The Pannonian Sea was a shallow ancient sea located in the area today known as the Pannonian Plain in Central Europe. The Pannonian Sea existed during the Pliocene, when three to four kilometres of marine sediments were deposited in the Pannonian Basin.

History

The Pannonian Sea was part of the Paratethys Sea that got separated during the later part of the Miocene Epoch (around 10 million years ago). It was connected with the Mediterranean Sea (the two seas were connected through the territory of modern Rona Gulf, Bavaria and Vienna Basin).

Through the Đerdap Strait, the Pannonian Sea was connected to another sea located in Wallachian-Pontic Basin. During its largest geographical extent, the Pannonian Sea reached the south of modern Serbia: a gulf of the Pannonian Sea located in modern Morava river valley stretched to modern Grdelica Gulch and Vranje Depression and was connected to the Aegean Sea through the modern Preševo Valley.

The Pannonian Sea existed for about 9 million years. Its last remains disappered in the middle of Pleistocene Epoch, about 600,000 years ago. The water of the Pannonian Sea actually ruptured its way through the modern Đerdap Gorge on the Danube river and flowed through the gorge leaving behind a large plain known as the Pannonian Plain. The remnants of the former islands of the Pannonian Sea are modern Pannonian Island Mountains (Fruška Gora and Vršac Mountains).

Pannonian Sea in modern culture

The Pannonian Sea was a subject of the popular song "Panonski mornar" ("Pannonian sailor") of the Serbian singer Đorđe Balašević.

References

• Dragan Rodić, Geografija za I ili III razred srednje škole, Zavod za udžbenike i nastavna sredstva, Beograd, 1995.

See also

• Paratethys
• Pannonian Plain
• Pannonian Basin
• Piemont-Liguria Ocean