Which eastern continents are washed by the Atlantic Ocean. Between which continents is the Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic, Indian, Southern Ocean located: list and names of the continents washed, description

Atlantic Ocean- the second largest and deepest. Its area is 91.7 million km2. The average depth is 3597 m, and the maximum depth is 8742 m. The length from north to south is 16,000 km. Geographical position Atlantic Ocean The ocean stretches from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the coast of Antarctica in the south. To the south, the Drake Passage separates the Atlantic Ocean from […]

The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest ocean on Earth. This is the most studied and mastered by people ocean. The Atlantic Ocean washes the shores of all continents except Australia. Its length is 13 thousand km (along the meridian 30 W), and the greatest width is 6700 km. The ocean has many seas and bays. In the structure of the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, there are three main parts: […]

The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest ocean after the Pacific. Its area is much smaller and amounts to 91.6 million km2. About a quarter of this area falls on shelf seas. The coastline is very indented, primarily in the Northern Hemisphere, in the Southern Hemisphere it is relatively flat. The ocean washes all continents except Australia. Islands located in the ocean are located near the continents. […]

The name Atlantic came to us from ancient times. Scientists believe that it is connected with the name of the Atlas Mountains in northwestern Africa. Hence, the Atlantic Sea in the time of Homer and Hesiod literally meant "the sea beyond the Atlas Mountains". Later, the Greeks began to designate the south of the part of the modern Atlantic Ocean known to them, and the waters adjacent to Europe called it the Outer Sea, […]

All types of human economic activity in marine areas are represented in the Atlantic Ocean. Among them highest value have sea transport, then - underwater oil and gas production, only then - catch and use biological resources. More than 70 coastal countries with a population of over 1.3 billion people are located on the shores of the Atlantic. Many transoceanic routes cross the ocean from […]

In the Atlantic Ocean, all zonal complexes are distinguished - natural belts, except for the north polar. The waters of the northern subpolar belt are rich in life. It is especially developed on the shelves off the coasts of Iceland, Greenland and the Labrador Peninsula. The temperate zone is characterized by an intense interaction of cold and warm waters, and its waters are the most productive regions of the Atlantic. Vast expanses of warm waters of two subtropical, two tropical […]

The Atlantic Ocean is poorer in species in the composition of flora and fauna than the Pacific. One of the reasons for this is its relative geological youth and a noticeable cooling in the Quaternary period during the glaciation of the northern hemisphere. However, in quantitatively the ocean is rich in organisms - it is the most productive per unit area. This is primarily due to the wide development of shelves and shallow […]

Zoning water masses in the ocean is complicated by the influence of land and sea currents. This is manifested primarily in the temperature distribution surface water. In many areas of the ocean, the isotherms near the coast deviate sharply from the latitudinal direction. The northern half of the ocean is warmer than the southern one, the temperature difference reaches 6°С. average temperature surface waters (16.5°C) is slightly lower than in the Pacific Ocean. Cooling […]

In the Atlantic, as in the Pacific Ocean, two rings of surface currents are formed. In the northern hemisphere, the Northern Equatorial Current, the Gulf Stream, the North Atlantic and Canary Currents form the movement of waters in a clockwise direction. AT southern hemisphere The South Tradewind, Brazilian, Western winds and Benguela form the movement of waters counterclockwise. Due to the significant length of the Atlantic Ocean from north to south […]

The Atlantic Ocean is located in all climatic zones of the Earth. The main part of the ocean area is between 40°N. and 42° S - is located in subtropical, tropical, subequatorial and equatorial climatic zones. Here all year round high positive air temperatures. The most severe climate is found in the subantarctic and antarctic latitudes, and to a lesser extent in the subpolar, northern latitudes. The climate of the Atlantic Ocean (over […]

Oil and gas reserves discovered on the shelf North Sea, in the Gulf of Mexico, Guinea and Biscay. Phosphorite deposits discovered in the area of deep water rise off the coast North Africa in tropical latitudes. Placer deposits of tin off the coast of Great Britain and Florida, as well as diamond deposits off the coast of Southwest Africa, have been found on the shelf in the sediments of ancient and modern rivers. […]

