Continents washed by the Atlantic Ocean characterize their coasts. What continents is washed by the Atlantic Ocean? Which countries are washed by the Atlantic Ocean?

Atlantic Ocean- second largest (91.56 million km2) after the Pacific Ocean. It washes all the continents of the planet with the exception of Australia and extends from north to south from the shores of Greenland to Antarctica for almost 16 thousand km. The greatest depth was recorded near the islands of Haiti and Puerto Rico - 8742 m.

A distinctive feature of the Atlantic Ocean is its highly rugged coastline, a relatively small number of islands, complex bottom topography and the largest area of river basins flowing into this ocean or its marginal seas.

The coastline in the North Atlantic Ocean is especially rugged. Vast bays (Biscay, Mexico) cut deeply into the continents, and large peninsulas(Scandinavian, Iberian, Labrador) wedged into the ocean waters. Many individual islands and archipelagos are located close to the continents, and internal and marginal seas in Atlantic 13.

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge stretches along the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean from north to south. Broken by transverse faults, it rises above the ocean floor to a height of 2 km. In the central part of the ridge there is a rift valley. Its individual peaks rise above the water, forming islands, the largest of which is Iceland. In the area of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, earthquakes occur, volcanoes erupt, basaltic lava flows into the gorge of the rift valley - a new oceanic crust is born. On both sides of the ridge there are basins with relatively flat terrain. The Atlantic Ocean basin is bordered by a shelf of varying widths, which is cut through by deep gorges - underwater canyons.

The Atlantic Ocean is believed to be the youngest. It was formed when the single continent of Pangea split apart. Large massifs The land masses began to move away from each other, and the deep depression that formed between them was filled with the waters of the World Ocean. Due to its great length from north to south, the Atlantic Ocean lies in all climatic zones Earth. In the equatorial regions, constant trade winds dominate over it, and in temperate latitudes - westerly winds temperate latitudes. In the Atlantic, two rings of ocean currents develop on both sides of the equator. In the Northern Hemisphere, the Northern Trade Wind, Gulf Stream, North Atlantic and Canary Stream form vicious circle and move clockwise. In the Southern Hemisphere - South Trade Wind, Brazilian Current Western winds and Benguela form the movement of water counterclockwise. Due to the meridional extent of the ocean, currents directed from north to south are more powerful here than water flows in a latitudinal direction; they more strongly disrupt the zonality in the distribution of temperature and salinity ocean waters than in other areas of the ocean. average temperature waters in the Atlantic are + 16°C, and the average salinity is 37.5%.

The Atlantic Ocean is famous for icebergs breaking off from the ice shell of Antarctica and the Greenland ice sheet. Icebergs drift towards the equator and gradually melt; the remains of these ice mountains are sometimes found even at latitudes 30-40 (near Bermuda and the Azores).

The Atlantic Ocean is the most studied and developed of all the oceans. In ancient times it was called differently: Western Ocean, Sea of Darkness, Sea beyond the Pillars of Hercules, etc. The ocean received its current name, which first appeared on maps in 1507, after the titan Atlanta (according to Greek mythology holding on his shoulders firmament).

Almost all the coasts of the continents washed by the Atlantic Ocean (with the exception of Antarctica) have been developed by humans. There are many major cities with a booming industry. The numerous rivers that flow into the Atlantic carry tons of pollutants into the ocean.

From this article you will learn between which continents the 5 oceans are located.

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

Geographic map indicating the Pacific Ocean and landmass

Pacific Ocean- largest by size water surface– about 179 million square km. The lands of Eurasia are washed by the ocean on the western side, Australia on the southwestern side, and America on the eastern side. In the north, the ocean is separated by the Bering Strait from the Arctic Sea. In the south, the Pacific waters come into contact with the Southern Ocean, and are divided along a conventional line.

