Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

Borders of the Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is the body of water that separates Europe, Africa and Asia.

The Mediterranean Sea is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by a narrow passage called the Strait of Gibraltar. The sea is almost completely surrounded by land, on the north by Europe, on the south by North Africa and on the east by the Middle East. It covers around 2.5 million square kilometres (0.97 million square miles). Its name was invented in the Early Middle Ages from the Latin words Mare Mediterraneum meaning "sea in the middle of the land".

To the east, it connects the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea by the Dardanelles and the Bosporus. The Sea of Marmara, which is an inner sea like the Black Sea, is rarely considered to be part of the Mediterranean Sea. As well, the much larger Black Sea is generally not considered a part of the Mediterranean Sea.

The ancient Greeks called the Mediterranean Sea simply ἡ θάλασσα (hē thálassa; "the Sea") or sometimes ἡ μεγάλη θάλασσα (hē megálē thálassa; "Great Sea"), ἡ ἡμετέρα θάλασσα (hē hēmetérā thálassa; "Our Sea"), or ἡ θάλασσα ἡ καθ'ἡμᾶς (hē thálassa hē kath’hēmâs; "the sea around us"). The Romans called it Mare Magnum ("Great Sea"), Mare Internum ("Internal Sea") or , starting with the Roman Empire, Mare Nostrum ("Our Sea").

The 163 km (101mi) long man-made Suez Canal, in Egypt, connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. It was built from 1859 to 1869.

History

Some of the most ancient human civilizations were made around the Mediterranean Sea and so it has greatly influenced the history and the ways of life of the regions cultures. It provided a way of trade, colonization and war, and was the basis of life (like fishing and catching other seafood) for many communities throughout the ages. The combination of similar climate and geology and the access to a common sea has led to many historical and cultural connections between the ancient and modern societies around the Mediterranean.

Above all, it was the main way of transport in ancient times. It allowed for trade and cultural exchange between peoples of the region: the Phoenicians, Egyptians, Iranians, Greeks, Minoans, and Hittites on its eastern side and the Carthaginians, Romans, Etruscans, Celtiberians, Gauls, and Amazighs on the western side.

The history of the Mediterranean is important in understanding the origin and development of

The ancient Punic Wars and the Battle of the Mediterranean during World War II gave the winners control over it so they could destroy the losers. Today the Mediterranean Sea still connects the economies of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East as it did in ancient times.

Oceanography

Almost 6 million years ago, continental drift closed the Strait of Gibraltar. With no water coming in from the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean partly dried up. The remaining part became extremely salty. After half a million years the straits opened again, making the Mediterranean as it is now.

Being nearly landlocked affects the Mediterranean Sea's properties. Tides are limited by the narrow connection with the Atlantic Ocean. The water is saltier, partly because of evaporation. The Mediterranean has a deep blue color.

Evaporation greatly exceeds precipitation and surface runoff in the Mediterranean, a fact that is central to the water circulation within the basin. Evaporation is especially high in its eastern half, causing the water level to decrease and salinity to increase eastward. This pressure gradient pushes relatively cool, low-salinity water from the Atlantic across the basin; it warms and becomes saltier as it travels east, then sinks in the region of the Levant and circulates westward, to spill over the Strait of Gibraltar. Thus, seawater flow is eastward at the Strait's surface, and westward near the bottom. In the Atlantic, this chemically distinct deep "Mediterranean Intermediate Water" can persist thousands of kilometers away from its source.

Related pages

• Mediterranean climate