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge passes through the entire ocean (at approximately the same distance from the coasts of the continents). Relative height ridge about 2 km. Transverse faults divide it into separate segments. In the axial part of the ridge there is a giant rift valley 6 to 30 km wide and up to 2 km deep. The rift and faults of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge are confined to both underwater […]

The Atlantic Ocean stretches from north to south for 16,000 km from subarctic to antarctic latitudes. The ocean is wide in the north and southern parts, narrows in equatorial latitudes to 2900 km. In the north it communicates with the North Arctic Ocean, and in the south it is widely connected to the Pacific and Indian oceans. Bounded by the shores of North and South America - […]

The western and southwestern outskirts of Russia are washed by the seas of the Atlantic Ocean. The Baltic Sea forms gulfs off the coast of the country, on the banks of which large ports are located. St. Petersburg is located in the Gulf of Finland, and Kaliningrad is located on the Pregola River, which flows into the Vistula Bay. To the southwest is Black and Sea of Azov where there are also large bays. In the Black Sea - the Karakinit Bay and […]

The Atlantic Ocean is bounded by the shores of Europe and Africa in the east, North and South America - in the west. Due to the meridional strike, natural belts from the northern subpolar to the southern polar are found in it, which determines the diversity of its natural conditions. However, the main part of its spaces lies between 40 ° N. sh. and 42°S sh. in subtropical, tropical and […]

Within the Atlantic Ocean, all physiographic zones are clearly represented, except for the northern polar one. The northern subpolar (subarctic) belt covers the waters off Greenland and the Labrador Peninsula. In winter, the air temperature drops to -20°, water to -1°C and below. The ocean is partially covered with ice in winter. Ice formation causes additional raise salinity of water and its immersion to a depth. In the spring […]

The organic world of the Atlantic Ocean in species relation poorer organic world Pacific and Indian Oceans, but in quantitative terms - the richest (260 kg / km2) due to the wide development of the shelf. The poverty of the species composition is largely associated with the relative youth of the ocean, its long isolation from other oceans, and the strong cooling of the climate in the Quaternary. For distribution organic life strongly […]

The climatic conditions of the Atlantic Ocean determine the features of its hydrological regime. Waves in the Atlantic Ocean Wave formation in the Atlantic Ocean depends on the nature of the prevailing winds over certain areas. The region of the most frequent storms extends north of 40°N. sh. and south of 40°S sh. The height of the waves during long and very strong storms can reach 20-26 m. But […]

The climate of the Atlantic Ocean is determined by its huge meridional extent, the nature atmospheric circulation and ability water surface significantly equalize the annual temperature variation. The oceanic climate is generally characterized by small fluctuations in air temperature. In the Atlantic Ocean at the equator they are less than 1 °C, in subtropical latitudes 5 °C, and at 60 ° N. sh. and yu. sh. - 10 °C. Only […]

Deep-sea sediments consist of silts, named after the smallest organisms, the remains of which are found in the soil in most. Among deep-sea deposits, the most common are foraminiferal silts, which occupy 65% of the area of the ocean floor and the mid-ocean ridge. The Atlantic Ocean is a part of the World Ocean, which is characterized by the penetration of heat-loving foraminifera far to the north, which is associated with the warming effect of […]

From this article you will find out between which continents there are 5 oceans.

Between which continents is the Pacific Ocean located: a list and names of the washed continents, description

Geographic map indicating the Pacific Ocean and land

Pacific Ocean- the largest for the size of the water surface - about 179 million square kilometers. From the western side, the lands of Eurasia are washed by the ocean, from the southwest - by Australia, from the east - by America. In the north, the ocean is separated by the Bering Strait from the Arctic. In the south, the Pacific waters are in contact with the Southern Ocean, and are separated along a conditional line.

In the south-north direction, the waters of the ocean have a length of 15800 km, west-east - 19500 km. The deepest place on Earth is the Pacific Mariana Trench, close to 11 km.

