Seas, Gulfs and Lakes of the World

33 seas, gulfs and lakes — which countries border each sea, shrinking lakes, records and the seas in the news.

On this map (33)

Mediterranean · Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco … — Sea. Lebanon and Syria border it; Jordan and Iraq do not (UPSC 2017) — Jordan is the one that does not open to it (UPSC 2015)
Black Sea · Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia — Sea. Bulgaria borders it (UPSC 2004); Croatia does NOT (UPSC 2019)
Adriatic · Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia (Neum), Montenegro, Albania — Sea. Albania borders it ✓ (UPSC 2019); so do Croatia and Bosnia’s tiny Neum coast
Aegean · Greece | Turkey — Sea. Island-studded sea between Greece and Turkey; Dardanelles opens into it
Baltic · Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Denmark — Sea. Brackish, shallow, young sea — no volcanoes (UPSC 2001)
North Sea · UK, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France — Sea. Of Finland, Germany, Norway, Russia only Germany and Norway border it (UPSC 2024)
Caspian · Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Azerbaijan — Inland sea · world’s largest lake. World’s largest lake; Armenia does NOT border it (UPSC 2003)
Aral Sea · Kazakhstan | Uzbekistan — Inland lake · shrunk. Shrank to a fraction after the Amu Darya and Syr Darya were diverted for cotton ✓ (UPSC 2018)
Balkhash · Kazakhstan — Lake · half fresh, half salt. Western half fresh (Ili river), eastern half salty
Baikal · Russia (Siberia) — Lake · deepest. World’s deepest and oldest lake; holds ~20% of the world’s unfrozen fresh water
Persian Gulf · Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE — Gulf. Exit only through Hormuz
Red Sea · Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Yemen (+ Jordan, Israel at Aqaba) — Sea. Gets very little rain ✓ (UPSC 2024); Eritrea borders it (UPSC 2004); Syria does NOT (UPSC 2019)
Dead Sea · Jordan | Israel, West Bank — Salt lake · lowest point on land. Lowest land point on Earth (~430 m below sea level) — so water boils at the highest temperature there (UPSC 1992)
Gulf of Aden · Yemen | Somalia, Djibouti — Gulf. Piracy zone off Somalia; Indian Navy escorts ships here
Arabian Sea · India, Pakistan, Iran, Oman, Yemen, Somalia … — Sea. Saltier than the Bay of Bengal (high evaporation, few rivers)
Bay of Bengal · India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka — Bay. World’s largest bay; low salinity from the Ganga–Brahmaputra; most Indian cyclones form here
Andaman Sea · Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India (A&N) — Sea. The Mekong does NOT flow into it — it reaches the South China Sea (UPSC 2020)
South China Sea · China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia — Sea. Spratly and Paracel islands disputed; 2016 arbitration went against China’s “nine-dash line”
East China Sea · China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea — Sea. Senkaku / Diaoyu islands: China–Japan dispute ✓ (UPSC 2022)
Yellow Sea · China | North + South Korea — Sea. Named for the loess silt of the Huang He; Yellow Sea → China (UPSC 2004)
Sea of Japan · Japan, Russia, North + South Korea — Sea. Korea calls it the East Sea
Lake Victoria · Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania — Lake · largest in Africa. Largest lake in Africa; source of the White Nile
Tanganyika · Tanzania, DR Congo, Burundi, Zambia — Lake · rift valley. Longest freshwater lake, 2nd deepest — in the East African Rift
Lake Malawi · Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania — Lake · rift valley. Also called Nyasa; the southern end of the Western Rift lakes
Lake Chad · Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon — Lake · shrinking. Shrank by ~90% since the 1960s (drought + irrigation)
Faguibine · Mali — Lake · dried up. A West African lake that dried up and turned to desert ✓ (UPSC 2022)
Great Lakes · USA | Canada — Lakes · USA–Canada. Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, Ontario; Superior = largest freshwater lake by area
Lake Winnipeg · Canada — Lake. Lake Winnipeg → Canada (UPSC 2009)
Gulf of Mexico · USA, Mexico, Cuba — Gulf. Warm water that feeds the Gulf Stream and hurricanes; the US renamed it “Gulf of America” in 2025
Caribbean · Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, … Colombia, Venezuela — Sea. Grenada lies in the Caribbean (UPSC 1984); volcanic island arcs
Sargasso Sea · — (inside the North Atlantic gyre) — Sea without a coast. The only sea with no land border, ringed by currents; floating sargassum weed
Maracaibo · Venezuela — Lake · oil. Oil lake of Venezuela; Maracaibo = the oil port (UPSC 1999)
Titicaca · Peru | Bolivia — Lake · highest navigable. Highest navigable lake (~3,800 m) on the Altiplano

Asked in exams

UPSC 2017Mediterranean borders → Lebanon and Syria
UPSC 2015Does not open to the Mediterranean → Jordan
UPSC 2019Mediterranean – Morocco ✓
UPSC 2022Levant → eastern Mediterranean shores
UPSC 2019Black Sea – Croatia ✗
UPSC 2004Black Sea → Bulgaria
UPSC 2014Turkey lies between → Black Sea and Mediterranean
UPSC 2019Adriatic – Albania ✓
UPSC 2002Adriatic boundary → Albania, Bosnia, Croatia (not Macedonia)
UPSC 2001Volcanic eruptions do not occur in → the Baltic Sea
UPSC 2024North Sea borders → only two (Germany, Norway)
UPSC 2011Brent crude → a classification, from the North Sea
UPSC 2003Does not border the Caspian → Armenia
UPSC 1992Touches Iran → Caspian
UPSC 2020Volga → Caspian ✓
UPSC 2019Caspian – Kazakhstan ✓
UPSC 2018Shrunk by human activity → Aral Sea only
UPSC 2018Lake Baikal shrunk ✗
UPSC 2016Not a GCC member → Iran
UPSC 2024Red Sea gets very little precipitation ✓ (key: only statement 1)
UPSC 2004Red Sea → Eritrea
UPSC 2019Red Sea – Syria ✗
UPSC 1992Highest boiling point of water → Dead Sea
UPSC 2020Mekong — Andaman Sea ✗
UPSC 2022Senkaku → China–Japan dispute in the East China Sea
UPSC 2004Yellow Sea → China
UPSC 2000Lake on the Tanzania–Uganda boundary → Victoria
UPSC 2022West African lake turned to desert → Faguibine
UPSC 2009Lake Winnipeg → Canada
UPSC 1984Grenada → Caribbean Sea
UPSC 1999Venezuela oil port → Maracaibo

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