What is Kara Sea?
[[File:Kara Sea map.png|thumb|right|A map showing the location of the Kara Sea.]] [[File:Карское море СВП.jpg|thumb|Hivus-10 hovercraft on the shore of the Kara sea]] The '''Kara Sea''' ({{lang-ru|Ка́рское мо́ре}}) is part of the [[Arctic Ocean]]. It lies north of [[Siberia]]. The Kara Sea is separated from the [[Barents Sea]] to the west by the [[Kara Strait]] and [[Novaya Zemlya]], and the [[Laptev Sea]] to the east by the [[Severnaya Zemlya]]. == Size == It is roughly 1,450 kilometres long and 970 kilometres wide. It has an area of around 880,000&nbsp;km² and an average depth of 110 m. == Geography == The Kara receives a large amount of fresh water from the [[Ob River|Ob]], [[Yenisei]], [[Pyasina River|Pyasina]], and [[Taimyra River|Taimyra]] rivers, so its salinity is very variable. == Uses == Its main ports are [[Novy Port]] and [[Dikson]] and it is important as a fishing ground although the sea is ice-bound for all but two months of the year. Significant discoveries of [[petroleum]] and [[natural gas]], an extension of the West Siberian Oil Basin, have been made but have not yet been developed. == Problems == There is concern about the levels of nuclear waste the former [[Soviet Union]] dumped in the sea which included six [[nuclear submarine]] reactors and ten [[nuclear reactors]], and the effect this will have on the marine environment. An [[International Atomic Energy Agency]] appraisal showed that releases are low and localised. == Other websites == * [http://www-ns.iaea.org/appraisals/west-kara.htm International Atomic Energy Agency:Radiological Conditions of the Western Kara Sea] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060927013551/http://www-ns.iaea.org/appraisals/west-kara.htm |date=2006-09-27 }} {{List of seas}} {{authority control}} [[Category:Seas of the Arctic Ocean]] {{geo-stub}}