Often people in a conversation mistakenly use the phrases "territory of the ocean", "on the territory of a reservoir". But these are water areas, and not territories at all, since we are not talking about land areas. Water areas can vary dramatically in size - from small pools created by man to huge oceans. So what are water areas? Let's figure it out!
Water area - what is it?
Ever since school in geography lessons, we have heard this concept. If we literally translate the concept from Latin, then "water area" is water, it comes from the Latin word aqua.
The water area can be near the ocean, lake, sea or seaport, bays, reservoirs, shallow lagoons, as well as near fjords - winding bays that cut into rocks, and other types of water bodies. From the point of view of geography, the water area is the space of a whole body of water or any limited section of the water surface.
The largest water area on Earth near the Pacific Ocean, its area is almost half of the entire worldocean. But the largest water area of the sea is the water area of the Philippine and Caspian Sea-Lakes.
However, there are not only surface areas. Under the ground, people can create pools, reservoirs, and in addition, geologists talk about the existence of underground seas and rivers.
Classification of water areas
By origin, natural and artificial are distinguished. Among the former, water areas of the seas, lakes, oceans, etc. are distinguished. And the water areas of reservoirs and ports are referred to the second group.
According to the purpose, the water areas are divided into:
- port - serve for parking of ships during their unloading and loading;
- water and mine ranges - for testing military equipment;
- factory - for the repair and completion of ships;
- seaplane landing and takeoff areas.
Boundaries of water areas
The water area of a section of a reservoir is spoken of when it has specific boundaries. In the case of natural reservoirs, they are the shores; in pools, these are the walls. A person can additionally divide the water area into several sections using buoys. They can be connected with a rope in a line, or they can be used as single buoys in order to indicate a safe path for ships. At night, they are usually illuminated, and they are also equipped with a special sound warning system - in order to avoid emergency situations.
In real life, we are faced with the division of the water area into different zones. Yes, by the seaallocate separate areas for swimming, for water attractions, navigable areas.
There are times when only invisible boundaries exist. For example, the water border between states is determined only by specific coordinates of longitude and latitude, and there may be no visible signs on the ground. Such borders are often the subject of disputes and even international conflicts, unlike land borders. According to the rules, a ship making scientific discoveries, extracting marine minerals or even gold, has no right to be in foreign waters without permission. But civilian ships, if they do not threaten the security of a neighboring state, can keep their course further.
Since there are many minerals at the bottom in the coastal zone, and the descent near the coast is far from always steep, the states that have access to the expanses of water tend to "take" to the maximum. But even in this case, the UN provided a special permit, according to which the state can get a water area no more than 200 miles from the coast.
Seaport areas
The boundaries of seaports are defined both on land and in water. The port water area is the body of water within the port itself. And the territory is defined by borders not covered by water.
The entire water area of the port can be divided into two zones:
- Inner - near the shore. It is adjacent to the pier line. It includes spaces between piers, internal passages for ships, gates to the port.
- External - everything that is outside the building envelope. As part of such a water area - a raid for sludge, unloading and loading ships, anchorages and external ship passages.
States with the largest port areas
Given the fact that the water area is the space of a limited reservoir, we can conclude that the longer the state has a coastline, the larger the water area will be. And which countries have a large area and are washed by the seas and oceans? Russia falls into their category - due to access to a large number of seas from the north, as well as Canada, India and China.
The large water area allows countries to maintain a high level of fisheries, gold and oil production, and also provides countries with good transport links with the outside world.