States washed by the ocean:

Russia
China
Japan
Vietnam
Thailand
Korea
Malaysia
Philippines
Papua New Guinea
Australia
Indonesia
New Zealand
Canada
Guatemala
Costa Rica
Nicaragua
Mexico
Salvador
Ecuador
Colombia
Panama

Coasts of Eurasia are washed seas:

Moluccan
Halmahera
Seram
Sulawesi
Gang
yellow
Japanese
Flores
Javanese
Okhotsk
Philippine
East China
Bering
South China

Pacific shores

coast of australia are washed seas:

Tasmanov
Fiji
Solomonov
New Guinean
coral

America's Shores are washed bays:

Californian
Panama
Alaskan

Islands in the ocean there are close to 10 thousand, formed by volcanoes. The largest are:

New Guinea
Great Sunda Group
Sakhalin
Japanese
Filipino
New Zealand
Hawaiian
Tierra del Fuego

Pacific shores North America indented mountain ranges, just on separate sections, and in the north of the mainland, there are depressions. The high Andes mountains stretch along the coast of South America. The Asian and Australian coasts and islands are also mountainous, but the mountains are not high.

The Pacific Ocean is so large that all climatic zones are found on its territory. In the tropics (subtropics) temperature ocean water 25-29ᵒC, frequent cyclones with showers and destructive winds. To the north, near Japan and Russia, the average ocean water temperature is 5-8ᵒC, ice in winter.

In the southern hemisphere, off the coast of Australia, warm current, and ocean water 11-28ᵒC.

In the Pacific, on different latitudes, lives more than half of all living marine creatures known on Earth: whales (stripes and sperm whales), seals, seals, walruses. Of the smaller fish, about 2,000 species live in the ocean, as well as various shrimp, molluscs, and crabs. Corals are abundant in the tropics.

Between which continents is the Arctic Ocean located: a list and names of the continents washed, description

Geographic map showing the Arctic Ocean and land

The Arctic Ocean is the smallest in size. It occupies close to 14.8 million square kilometers. The location of the ocean is between North America and Eurasia. Water from it enters the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The deepest place in the ocean is the Greenland Sea, with a depth of 5.5 km.

coast states washed by the ocean:

Russia
Denmark (it owns Greenland)
Iceland
Sweden
Finland
Norway
Canada

The shores of the above countries are washed seas:

Barents
Beaufort
Karsky
White
Chukotka
Baffin
Greenlandic
East Siberian
Laptev
Lincoln
Norwegian

Arctic Ocean

Islands:

Greenland
Kolguev
Svalbard
Severnaya Zemlya
Canadian archipelago
Vaygach
Novosibirsk
Wrangel
New Earth
Franz Josef Land

The shores of American land near the ocean are hilly with low elevations, often covered with glaciers. The Eurasian shores are more heavily dissected, and also partly with glaciers.

Arctic climate severe. The ocean is ice all year round. In summer, the ice breaks into separate islands that drift (move) with average speed 7 km per day, but a speed of 100 km per day is possible.

In the ocean and seas plants and animals poor, the only exception in White and Barents Seas . Here such sea regulars grow and live, represented algae:

Laminaria
eelgrass
Anfeltia
Fukusami

fish(close to 150 species):

salmon
Flounder
cod
herring
scorpionfish

bird(up to 30 types):

seagulls
Little auks
Waders
geese
goose
gagami

mammals:

seals
lemmings
whales
reindeer
walruses
polar bears

Many plants and animals grown in northern cold water, are characterized gigantism, longevity. The largest specimens of mussels and jellyfish are caught here, and the life expectancy of fish is much longer than those living in the warm sea.

Between which continents is the Atlantic Ocean located: a list and names of the washed continents, description

Geographic map showing the Atlantic Ocean and land

From the north, the Atlantic Ocean washes Iceland and Greenland, from the west - America, from the east - Eurasia and Africa, in the south it mixes with the water of the Southern Ocean. Its area is close to 92 million square kilometers, it is in second place in size. The deepest place in the ocean is the Puerto Rico Trench, with a depth of 8.7 km.

