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| 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 St. Lawrence Seaway
(Canada-US) are important strategic access waterways. The
decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in
the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth world ocean, the
Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Atlantic Ocean
south of 60 degrees south. |
| Location: |
body of water
between Africa, Europe, the Southern Ocean, and the Western
Hemisphere |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
0 00 N, 25 00 W |
| 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, 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 |
| 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 |
| Terrain: |
surface usually
covered with sea ice in Labrador Sea, Denmark Strait, and
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 |
| 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) |
| 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 |
| 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). |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Alexandria
(Egypt), Algiers (Algeria), Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona
(Spain), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Casablanca (Morocco),
Colon (Panama), Copenhagen (Denmark), Dakar (Senegal),
Gdansk (Poland), Hamburg (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Las
Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain), Le Havre (France), Lisbon
(Portugal), London (UK), Marseille (France), Montevideo
(Uruguay), Montreal (Canada), Naples (Italy), New Orleans
(US), New York (US), Oran (Algeria), Oslo (Norway),
Peiraiefs or Piraeus (Greece), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil),
Rotterdam (Netherlands), Saint Petersburg (Russia),
Stockholm (Sweden) |
| Transportation
- note: |
Kiel Canal and
Saint Lawrence Seaway are two important waterways;
significant domestic commercial and recreational use of
Intracoastal Waterway on central and south Atlantic seaboard
and Gulf of Mexico coast of US |
| Disputes
- international: |
some maritime
disputes (see littoral states) |
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