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Home Reference
Maps Appendixes
| Background: |
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceans
(after the Pacific Ocean, but larger than the Indian Ocean, Southern
Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). The Kiel Canal (Germany), Oresund (Denmark-Sweden),
Bosporus (Turkey), Strait of Gibraltar (Morocco-Spain), and the Saint
Lawrence Seaway (Canada-US) are important strategic access waterways.
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| Location: |
body of water between Africa, Europe, the Southern Ocean, and the Western
Hemisphere |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
0 00 N, 25 00 W |
| Map
references: |
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| Area: |
total: 76.762
million sq km
note: includes Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean
Sea, Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, part of the Drake Passage, Gulf of
Mexico, Labrador Sea, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, almost
all of the Scotia Sea, and other tributary water bodies |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly less than 6.5 times the size of the US |
| Coastline: |
111,866 km |
| Climate: |
tropical cyclones (hurricanes) develop off the coast of Africa near
Cape Verde and move westward into the Caribbean Sea; hurricanes can
occur from May to December, but are most frequent from August to November
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| Terrain: |
surface usually covered with sea ice in Labrador Sea, Denmark Strait,
and coastal portions of the Baltic Sea from October to June; clockwise
warm-water gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the northern
Atlantic, counterclockwise warm-water gyre in the southern Atlantic;
the ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged north-south
centerline for the entire Atlantic basin |
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest point:
Milwaukee Deep in the Puerto Rico Trench -8,605 m
highest point:
sea level 0 m |
| Natural
resources: |
oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales), sand and
gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, precious stones
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| Natural
hazards: |
icebergs common in Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, and the northwestern
Atlantic Ocean from February to August and have been spotted as far
south as Bermuda and the Madeira Islands; ships subject to superstructure
icing in extreme northern Atlantic from October to May; persistent fog
can be a maritime hazard from May to September; hurricanes (May to December)
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| Environment
- current issues: |
endangered marine species include the manatee, seals, sea lions, turtles,
and whales; drift net fishing is hastening the decline of fish stocks
and contributing to international disputes; municipal sludge pollution
off eastern US, southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina; oil pollution
in Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea,
and North Sea; industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in Baltic
Sea, North Sea, and Mediterranean Sea |
| Geography
- note: |
major chokepoints include the Dardanelles, Strait of Gibraltar, access
to the Panama and Suez Canals; strategic straits include the Strait
of Dover, Straits of Florida, Mona Passage, The Sound (Oresund), and
Windward Passage; the Equator divides the Atlantic Ocean into the North
Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean
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| Economy
- overview: |
The Atlantic Ocean provides some of the world's most heavily trafficked
sea routes, between and within the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
Other economic activity includes the exploitation of natural resources,
e.g., fishing, the dredging of aragonite sands (The Bahamas), and production
of crude oil and natural gas (Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and North
Sea).
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