In the south-north direction, the ocean waters have a length of 15,800 km, and in the west-east direction - 19,500 km. The deepest place on Earth is the Pacific Ocean 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

Shores of Eurasia wash themselves seas:

Moluccan
Halmahera
Seram
Sulawesi
Gang
Yellow
Japanese
Flores
Yavansky
Okhotsk
Filipino
East China
Beringov
South China

Pacific Shores

Coast of Australia wash themselves seas:

Tasmanov
Fiji
Solomonov
New Guinea
Coral

Shores of America wash themselves bays:

Californian
Panama
Alaskan

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

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

Pacific Shores North America cut by mountain ranges, only on separate areas, and in the north of the mainland, there are depressions. Along the entire coast of South America there are high mountains Andes. 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 bands are found on its territory. In the tropics (subtropics), the ocean water temperature is 25-29ᵒC, often cyclones with downpours and destructive winds. To the north, near Japan and Russia, the average temperature of ocean water is 5-8ᵒC, ice in winter.

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

In the Pacific Ocean, on different latitudes, lives more than half of all living sea creatures known on Earth: whales (minke and sperm whales), seals, seals, walruses. Of the smaller fish, about 2 thousand species live in the ocean, as well as various shrimp, mollusks, and crabs. There is an abundance of corals in the tropics.

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

Geographic map showing the Arctic Ocean and land mass

The Arctic Ocean is the smallest in size. It occupies approximately 14.8 million square km. The location of the ocean is between North America and Eurasia. Water from it flows into the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The deepest place in the ocean is considered to be the Greenland Sea, 5.5 km deep.

Shores states, washed by the ocean:

Russia
Denmark (Greenland belongs to it)
Iceland
Sweden
Finland
Norway
Canada

The shores of the above countries are washed by seas:

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

Arctic Ocean

Islands:

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

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

Arctic climate severe. In the ocean all year round ice. In summer, the ice breaks into separate islands, which 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 scanty, the only exception in Bely and Barents Seas . Here such sea regulars grow and live, represented by algae:

Laminaria
Eelgrass
Anfeltius
Fucus

Fish(about 150 species):

Salmon
Flounder
Cod
Herring
Scorpion

Bird(up to 30 types):

Seagulls
Little auks
Waders
Geese
Geese
Eiders

Mammals:

Seals
Lemmings
Kitami
Reindeer
Walruses
Polar bears

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

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

Geographic map showing the Atlantic Ocean and land mass

From the north, the Atlantic Ocean washes Iceland and Greenland, from the west – America, from the east – Eurasia and Africa, and in the south it mixes with the water of the Southern Ocean. Its area is approximately 92 million square km, it is in second place in size. The deepest point of 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
Canary
Faroese
Bermudian
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 covers all climatic zones. The tropics with an average water temperature of 20ᵒC, heavy rainfall with frequent hurricanes; in the subtropics - on average 10-20ᵒC, with heavy rains in 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 - and green.

Ocean depths are represented by all sorts of animals:

Squid
Octopuses
Tuna
Sardina
Mackerel
Cod
Sea bass
Halibut
Herring
Haddock

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

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

Geographic globe map showing the Indian Ocean and land mass

The Indian Ocean is washed by Eurasia from the north, Africa from the west, the Australian coast from the east, and merges with the Southern Ocean in the south. The ocean has an area of approximately 283 million square km. 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
Socotroi
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 close to the equator is 28ᵒC, in the Red Sea 30-31ᵒC. 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, a lot of single-celled ones, they multiply quickly, and from them the water “blooms”.

From animal world The ocean is rich in peridineas, jellyfish, ctenophores, and poisonous physalia that glow at night. From larger inhabitants present:

Tuna
Notothenia
Sharks
Dolphins
Sea snakes
Large sea turtles
Sperm whales
Penguins
Albatrosses
Shellfish
Elephant seals, stars, urchins

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

Geographic map showing the Southern Ocean and Antarctica

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

The Southern Ocean includes the southern ends (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 approximately 20 million square km.

The ocean is rich seas what's around Antarctica:

Somov
d'Urville
Rieser-Larsen
Cosmonauts
Mawson
Commonwealth
Lazarev
Davis
Amundsen
Scotia
Bellingshausen
Rossa
Weddell

South ocean

AND islands:

South Orkney
Kerguelen
South Shetland

Ocean water with a temperature of -2-+10ᵒC freezes in winter after latitude 65. It is not easy for ships to navigate 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) grow in the ocean, and a small variety of blue-green ones. Animals in the waters include whales, seals, krill, and notothenia. The ocean coast is inhabited by penguins and petrels. The Southern Ocean is richer in fish than the Northern Ocean, and there are many Russian ships engaged in fishing.

