Bering Sea
Reality TV series set in Nome, Alaska, on Norton Sound.
The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the northern Pacific Ocean, forming, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasses on Earth: Eurasia and the Americas. It covers over two million square kilometers and is bordered on the east and northeast by Alaska, on the west by the Russian Far East and the Kamchatka Peninsula, on the south by the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands, and on the far north by the Bering Strait, which connects it to the Arctic Ocean’s Chukchi Sea. The sea is named for Vitus Bering, a Danish-born Russian navigator who, in 1728, became the first European to systematically explore it, sailing from the Pacific northward to the Arctic. Its geography includes a deep water basin that rises through a narrow slope into shallower water over continental shelves, and it contains sixteen submarine canyons, including the world’s largest, Zhemchug Canyon. The ecosystem is driven by the shelf break, known as the “Greenbelt,” where nutrient upwelling from the cold Aleutian basin fuels phytoplankton production. Seasonal sea ice also triggers spring blooms and provides a substrate for algae. The sea supports numerous whale species, including beluga, humpback, bowhead, gray, blue, and the rare North Pacific right whale, along with walrus, Steller sea lion, northern fur seal, orca, and polar bear. Over thirty seabird species and approximately twenty million individuals breed in the region. During the last glacial period, lower sea levels exposed the Bering land bridge, allowing human and megafauna migration between Asia and North America. In December 2018, a large meteor exploded above the sea at an altitude of 25.6 kilometers, releasing 49 kilotons of energy.
- Area
- Over 2,000,000 square kilometers (770,000 sq mi)
- Named after
- Vitus Bering
- First European explorer
- Vitus Bering (1728)
- Borders
- Alaska, Russian Far East, Kamchatka Peninsula, Alaska Peninsula, Aleutian Islands
- Connects to
- Arctic Ocean via Bering Strait
- Largest submarine canyon
- Zhemchug Canyon
- Annual U.S. fishery value
- Approximately $1 billion
Lore & Background
The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the northern Pacific Ocean, forming, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between Eurasia and the Americas. It is separated from the Gulf of Alaska by the Alaska Peninsula. The sea covers a large area, bordered on the east and northeast by Alaska, on the west by the Russian Far East and the Kamchatka Peninsula, on the south by the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands, and on the far north by the Bering Strait, which connects it to the Arctic Ocean’s Chukchi Sea. Its geography includes a deep water basin that rises through a narrow slope into shallower water over continental shelves. The sea contains 16 submarine canyons, including the world’s largest, Zhemchug Canyon. Notable islands include the Pribilof Islands, Komandorski Islands, St. Lawrence Island, and the Diomede Islands. The ecosystem is vigorous and productive, driven by the shelf break, where nutrient upwelling from the cold Aleutian basin mixes with shelf waters, and by seasonal sea ice that triggers phytoplankton blooms. The ice also provides a substrate for algae growth. The sea supports diverse marine life, including many whale species (beluga, humpback, bowhead, gray, blue, sperm, fin, sei, and the rare North Pacific right whale), walrus, Steller sea lion, northern fur seal, orca, and polar bear. Over 30 seabird species, including tufted puffins and the endangered short-tailed albatross, breed in the region. The Bering Sea is named after Vitus Bering, a Danish-born Russian navigator who first systematically explored it in 1728.
Reader's Guide
The show follows boats equipped with various setups to achieve gold mining in a summertime, cold northern latitude, shallow water, ocean environment. The fleet each typically consists of a sluicing apparatus, a means of paydirt collection (dredge), and a cold-water-diving life support system. Conflict issues include choppy seas, poor underwater visibility, inconsistent fuel delivery, personnel issues, mining location rights, sufficient paydirt discovery, diver safety, and ocean-damaged equipment failures. Each season of episodes follow the current fleet of dredges. The "ice" series follows dredges housed in temporary shelters set up over ice holes. Several crew members have appeared in both the summer dredging and spring ice dredging seasons. With the popularity of the show, it has inspired many people to head to Nome, and suction dredge in Norton Bay. In 2015, over 100 gold dredges operated in the summer sea mining season, significantly more than before the TV show started.
Did You Know?
- The show is also known as Gold Divers in the UK.
- In 2012, featured diver John Bunce committed suicide during filming; the incident aired in 2013.
- The fourteenth season was announced to premiere on April 1, 2020.
- The Martinson mining family, background characters on Bering Sea Gold, appeared on Gold Rush: Freddy Dodge's Mine Rescue.
- In 2015, over 100 gold dredges operated in the summer sea mining season, significantly more than before the TV show started.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Bering Sea?
Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean that, together with the Bering Strait, draws the continental boundary between Eurasia and the Americas. It is named for Vitus Bering, the Danish-born Russian navigator who became the first European to chart its waters systematically in 1728.
What are Bering Sea's powers/role?
Stretching over two million square kilometers, the sea sustains one of the most biologically productive ecosystems on Earth and fuels major commercial fisheries. It also serves as the sole maritime corridor linking the Arctic Ocean to the Pacific through the Bering Strait.
How does Bering Sea's story end?
As a living geographic feature rather than a narrative character, Bering Sea has no fixed ending; its waters continue to shift with ocean currents and climate change. Its coastal communities in Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, and the Russian Far East remain deeply tied to its ever-changing tides and fish stocks.
Why is Bering Sea important?
It is the natural dividing line between two continents and the only open-water passage connecting the Arctic and Pacific Oceans. Its extraordinarily rich marine ecosystem supports some of the world's most valuable fisheries, making it both ecologically and economically indispensable.
What is Bering Sea's most notable feature?
The Zhemchug Canyon is recognized as the largest submarine canyon in the sea. Bering Sea also commands a vast and varied coastline spanning the Alaska Peninsula, the Aleutian Islands, and the Kamchatka Peninsula.
More in Rivers And Seas Of The World 1-24
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