, 12 December 2022 (UTC)