inland sea partly separating the Asiatic and European parts of Turkey. It is connected through the Bosporus on the northeast with the Black Sea and through the Dardanelles on the southwest with the Aegean Sea. It is 175 miles (280 km) long from northeast to southwest and nearly 50 miles (80 km) wide at its greatest width. Despite its small area, 4,382 square miles (11,350 square km), its average depth is about 1,620 feet (494 m), reaching a maximum of 4,446 feet (1,355 m) in the centre. It has no strong currents. Salinity, which averages 22 parts per thousand, is greatest at the end nearest the Dardanelles. The sea was formed as a result of crustal movements that occurred approximately 2,500,000 years ago, in the Late Pliocene Epoch. It is an area of frequent earthquakes.

The sea has two distinct island groups. The first is the Kızıl Islands in the northeast near Istanbul; these islands are primarily resort areas. The second group consists of the Marmara islands proper in the southwest, off Kapıdagı Peninsula; these have granite, slate, and marble that have been quarried since antiquity—hence the sea's name (Greek marmaros, “marble”).