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What are the seven seas?


To the ancients, "seven" often meant "many," and before the fifteenth century, the many seas of the world were:

  • the Red Sea
  • the Mediterranean Sea
  • the Persian Gulf
  • the Black Sea
  • the Adriatic Sea
  • the Caspian Sea
  • the Indian Ocean
Today, the world ocean is generally divided into four main oceans:

  • the Arctic Ocean
  • the Atlantic Ocean
  • the Indian Ocean
  • the Pacific Ocean
In addition, there are numerous smaller seas and gulfs.

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Last updated 31 December 1997


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