So, we learned more about our Earth.

Video: Continents and oceans

The Atlantic Ocean washes the shores of two continents of the Old World - Europe and Africa and the “three Americas” - North, Central and South. Along the coasts of continents, as well as near the coasts of large islands, such as Cuba or Newfoundland, the edge stretches for several tens of kilometers, and sometimes hundreds continental shallows, or shelf. The depths here are relatively shallow (no more than 200 meters), the shores are close - and this part of the ocean is the best studied. There is nothing fundamentally new in the structure of the shelf, different from what we are used to seeing on land. This is not surprising if we remember the rise in sea levels associated with melting ice (after all, we live in post-glacial times!). The shelf was once dry land, and the "growth" ocean waters led to the fact that it became the bottom... (Sometimes the sinking of land also led to this.)

But the shelf is only the “edge” of the continent, sometimes narrow, sometimes wide, and not the ocean itself. The “border” of the land is not “water” (after all, it also covers the shelf), but the continental slope that separates the ocean bed and the continents rising above it by two, three, four, or even five kilometers.

The continental slope was once considered a flat surface. However, it turned out that it was dissected by hollows ranging in depth from several hundred meters to two kilometers. These hollows are so similar to the canyons of mountain rivers that, by analogy, they began to be called underwater canyons. Is this similarity purely external? Or, in fact, rivers once flowed here, making their way overland, and now becoming part of the ocean floor? There is still no exact answer to this question: the problem of the origin of submarine canyons is one of the most controversial in oceanography today.

The debate about underwater canyons goes back decades. But scientists began to argue about the origin of the continental foot about 8-9 years ago. True, at the same time the continental foot itself was discovered, which, in the words of the greatest Soviet geomorphologist, Professor O.K. Leontiev, “is an inclined, often slightly undulating plain, bordering the base of the continental slope with a wide - up to 1 thousand km - strip, at depths of about 2–4 thousand m, sometimes up to 5 thousand m.” This is the least studied type of ocean relief. Scientists can only build hypotheses about its origin and “place” among the structures of continents and oceans (some consider the continental foot to be part of the edge of the continent, but dropped by a kilometer or more; others believe that this is a kind of “transition zone” between the continent and the ocean and the border between “land” and “sea” are not the continental slope, but the continental foot). In addition to controversy, oceanographers are striving to identify the boundaries of this foothills. It turns out that at the European edge of the Atlantic it is narrower than at the edge of North America, and in the area of the Strait of Gibraltar it is completely absent. Along Africa and along South America it appears as a sloping plain, cut here and there by deep hollows.

Most of the bottom area of the Atlantic (and other oceans) is occupied by the “ocean bed” - flat plain, submerged to a depth of several kilometers. On this plain there are individual hills, hills, volcanoes, mountains and even entire mountain ranges, separating one basin from another. For example, a range of volcanic mountains separates the Labrador Basin from the Newfoundland Basin; The undersea rise of Rio Grande separates the Brazilian and Argentine basins. In the southeastern part of the Atlantic, a large underwater ridge, called the Whale (after the bay of the same name on the coast of South-West Africa), separates the Angola Basin from the Cape, rising above them to a height of 3000–4000 meters.

The “ocean bed,” buried under several kilometers of water, is not the “lowest” part of the Atlantic. It seems “shallow” compared to the trenches, the deepest “scars” on the face of our planet. Currently, about three dozen deep-sea trenches are known. The lion's share falls on the Pacific Ocean. Only four of them were discovered in the Atlantic: the South Sandwich Trench (South Atlantic) with a depth of 8428 meters, the Puerto Rico Trench (near the island of the same name) with a depth of 8385 meters, the Romanche Trench in the center of the Atlantic (7728 meters), the Cayman Trench (in the Caribbean Sea) with a depth 7680 meters. This - maximum depths The Atlantic Ocean, which is inferior to the Pacific not only in size, but also in depth (in the Pacific Ocean there is a depression over 11 kilometers deep - the maximum depth of the World Ocean so far known).

