Part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy
The Tyrrhenian Sea (, ; or ) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian people identified with the Etruscans of Italy.
Geography.
The sea is bounded by the islands of Corsica and Sardinia (to the west), the Italian Peninsula (regions of Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata, and Calabria) to the north and east, and the island of Sicily (to the south). The Tyrrhenian Sea also includes a number of smaller islands like Capri, Elba, Ischia, and Ustica.
The maximum depth of the sea is .
The Tyrrhenian Sea is situated near where the African and Eurasian Plates meet; therefore mountain chains and active volcanoes, such as Mount Marsili, are found in its depths. The eight Aeolian Islands and Ustica are located in the southern part of the sea, north of Sicily.
Extent.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Tyrrhenian Sea as follows:
Exits.
There are four exits from the Tyrrhenian Sea (north to south):
Basins.
The Tyrrhenian Basin is divided into two basins (or plains), the Vavilov plain and the Marsili plain. They are separated by the undersea ridge known as the Issel Bridge, after Arturo Issel.
Geology.
The Tyrrhenian Sea is a back-arc basin that formed due to the rollback of the Calabrian slab towards South-East during the Neogene. Episodes of fast and slow trench retreat formed first the Vavilov basin and, then, the Marsili basin. Submarine volcanoes and the active volcano Mount Stromboli formed because trench retreat produces extension in the overriding plate allowing the mantle to rise below the surface and partially melt. The magmatism here is also affected by the fluids released from the slab.
Name.
Its name derives from the Greek name for the Etruscans, first mentioned by Hesiod in the 8th century BC who described them as residing in central Italy alongside the Latins. The Etruscans lived along the coast of modern Tuscany, Latium and Campania, and referred to the water as the "Sea of the Etruscans".
Islands.
Islands of the Tyrrhenian Sea include:
Ports.
The main ports of the Tyrrhenian Sea in Italy are: Naples, Palermo, Civitavecchia (Rome), Salerno, Trapani, and Gioia Tauro. There is also Bastia, located in Corsica.
Note that even though the phrase "port of Rome" is frequently used, there is in fact no port in Rome. Instead, the "port of Rome" refers to the maritime facilities at Civitavecchia, some to the northwest of Rome.
Giglio Porto is a small island port in this area. It rose to prominence, when the "Costa Concordia" ran aground near the coast of Giglio and sank. The ship was later refloated and towed to Genoa for scrapping.
Winds.
In Greek mythology, it is believed that the cliffs above the Tyrrhenian Sea housed the four winds kept by Aeolus. The winds are the Mistral from the Rhône valley, the Libeccio from the southwest, and the Sirocco and Ostro from the south.
Notes.
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References.
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