evidence: Covering an area of about 39,000 km2, the Sea of Azov is a northern extension of the Black Sea and is located in Eastern Europe. The Sea of Azov is an internal sea of the countries of Ukraine and Russia that is linked with the Atlantic Ocean via the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara, the Aegean Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea. [...] The Sea of Azov is bordered by Ukraine in the northwest and by Russia in the southeast. It is connected to the Black Sea in the south via the Strait of Kerch, which has a width of about 4km at its narrowest point. The Kerch Strait is located between the Crimean Peninsula in the west and the Taman Peninsula in the east. The Sea of Azov measures about 360 km long and has a maximum width of 180 km. The sea is regarded as one of the world’s shallowest seas with a maximum depth of only 14 m and an average depth of about 7 m. The two large rivers that drain into the Sea of Azov are the Don and Kuban rivers. Several smaller rivers also flow into the sea including the Berda, Mius, Yeya, Beysug, Molochna, Kalmius, Atmanai rivers. The deposits and inflow from these rivers are responsible for the low salinity of the Sea of the Azov.