A long, shallow arm of the Mediterranean between Italy and the Balkans, lined with limestone islands and historic ports.
Area
138,000 km²
Ocean basin
Atlantic
Location
The long blue gulf between Italy and the Balkans
Average depth
about 250 m
Maximum depth
about 1,230 m
Salinity
~38 ppt
Temperature
Mild, 11–26°C
Region
Between Italy & the Balkans
About the Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea reaches north between the Italian peninsula and the Balkan coast, shallow and warm in the north and deepening toward the south. Its Croatian shore is a labyrinth of more than a thousand limestone islands. Home to ancient ports like Venice and Dubrovnik, it shelters dolphins, sea turtles and rich shellfish beds.
Did you know?
Its eastern shore is one of the most island-rich coastlines in the world, with over a thousand Croatian islands alone.
Highlights
- Over a thousand islands on its east coast
- Historic ports from Venice to Dubrovnik
- Shelters dolphins and sea turtles
Photo gallery
Life in the Adriatic Sea
Creatures, seabirds and marine plants — including some of the rarest and strangest — that live in these waters.
Creatures of the deep
Ocean sunfish (mola mola)
The heaviest bony fish alive, basking flat on its side at the sunlit surface.
Moray eel
A reef ambush predator with a hidden second set of jaws in its throat to drag prey down.
Cuttlefish
A master of disguise with W-shaped pupils that flashes rippling colour across its skin.
Leatherback turtle
The largest sea turtle, diving over 1,000 m in pursuit of jellyfish.
Seabirds
Northern gannet
A big white seabird that folds its wings and dives like an arrow at 100 km/h.
Great cormorant
An expert diving seabird that perches with wings spread wide to dry its feathers.
Marine plants & algae
Neptune seagrass (Posidonia)
Forms ancient Mediterranean meadows — one clone may be 100,000 years old.
Surface & deep in the Adriatic Sea
The sea is warm where the Sun reaches it and cold far below. Flip between the sunlit surface and the deep water to feel the difference — these are typical figures for a sea.
Sunlit surface
22°C
typical surface temperature
Seas warm strongly at the surface in summer, but their deeper water stays cold and still — the sunlight simply never reaches it.
Recorded range for the Adriatic Sea: Mild, 11–26°C