The Atlantic Ocean is famous for the following seas:

Irish
Norwegian
Caribbean
Northern
Baltic
mediterranean
Sargasso
labrador
Irminger
Celtic

islands:

British, on which Ireland and Great Britain are located
Iceland
Sardinia
Sicily
Malta
Madeira
Newfoundland
Greater and Lesser Antilles with Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, Guadeloupe and Trinidad
Bahamian
Canarian
Faroese
Bermuda
Falkland
Tierra del Fuego

Atlantic Ocean

States:

Iceland
Norway
Denmark
Great Britain
the Netherlands
Belgium
France
Spain
Portugal
Mauritania
Morocco
Ivory Coast
Senegal
Guinea
Benin
Cameroon
Gabon
Namibia
Congo
Angola
Uruguay
Argentina
Brazil
Guiana
Suriname
Guyana
Venezuela
Colombia
Panama
Mexico
Canada

The Atlantic Ocean captures all climatic zones. Tropics with average water temperatures of 20ᵒC, torrential downpours with frequent hurricanes; in the subtropics - an average of 10-20ᵒC, with heavy rains summer; temperate zone - + 10-0ᵒC.

Frequent in the Atlantic Ocean big tides on the American and European coasts.

The northern part of the ocean is rich in reddish-brown algae and the tropics are green.

Ocean depths are represented by all sorts of animals:

squid
Octopuses
tuna
sardine
mackerel
cod
sea bass
halibut
herring
Haddock

The Atlantic Ocean has long been a place of intensive fishing, so almost all whales have been exterminated here, and only since 2010 it has been forbidden to kill them.

Between which continents is the Indian Ocean located: a list and names of the washed continents, description

Geographic map-globe showing the Indian Ocean and land

Eurasia is washed by the Indian Ocean from the north, Africa from the west, the Australian coast from the east, and merges with the Southern Ocean in the south. The ocean area is close to 283 million square kilometers. Indian Ocean, with deepest place, Sunda Trench (7.7 km), almost all located in the southern hemisphere.

The Indian Ocean is famous seas:

red
Laccadive
Andaman
Timorese
Arabian
Arafura

islands:

Madagascar
Tasmania
Andaman
Sri Lanka
Mascarene
Socotroy
Comoros
Bahrain
Seychelles
Maldivian

Indian Ocean

States:

Djibouti
Somalia
Mozambique
Eritrea
Tanzania
Kenya
Sudan
Egypt
Jordan
Oman
Saudi Arabia
Yemen
Israel
Kuwait
Iran
Qatar
Iraq
Pakistan
India
Bangladesh
Thailand
Myanmar
Indonesia
East Timor
Australia
Malaysia

The Indian Ocean consists of 4 climatic zones. In summer, on the tropical and subtropical Asian coast, there are frequent monsoons with strong storm winds, the water temperature is 28ᵒC close to the equator, and 30-31ᵒC in the Red Sea. In the temperate zone, closer to 50ᵒ south latitude, the average air temperature is 5-6ᵒC, and the water is close to 0ᵒC.

from plants algae grow in the ocean, many single-celled ones, they multiply rapidly, and the water “blooms” from them.

From fauna the ocean is rich in peridineas, jellyfish, ctenophores, poisonous physalia glowing at night. From larger inhabitants. are present:

Tuna
Notothenia
sharks
Dolphins
sea snakes
Large sea turtles
sperm whales
Penguins
Albatrosses
shellfish
Sea elephants, stars, hedgehogs

Between which continents is the Southern Ocean located: a list and names of the washed continents, description

Geographic map showing the Southern Ocean and Antarctica

Regarding the Southern Ocean, the arguments are ambiguous: it is either recognized or not. Now the ocean exists. He was last recognized in 2000. The fate of the ocean is decided by the countries that are in the IHO.

The southern ocean is the southern ends (to the south of the 60th parallel) of the remaining oceans (Indian, Atlantic and Pacific) around Antarctica. The ocean has no exact boundaries. It has an area of about 20 million square kilometers.