All deep-sea trenches, with the exception of Romanche, are associated with islands located near them (an attentive reader might notice that the names of the Atlantic deeps are given by the names of the Atlantic islands: Cayman, Puerto Rico, South Sandwich Islands). And not just with islands, which are essentially just the peaks of majestic structures sticking out above the water, hidden by the ocean.

The Atlantic Ocean is the most studied and developed by people of all the oceans. According to one hypothesis, it got its name from the Titan Atlas (according to Greek mythology, holding the vault of heaven on his shoulders). IN different time it was called differently: “The Sea beyond the Pillars of Hercules”, “Atlantic”, “Western Ocean”, “Sea of Darkness”, etc. The name "Atlantic Ocean" first appeared in 1507 on the Wald-Semüller map, and since then the name has been established in geography.

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, narrows at equatorial latitudes to 2900 km. In the north it communicates with the Northern Arctic Ocean, and in the south it is widely connected to the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Rice. 1. Physical card Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest among the planet's oceans. Coastline The ocean in the northern hemisphere is strongly dissected by numerous peninsulas and bays. There are many islands, internal and marginal seas near the continents. The Atlantic includes 13 seas, which occupy 11% of its area (see Fig. 2).

Remember the names of the largest ones.

Caribbean Sea – 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

Relief of the Atlantic Ocean floor

The Atlantic Ocean is younger than the Pacific Ocean; it was formed in the Mesozoic era, after the collapse of the Gondwana continent. Its bottom consists of areas of several lithospheric plates. In the center of the Atlantic Ocean, the 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 ranging from 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 rises. 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, that young earth's crust emerges from the depths of the mantle and gradually diverges to the east and west, slowly expanding the ocean. On the protrusion of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is the island of Iceland - one of most beautiful places Earth (see Fig. 3).

Rice. 3. Iceland

In the eastern and western parts of the ocean there are vast oceanic depressions, and western shores there are two small deep-sea trenches - the deepest parts of the ocean (see Fig. 4).

Rice. 4. Relief of the Atlantic Ocean bottom

Atlantic Ocean Climate

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

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 waters. In many areas of the ocean, isotherms off the coast deviate sharply from the latitudinal direction.

The northern half of the ocean is warmer than the southern half, the temperature difference reaches 6°C. 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 ice 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, but is transferred to neighboring continents (due to the relative narrowness of the ocean).

Many large rivers flow into the Atlantic Ocean and its seas: the Amazon, Congo, Mississippi, Nile, Danube, La Plata, etc. They carry huge masses of fresh water, suspended material and pollutants into the ocean. Ice forms in the desalinated bays and seas of subpolar and temperate latitudes in winter off the western shores of the ocean. Numerous icebergs and floating sea ice are disrupting shipping in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Trade winds blow in subtropical and tropical latitudes, but the Western Transport winds have much greater strength and fury in the Atlantic. They are especially strong in the temperate latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere.

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

Atlantic Ocean Currents

Prevailing winds shape the main currents in the oceans. But the Atlantic Ocean is strongly elongated from north to south, and therefore its main currents extend 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 atlas maps and learn to easily find the following Atlantic Ocean currents.

In the northern hemisphere, the Northern Trade Wind Current, Gulf Stream, North Atlantic and Canary Currents form a clockwise movement of water.

In the southern hemisphere, the South Trade Wind, the Brazilian Current, the West Wind Current and the Benguela Current form the movement of water counterclockwise.

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

Rice. 5. Map of Atlantic Ocean currents

Organic World of the Atlantic

The Atlantic Ocean is poorer in flora and fauna species than the Pacific Ocean. One of the reasons for this is its relative geological youth and 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 widespread development of shelves and shallow banks, which are home to many bottom and bottom fish (cod, flounder, perch, etc.).

Development of the Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean has been explored by people since ancient times. And now he's playing huge role in the life of mankind: a dense network of the most important transport routes connecting Europe with America and the countries of the Persian Gulf stretches through it.

On the shelf North Sea And Gulf of Mexico Oil is being extracted; reserves of iron-manganese nodules have been discovered in the southern part of the ocean.

The Atlantic Ocean is home to the world's main fishing grounds and most popular resorts.

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

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

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

Bibliography

MainI

1. Geography. Land and people. 7th grade: Textbook for general education. uch. / A.P. Kuznetsov, L.E. Savelyeva, V.P. Dronov, “Spheres” series. – M.: Education, 2011.

