During its multimillion-year history of existence, our planet has changed its relief and shape more than once. Where the ocean once splashed, mountains and continents arose. And fertile lands became the bottom of lakes or seas. And the seas themselves could change their size, inhabitants and composition of the water. Until now, many of our contemporaries do not even realize how complex the "organism" of our planet is. The Sarmatian Sea, whose history seems absolutely amazing and even a little fantastic, will help to make sure of this. If you are ready for an exciting journey into the past, then we can begin our story.
Ancient Tethys Ocean
The Sarmatian Sea traces its history back to the ancient Tethys Ocean. It existed about one billion years ago and became the progenitor of all modern oceans and seas. In connection with the geological processes on the planet, Tethys was constantly changing its shape and relief. Over time, the ocean transformed into several reservoirs, one ofwhich became the Sarmatian Sea.
Sea-lake: a brief description
Usually the first question that comes to mind to anyone who hears about the Sarmatian Sea for the first time is: "Where is or was this unusual body of water?" To answer it, geologists were helped by various soil samples that contain fossilized remains of marine life. Indeed, for quite a long time, similar fossils found in the Alps, Carpathians and even in the Himalayas valley were considered confirmation of the story of the Flood. She explained in the best possible way why where there is no water and cannot be, sea animals once abounded, and the bottom was completely strewn with shells of mollusks.
But with the development of science, scientists were able to find out that Tethys was divided into several reservoirs. One of the largest formed seas were the Pannonian and Sarmatian. The latter occupied quite extensive territories. Scientists were able to prove that the Sarmatian Sea extended from modern Vienna to the Tien Shan mountain system. Initially, it was s alty, and its largest islands were the Crimea and the Caucasus. It is believed that the period when the Sarmatian Sea stood out is approximately fourteen to ten million years ago.
Features of the reservoir
The sea, formed several million years ago, had one feature that gave rise to its name as a lake. The Sarmatian Sea was an isolated body of water that had no connection with the World Ocean. Therefore, marinethe inhabitants who got here became a kind of hostages who were forced to adapt to rather strange living conditions. The Mediterranean Sea was located south of the Sarmatian, and initially there was a connection between them, but the Carpathian Mountains that rose from the bottom radically changed the situation. From this period, the Sarmatian Sea became completely closed and replenished only due to the rivers flowing into it.
Stages of changes in the relief and composition of sea water
The lack of connection with the World Ocean made the Sarmatian Sea more and more insipid. This, of course, immediately affected the marine life, some species of which became extinct due to the inability to adapt to the new composition of the water. However, the situation changed several times, and the Sarmatian Sea more than once presented surprises.
Several times, due to the movement of tectonic plates, the sea changed the water level and the composition of s alt in it. This was due to the fact that periodically the Sarmatian Sea through the Bosporus was connected with the Mediterranean Sea, which led to an increase in salinity and replenishment of marine fauna.
Approximately eight million years ago, due to geological changes, the Pontic Sea was formed on the site of a once huge reservoir, uniting today's Black and Caspian Seas. Since the reservoir was again deprived of connection with the World Ocean, the water in it was fresh. Approximately at intervals of a million years, the earth's crust sagged and then rose again, so the composition of the water changed significantly.
Further Black andThe Caspian Seas were finally divided by the resulting massif of the Caucasus Mountains. Many geologists and historians argue that this was far from the last stage in the existence of the Sarmatian Sea. Scientists believe that it existed several millennia ago, and ancient maps and engravings cite ancient maps and engravings to prove this fact. Whether this is true, we will discuss a little later.
Sea life
Despite the fact that the Sarmatian Sea was extremely changeable, modern oceans and lakes can envy its fauna. Most of the inhabitants of the depths belonged to the representatives of the s alty oceans. They managed to adapt to water desalination and successfully occupied the entire water area.
The whale is the largest animal that inhabited the Sarmatian Sea. The modern name of this inhabitant of the depths is the cetotherium whale. In addition to him, seals, dolphins and even turtles felt great in the sea waters. Numerous colonies of mollusks lived in shallow water. The territories inhabited by gastropods were especially extensive. They lived almost everywhere, as evidenced by the fossilized remains found. Scientists claim that the Sarmatian Sea even had several coral reefs. They were not very common, but still this fact says a lot to researchers of the past.
Archaeological finds from the Sarmatian Sea
Stavropol and its adjacent territories are just the places where the waters of a beautiful sea-lake once roared. Here, archaeologists quite often find amazing things that reveal a little the secrets of the life of our planet millions of years before the birth of mankind.
Despite the fact that archaeologists rarely conduct targeted excavations designed to find fossils, they are still constantly reminded of themselves by the Sarmatian Sea. The Izobilnensky region, for example, is rich in fossilized remains of mollusks, as well as larger fossil marine life. In addition, scientists quite often find bones of land animals here, which were attracted by the subtropical climate of the coast.
Scientists believe that it was the climate and the rich flora of these places that brought the first people here, whose parking lots were located on the territory of modern Stavropol.
The Mystery of the Sarmatian Sea
Of course, scientists know that the Sarmatian Sea has long ceased to exist, having formed several new water areas, divided among themselves, but one mystery still haunts the scientific community.
The fact is that on the geographical maps of the XIV-XV centuries, on the site of modern Belarus, there is a sea, which is called "Sarmatian"! This fact cannot be ignored, because this reservoir is marked on several different maps, and Herodotus in his works mentioned a certain sea that looked more like a lake.
However, scientists are a little wary of these data. They are in no hurry to confirm the information and reject it. Although numerous facts testify in favor of this version:
- the sea is depicted even on maps of the 16th century;
- at the site of the proposed water area there are no traces of human activity;
- the former territory of the sea-lake is very swampy;
- 17th century maps still depict the Sarmatian Sea, but smaller.
Historical facts are stubborn things, so don't argue with them. In addition, the disappearance of the sea is explained by very prosaic reasons. It was fed only by the rivers flowing into it, which could not recover losses from evaporation. Over time, the reservoir began to shallow and turned into a vast swamp, which also appeared on ancient maps.
Here is just one nuance worries scientists in this harmonious theory. Was the sea a consequence of the melting of glaciers or was it the remnants of that same ancient Sarmatian Sea, which we talked about at the beginning of the article? Unfortunately, the scientific world cannot yet answer this question.
Sarmatian Sea today
Can we talk about the Sarmatian Sea as something that exists today? Partly. After all, it gave us the Black, Azov, Caspian Seas and the Aral Sea, already lost to mankind. So some scientists argue that the ancient sea-lake is still alive and reminds of itself every time we go on vacation to our country's favorite resorts since childhood.