The ocean is rich seas what's around Antarctica:

Somov
d'Urville
Riiser-Larsen
Astronauts
Mawson
Commonwealth
Lazarev
Davis
Amundsen
skosha
Bellingshausen
Ross
Weddell

South ocean

And islands:

South Orkney
Kerguelen
South Shetland

Water in the ocean with a temperature of -2-+10ᵒC freezes in winter after latitude 65. It is not easy for ships to sail here: icebergs are also found in summer. The greatest depth is 8.4 km, represented by the South Sandwich Trench.

And, despite the harsh climate, close to 180 species of algae (diatoms) and a small variety of blue-greens grow in the ocean. Of the animals in the waters, whales, seals, krill, notothenia are found. The coast of the ocean is inhabited by penguins, petrels. The southern ocean is richer in fish than the northern, and there are many Russian courts engaged in fishing.

So, we learned more about our Earth.

Video: Continents and oceans

Education

What continents are washed by the Atlantic Ocean? Which countries are washed by the Atlantic Ocean?

June 25, 2016

The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest. It is present in all hemispheres of the Earth. From the article you will learn which continents are washed by the Atlantic Ocean and how it affects them.

Characteristics of the Atlantic Ocean

The ocean covers an area of 91.66 million square kilometers. km, making it the second largest after the Pacific. More than 16% of its total area falls on the straits, seas and bays. The salinity of the water is approximately 34-37 ppm. The deepest point is the Puerto Rico Trench, 8,742 meters deep. The average depth of the Atlantic Ocean is about 4 kilometers, and this is less than that of the Pacific and Indian.

The Atlantic is located in all 4 hemispheres and washes 5 continents. Denmark Strait and the Davis Strait to the north connect it to the Arctic Ocean. The Drake Passage in the south communicates it with the Pacific Ocean, and with the Indian Ocean it is connected by the water space between Antarctica and Africa.

Previously, the Atlantic Ocean was called the Western, Outer, North Sea, now the term "Atlantic" is often used to refer to it. On the European map, the author of which was the Dutchman Varenius, modern name ocean appeared in 1650.

The origin of the name "Atlantic Ocean" is associated with the African Atlas Mountains. Scientists suggest that even among the ancient Greeks, this name literally meant "the sea beyond the Atlas Mountains." There are two more versions of the name - one connects it with the sunken Atlantis, the other - with the name of the titan Atlanta.

Atlantic exploration

People began to explore the described expanses of water earlier than other oceans, through the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Even before our era, ancient peoples founded cities and states on the shores of the Mediterranean. Watching the ebb and flow, animals and flora, they were the first explorers of these waters.

Of course, in ancient times, people did not know exactly which continents were washed by the Atlantic Ocean. Them geographical knowledge markedly different from modern ones. Nevertheless, Pytheas made voyages across the North Atlantic as early as the 4th century BC. And in the 10th century AD, Eric the Red, originally from Normandy, undertook the first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, arriving on the shores of the island of Newfoundland.

In the Age of the Great geographical discoveries made a large number of trips on the waters of the Atlantic. At the same time, the first descriptions of depths, soil, tropical hurricanes were made, the Northern Trade Wind, Brazilian, Guiana currents and the Gulf Stream were discovered. This era gave impetus to the study sea depths, as well as territories that washes the Atlantic Ocean. In our time, much is already known about him, but research continues to this day.

Which continents are washed by the Atlantic Ocean?

All the oceans on our planet make up a continuous World Ocean. There are no clear boundaries between them, and all divisions, in fact, are conditional. After all, the Atlantic did not exist 200 million years ago, and all the earth's continents were one piece of land.

Approximately 180 million years ago, the process of splitting the common continent into separate territories began. In the northern part of the Atlantic, patches of land were increasingly moving away from each other. Approximately 140 million years ago, the plates began to move in the South Atlantic. Gradually, Greenland separated from Europe, and the Mid-Labrador Range began to die off.

So, which continents is washed by the Atlantic Ocean? In the course of large-scale global processes, the waters of this ocean stretched for almost 16 thousand kilometers from north to south. The ocean is now washing:

North and South America;
Eurasia;
Africa;
Antarctica.

Only Australia is not on the list. In the north it is located between the coasts of Greenland and Iceland, in the south - near Antarctica. Africa and Europe are on the east side of the ocean, the Americas are on the west.