2. Geography. Land and people. 7th grade: atlas, “Spheres” series.

Additional

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

2. Russian geographical society ().

3. Tutorial by geography ().

4. Gazetteer ().

Its area is much smaller and amounts to 91.6 million km². About a quarter of this area is in 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 continents. The Atlantic washes the largest island on the planet - Greenland.

This ocean has begun to develop European civilization before everyone else, and therefore is of great importance for Europe. It received its name in honor of the titan Atlas, since he held the firmament not far from the mythical Garden of the Hesperides, located at the edge of the earth's firmament, right where the Atlantic Ocean went - as the ancient Greeks believed. Its name is also associated with the legendary Atlantis, which, according to legend, was located somewhere in the waters of the Atlantic and sank irrevocably in its depths. Perhaps the myth of Atlantis has a real basis. As a result of the movement of the earth's crust, some islands of the Mediterranean went under water along with temples, palaces and columns erected ancient civilizations. Along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, new states arose and disappeared over the course of thousands of years: Crete, Mycenae, poleis Ancient Greece, Phenicia, Carthage, and finally Rome. Ancient Rome from small town Over the course of several centuries, the state turned into the strongest Mediterranean power. IN I-II centuries AD Rome controlled the entire Mediterranean coast. The Romans even called it "Mare Nostrum" or "Our Sea". In the Middle Ages, the most important trade routes between Europe, Asia and Africa passed here. Countries that had access to the Atlantic began to colonize increasingly remote corners of the planet. With the discovery of America, the Atlantic Ocean became a link between the Old and New Worlds. And today its economic and transport value is still very large.

Speaking about the topography of the Atlantic bottom, it should be said that this is a young ocean. It was formed only in the Mesozoic era, when the single continent of Pangea began to split into pieces, and America separated from Africa. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge stretches across the entire ocean from north to south. The island of Iceland in the north is nothing more than the outcrop of this ridge to the surface, which is why Iceland is a country of geysers and volcanoes. Now the ocean continues to expand, and the continents are moving away from each other at a speed of several centimeters per year. The Mediterranean Sea is the largest inland sea of the ocean by its origin, together with the Black, Caspian and Seas of Azov are the remains of an ancient tropical ocean Tethys, which closed after the collision of Africa and Eurasia. In the future, after millions of years, these seas will completely disappear, and mountains will form in their place.

The climate of the Atlantic Ocean is very diverse, because it, like the Pacific Ocean, is located in all climatic zones of the planet. However, surface water temperatures here are lower than in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. This is explained by the constant cooling effect of melting ice brought here from the Arctic. Currents promote movement floating ice, the distribution border of which reaches 40° N. At the same time, the salinity of the Atlantic is very high, since the most large areas the ocean is in the tropics, where evaporation is high and very little rain falls. The evaporated moisture is carried by the winds to the continents, due to the relative narrowness of the ocean, without having time to fall over its water area.

The organic world of the Atlantic is poorer than the world of the Pacific. The reason for this is the colder climate and its youth. But with little diversity, the number of fish and other marine animals is significant. The shelf occupies large areas here, and therefore is created comfortable places for the spawning of many commercial fish: cod, herring, mackerel, sea bass, capelin. Whales and seals are found in polar waters. Off the coast of North America there is a unique Sargasso Sea; it has no shores, and its boundaries are formed by ocean currents. The surface of the sea is covered with sargassum algae, the sea waters are poor in plankton. Once upon a time, the Sargasso Sea was also the most transparent on the planet, however, now its surface is heavily polluted with oil products.

Thanks to your natural conditions, The Atlantic Ocean is the most productive in terms of quantity biological resources. Most of The fish catch is in its northern part, but too active fishing has led to a noticeable reduction in the amount of resources in recent years. There are a lot of oil and gas reserves on the Shelf, especially in the Gulf of Mexico, however, the 2010 accident showed what colossal damage to the ocean ecology is caused during their extraction. There are also large hydrocarbon deposits on the North Sea shelf off the coast of Europe. Today, the ocean is already very polluted by human activity and is not capable of self-cleaning at such a speed. The task of the developed states of the Earth for the coming decades is to protect and preserve its natural resources.