•
Ocean – the four to seven largest named bodies of water in the World Ocean, all of which have "ocean" in the name . •
Sea has several definitions: • A division of an ocean, delineated by landforms,
currents (e.g.,
Sargasso Sea), or specific latitude or longitude boundaries. This includes but is not limited to marginal seas, and this is the definition used for inclusion in this list. • A
marginal sea is a division of an ocean, partially enclosed by
islands,
archipelagos, or
peninsulas, adjacent to or widely open to the open ocean at the surface, and/or bounded by
submarine ridges on the sea floor. • The World Ocean. For example, the
Law of the Sea states that all of the World Ocean is "sea", and this is also common usage for "the sea". • Any large body of water with "sea" in the name, including lakes. •
River – a narrow strip of water that flows over land from a higher elevation to a lower one •
Tributary – a small river that flows into a larger one •
Estuary – the piece of a river that flows into the sea or ocean •
Strait – a narrow area of water connecting two wider areas of water, also sometimes known as a passage •
Channel – usually wider than a strait • Passage – connects waters between islands, also sometimes known as a strait •
Canal – a human-made channel •
Fjard – a large open water between groups of islands There are several terms used for bulges of ocean that result from indentations of land, which overlap in definition, and which are not consistently differentiated: •
Bay – generic term; though most features with "bay" in the name are small, some are very large •
Gulf – a very large bay, often a top-level division of an ocean or sea •
Fjord – a long bay with steep sides, typically formed by a
glacier •
Bight – a bay that is typically shallower than a sound •
Sound – a large, wide bay which is typically deeper than a bight or a strait •
Cove – a small, typically sheltered bay with a relatively narrow entrance •
Inlet – a narrow and long bay similar to a land peninsula, but adjoining the sea •
Polynya – least used of these terms, a patch of water surrounded by ice Many features could be considered to be more than one of these, and all of these terms are used in
place names inconsistently; especially bays, gulfs, and bights, which can be very large or very small. This list includes large areas of water no matter the term used in the name. ==Largest seas by area==