Topal Sea
The Topal Sea is located in Aurora's northeastern quadrant. Through the strait at the Topal's southeastern end lies the Patronic Ocean.
Through multiple gaps in the Danetia-Miotus island chain of the Serene Republic of Venantia and Floriana at the Topal's north end lies the Gulf of Taretia. Those gaps range from two to nine kilometers (1.2 to 5.6 miles) wide, and vary from maximums of 6.5 meters (21 feet) to the deepest at 24 meters (79 feet). Proposals keep popping up for railway or highway bridges to cross between Danetia and Miotus. The shallow nature of those gaps keep currents from exchanging large amounts of the relatively colder Taretia and the relatively warmer Topal, but in some seasons the currents are treacherous. Shipping dares certain gaps only at certain times, and professional pilots can be taken on board to help. In the deepest cold times of Aurora's climate shifts, with receding sea levels, some or all of the gaps may have closed, making a land bridge possible, or at the least a less perilous crossing.
The Topal is tectonically active, with Miotus on a different crustal plate than Danetia. Quakes along the southwestern continental shelf trigger landslides, at times setting up tsunamis that strike the southern and eastern shores. Few are devastating, yet coastal Danetians stay wary of the sea.
