KOREA BAY

also called West Korea Bay, Chinese (Wade-Giles romanization) Hsi Ch'ao-hsien Wan, Pinyin Xi Chaoxian Wan, Korean Sojoson-man inlet that forms the northeastern arm of the Yellow Sea between the Liao-tung Peninsula (in Liaoning province), China, and western North Korea. Korea Bay receives three of the major rivers of North Koreathe Yalu (which rises on Mount Paektu and forms much of the ChinaNorth Korea border), the Ch'ongchon, and the Taedongin addition to a number of China's smaller rivers. The bay is relatively shallow, seldom reaching depths greater than 164 feet (50 m). Its tidal range of 20 to 40 feet (6 to 12 m) is unusually high. Many wide sandbars extend along the coast, and the bay contains a number of rocky islands, including North Korea's Ch'o, Sok, and Sinmi islands and China's Ch'ang-shan and Ta-ch'ang-shan islands. The major ports on Korea Bay are the North Korean cities of Namp'o and Sinuiju and China's L-shun and Tan-tung.