Coastline

We have already learned which coasts the Atlantic Ocean washes. Now we can talk about their features. The ocean stretched over two earthly hemispheres, so its entire territory is conditionally divided into northern and southern. The boundary for them is the equator.

The North Atlantic is characterized by a strong indentation coastline. There are many inland seas in this part. So, in the northeast is the Norwegian Sea, occupying the territory between Norway and Iceland.

The North Sea is located off the coast of Denmark and Great Britain. In the east, it passes into the Baltic, which has the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia. Much to the south, the system of inland seas begins - the Mediterranean communicates with the ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar, followed by the Black and Azov.

In the southwest of the North Atlantic, the Florida Strait connects the ocean with Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. On the coast of North America are the bays of Barnegat, Long Island, Delaware, Pamlico.

The shores washed by the southern Atlantic waters, are cut much less. There are no inland seas in this part. Off the African continent, the Gulf of Guinea, which juts out into the land, is the largest bay in the South Atlantic. There are few of them off the coast of South America. The southern part of this continent is considerably dissected; in the region of Tierra del Fuego there are many small islands.

Influence of Atlantic waters

It is possible to list which countries the Atlantic Ocean washes for a very long time. Not counting the waters of all its seas, the waters of the Atlantic are washed by about 50 states. All of them experience a powerful oceanic influence. An important climate-forming factor for coastal areas are the currents and zoning of the Atlantic Ocean. In the northern part, the water temperature is noticeably colder (by about 5 degrees).

Warm ocean currents warm the climate of the coast, make it soft and humid. They also contribute to high rainfall. The largest and most powerful current in the Atlantic is the warm Gulf Stream. This current affects the climate of North America and Western Europe. Thanks to him, for example, the winter temperature of Reykjavik is higher than the temperature in New York.

Warm currents of the Atlantic Ocean:

Brazilian;
Guiana;
Gulf Stream;
Norwegian.

The cold currents of the Atlantic contribute to a colder and drier climate along the coasts. So, the Labrador current forms a harsh climate on the island of Labrador, and the Benguela and Canary currents make the climate of the West African coast dry. The collision of the Gulf Stream with the Labrador Current provides prolonged fogs on the shores of Newfoundland.

Cold currents of the Atlantic Ocean:

Greenlandic;
Labrador;
Canarian;
Benguela.

Conclusion

Now we know which continents the Atlantic Ocean washes and what effect it has on them. Stretching from north to south, this expanse of water has long been of great importance to people. The waters of the Atlantic connect the five continents together and significantly affect their weather conditions.

The Atlantic Ocean is the most studied and mastered by people of all the oceans. According to one hypothesis, it got its name from the name of the titan Atlanta (according to Greek mythology holding on his shoulders vault of heaven). AT different time it was called differently: "The Sea behind the Pillars of Hercules", "Atlantic", " western ocean”, “Sea of gloom”, etc. The name "Atlantic Ocean" first appeared in 1507 on a map by Wald-Semüller, since then the name has established itself in geography.

The geographical position of the ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest ocean on the planet. It covers an area of 92 million km. The Atlantic Ocean washes the shores of five continents.

The boundaries of the Atlantic Ocean are North America and Eurasia in the northern part, and South America, Africa and Antarctica in the south.

Atlantic separates Old light from New.

The Atlantic Ocean is crossed by the equator and the prime meridian (see Fig. 1). Its length is 13 thousand km. The ocean is wide (maximum width - 6700 km) in the northern and southern parts, narrowing in equatorial latitudes to 2900 km. In the north it communicates with the Arctic Ocean, and in the south it is widely connected with the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Rice. one. physical map Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest ocean in the world. The coastline of the ocean in the northern hemisphere is heavily dissected by numerous peninsulas and bays. Near the continents there are many islands, inland and marginal seas. The Atlantic consists of 13 seas, which occupy 11% of its area (see Fig. 2).

Remember the names of the largest of them.

