Editing Yellow Sea (section)

===Physiography===
[[File:Yellow Sea, February 24, 2015.jpg|thumb|left|Brown sediment spills out into the Yellow Sea from rivers in eastern China and Korea. The nutrients in the sediment may be responsible for the bloom of [[phytoplankton]] seen as blue-green swirls.<ref>[http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_rec.php?id=3289 Sediments and Phytoplankton bloom near the Mouth of the Yangtze, East China Sea] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100630015155/http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_rec.php?id=3289 |date=30 June 2010 }}, NASA, 2002</ref>]]

The Yellow Sea, excluding the Bohai, extends by about {{convert|960|km|mi|abbr=on}} from north to south and about {{convert|700|km|mi|abbr=on}} from east to west; it has an area of approximately {{convert|380000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} and a volume of about {{convert|17000|km3|abbr=on}}.<ref name=bse>[http://bse.sci-lib.com/article039304.html Yellow Sea], [[Great Soviet Encyclopedia]] (in Russian)</ref> Its depth is only {{convert|44|m|abbr=on}} on average, with a maximum of {{convert|152|m|abbr=on}}. The sea is a flooded section of [[continental shelf]] that formed after the [[Younger Dryas|last glacial period]] (some 10,000 years ago) as sea levels rose {{convert|120|m|abbr=on}} to their current levels. The depth gradually increases from north to south.<ref name=bse/> The sea bottom and shores are dominated by sand and silt brought by the rivers through the Bohai Sea ([[Liao River]], [[Yellow River]], [[Hai He]]) and the Korea Bay ([[Yalu River]]). These deposits, together with sand storms are responsible for the yellowish colour of the water referenced in the sea's name.<ref name=brit>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/652686/Yellow-Sea Yellow Sea], Encyclopædia Britannica on-line</ref> The sea annually receives so much sand and silt from rivers such as the [[Yellow River]], that it turns into a golden-yellow colour.<ref>{{cite web |title=A yellow sea |url=https://wwf.panda.org/discover/knowledge_hub/where_we_work/yellow_sea/ |publisher=WWF}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Niu |first1=Yaoling |last2=Tang |first2=Jie |title=Origin of the Yellow Sea: an insight |journal=Science Bulletin |date=2016 |volume=61 |issue=14 |pages=1076–1080 |doi=10.1007/s11434-016-1113-z|bibcode=2016SciBu..61.1076N |s2cid=132284722 |url=http://dro.dur.ac.uk/19290/1/19290.pdf }}</ref>

[[File:Jungmun Daepo Columnar Joints with waves crashing.jpg|thumb|Waves crashing at [[Jeju Island]]]]

The seas surrounding Korea, which occupy a corner of Northeast Asia, border the "island nation" from the east, south, and west. Korea has named these the East Sea, South Sea, and West Sea (officially known as the Yellow Sea), respectively.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Seas of Korea|url=https://koreanliteraturenow.com/essay/chung-il-keun-kim-myungin-han-changhoon-kim-hoon-harm-min-bok-seas-korea|access-date=2021-03-29|website=Korean Literature Now|language=ko|archive-date=9 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709182425/https://koreanliteraturenow.com/essay/chung-il-keun-kim-myungin-han-changhoon-kim-hoon-harm-min-bok-seas-korea|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Major islands of the sea include [[Anmado]], [[Baengnyeongdo]], [[Daebudo]], [[Deokjeokdo]], [[Gageodo]], [[Ganghwado]], [[Hauido]], [[Heuksando]], [[Hongdo]], [[jeju Island|Jejudo]], [[Jindo (island)|Jindo]], [[Muuido]], [[Sido (island)|Sido]], [[Silmido]], [[Sindo (island)|Sindo]], [[Wando (island)|Wando]], [[Yeongjongdo]] and [[Yeonpyeongdo]] (all in South Korea).