Caribbean - 1

Gulf of Mexico -2

Sargasso Sea - 3

Baltic Sea - 4

Bay of Biscay - 5

Mediterranean Sea - 6

Black Sea - 7

Gulf of Guinea - 8

Weddell Sea - 9

Rice. 2. Seas of the Atlantic Ocean

The relief of the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is younger than the Pacific, it was formed in the Mesozoic era, after the collapse of the Gondwana mainland. Its bottom is sections of several lithospheric plates. In the center of the Atlantic Ocean, a huge Mid-Atlantic Ridge stretches from north to south, broken by many transverse faults.

The relative height of the ridge is about 2 km. Transverse faults divide it into separate segments. In the axial part of the ridge there is a giant rift valley 6 to 30 km wide and up to 2 km deep. They are confined to the rift and faults of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge as underwater active volcanoes, and the volcanoes of Iceland and the Azores. On both sides of the ridge there are basins with a relatively flat bottom, separated by elevated uplifts. The shelf area in the Atlantic Ocean is larger than in the Pacific.

It is here, in the central parts of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, from the depths of the mantle that a young Earth's crust and gradually diverges to the east and west, slowly expanding the ocean. On a ledge of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is the island of Iceland - one of the most beautiful places Earth (see Fig. 3).

Rice. 3. Iceland

Vast oceanic depressions extend in the eastern and western parts of the ocean, and western coasts there are two small deep sea trenches - the deepest parts of the ocean (see Fig. 4).

Rice. 4. The relief of the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean

climate of the atlantic ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is located in almost all climatic zones, except for one (identify its name on the map). That's right, this is the Arctic climate zone.

The zonality of water masses in the ocean is complicated by the influence of land and sea currents. This is manifested primarily in the temperature distribution of surface waters. In many areas of the ocean, the isotherms near the coast deviate sharply from the latitudinal direction.

The northern half of the ocean is warmer than the southern one, the temperature difference reaches 6°С. The average surface water temperature (16.5°C) is slightly lower than in the Pacific Ocean.

The cooling effect is exerted by the waters and ices of the Arctic and Antarctic. The salinity of surface waters in the Atlantic Ocean is high. One of the reasons for increased salinity is that a significant part of the moisture evaporating from the water area does not return to the ocean again, but is transferred to neighboring continents (due to the relative narrowness of the ocean).

A lot of water flows into the Atlantic Ocean and its seas. big rivers: Amazon, Congo, Mississippi, Nile, Danube, La Plata, etc. They carry huge masses into the ocean fresh water, suspended material and contaminants. In desalinated bays and seas of subpolar and temperate latitudes, ice forms near the western shores of the ocean in winter. Numerous icebergs and floating sea ice hinder navigation in the North Atlantic Ocean.

In the subtropical and tropical latitudes the trade winds blow, but in the Atlantic the winds of the West are much more powerful and furious. They are especially strong in the temperate latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere.

In the western part of the Atlantic, the strongest storms and hurricanes regularly arise, unleashing their fury on the coast. There are 10-20 of them per season. Weather reports sometimes resemble military reports.

currents of the atlantic ocean

The prevailing winds form the main currents in the oceans. But the Atlantic Ocean is strongly elongated from north to south, and therefore its main currents are elongated along the ocean - in the meridional direction (see Fig. 5).

In the Atlantic, as in the Pacific, two rings of surface currents form.

Follow the maps of the atlas and learn how to easily find the next currents of the Atlantic Ocean.

In the northern hemisphere, the Northern Equatorial Current, the Gulf Stream, the North Atlantic and Canary Currents form the movement of waters in a clockwise direction.

In the southern hemisphere, the South Trade Winds, the Brazilian, the West Winds and the Benguela move the waters counterclockwise.

Due to the significant length of the Atlantic Ocean from north to south, meridional water flows are more developed in it than latitudinal ones.

Rice. 5. Map of the currents of the Atlantic Ocean

Organic World of the Atlantic

However, in quantitative terms, the ocean is rich in organisms - it is the most productive per unit area.

This is primarily due to the wide development of shelves and shallow banks, which are inhabited by many demersal and bottom fish (cod, flounder, perch, etc.).

Exploration of the Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean from ancient times began to be mastered by people. And now he's playing huge role in the life of mankind: a dense network of the most important transport routes stretched through it, connecting Europe with America and the countries of the Persian Gulf.

Oil is produced on the shelf of the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, and reserves of iron-manganese nodules have been discovered in the southern part of the ocean.

In the Atlantic Ocean are the main fishing areas and the most popular resorts in the world.

The biological resources of the ocean have long been intensively used. However, due to the overfishing of a number of valuable commercial fish species, in last years Atlantic yields Pacific Ocean for fish and seafood.

intensive economic activity human life in the Atlantic Ocean and its seas causes a noticeable deterioration of the natural environment - both in the ocean (water and air pollution, a decrease in the stocks of commercial fish species) and on the coasts.

In order to prevent further and reduce the existing pollution of the natural environment of the Atlantic Ocean, scientific recommendations are being developed and international agreements on rational use ocean resources.

Bibliography

MainI

1. Geography. Earth and people. Grade 7: Textbook for general education. uch. / A.P. Kuznetsov, L.E. Savelyeva, V.P. Dronov, "Spheres" series. – M.: Enlightenment, 2011.

2. Geography. Earth and people. Grade 7: atlas, series "Spheres".

Additional

1. N.A. Maksimov. Behind the pages of a geography textbook. – M.: Enlightenment.

2. Russian geographical society ().

3. Tutorial by geography ().

4. Geographical directory ().

Official name: Atlantic Ocean
Water volume: 329,700,000 cubic km
Total area: 79,721,274 sq. km
Coastline: 111,866km

The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest after the Pacific. This ocean, which takes its name from the mythological island of Atlantis, separates, or rather connects, in its northern part, the most populated and most civilized parts of the world; therefore, although it is the most stormy of all seas, the Atlantic Ocean differs in that the same time and the greatest revival.
Washes the shores of Africa, North and South America and Europe.
The area covered by one Atlantic Ocean is 79,721,274 sq. km, and together with coastal and mediterranean seas(Mediterranean, Baltic, Northern, Irish-Scottish and the Gulf of St. Lawrence) it equals 88,634,133 sq. km. The length from north to south is 13,335 km, the greatest width, between Senegambia and the Gulf of Mexico, is 9,000 km, the smallest is 1,445 km between Norway and Greenland (7,225 km between Georgia and Africa, 7,225 km between Cape Horn and Cape Good Hope, 5,550 km between Cape San Roca and Sierra Leone).
In the northern part of the ocean, the coasts are indented by the Bay of St. Lawrence, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, just like the European mainland by the Baltic and German seas, the Gulf of Aquitaine, the Mediterranean and Black Seas; the southern coasts of the ocean, both South American and African, seem to on the contrary, they are very little indented. The outcrop of the Gulf of Guinea corresponds to the ledge of Brazil, and also to the ledge of Senegambia and Sudan - the cut of the Antilles Sea. By the richness of the oceanic islands, towering among high seas, the ocean is significantly inferior to the Pacific only near North America and islands abound off the coast. Important stations are: Iceland and the Faroe Islands between Europe and polar America; and the Bermuda group between Europe and middle and southern North America; Ascension Island, St. Helena, and between Africa and South America; Finally, the Falkland Islands.
Seas: Baltic, North, Mediterranean, Black, Sargasso, Caribbean, Norwegian. Large bays: Biscay, Guinean, Mexican. The largest straits: Davis, Danish, Drake. The largest islands are British, Iceland, Newfoundland, Greater and Lesser Antilles, Canaries, Cape Verde, Falkland (Maldives).
The greatest depth is the Milwaukee Trench in the Puerto Rico Trench (-8,605m).
The main surface currents: warm - the North Trade Wind, Gulf Stream, North Atlantic and cold - Labrador and Canary in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean; warm - South Trade Winds, Brazilian and cold - Western Winds and Bengal in the South Atlantic Ocean.
Major ports: Rotterdam (Netherlands), New York, Houston (USA), Marseille (France), Hamburg (Germany), Genoa (Italy), London (UK), Buenos Aires (Argentina), St. Petersburg(Russia), Ilyichevsk (Ukraine).