Mediterranean Sea

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Mediterranean redirects here. For other uses, see Mediterranean (disambiguation).
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Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranee 02 EN.jpg
Map of the Mediterranean Sea
Coordinates 35N 18ECoordinates 35N 18E
Type Sea
Primary inflows Atlantic Ocean, Sea of Marmara, Nile, Ebro, Rhne, Chelif, Po
Basin countries
about 60 [show]
Surface area 2,500,000 km2 (970,000 sq mi)
Average depth 1,500 m (4,900 ft)
Max. depth 5,267 m (17,280 ft)
Water volume 3,750,000 km3 (900,000 cu mi)
Residence time 80100 years[2]
Islands 3300+
Settlements Alexandria, Algiers, Athens, Barcelona, Beirut, Carthage, Dubrovnik,
Izmir, Rome, Split, Tangier, Tel Aviv, Tripoli, Tunis (full list)
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the
Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land on the north by Southern
Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant.
Although the sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is
usually identified as a separate body of water. Geological evidence indicates that
around 5.9 million years ago, the Mediterranean was cut off from the Atlantic and
was partly or completely desiccated over a period of some 600,000 years before
being refilled by the Zanclean flood about 5.3 million years ago.

The name Mediterranean is derived from the Latin mediterraneus, meaning inland or
in the middle of land (from medius, middle and terra, land). It covers an
approximate area of 2.5 million km2 (965,000 sq mi), but its connection to the
Atlantic (the Strait of Gibraltar) is only 14 km (8.7 mi) wide. The Strait of
Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean
Sea and separates Gibraltar and Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa. In
oceanography, it is sometimes called the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea or the
European Mediterranean Sea to distinguish it from mediterranean seas elsewhere.[3]
[4]

The Mediterranean Sea has an average depth of 1,500 m (4,900 ft) and the deepest
recorded point is 5,267 m (17,280 ft) in the Calypso Deep in the Ionian Sea. The
sea is bordered on the north by Europe, the east by Asia, and in the south by
Africa. It is located between latitudes 30 and 46 N and longitudes 6 W and 36
E. Its west-east length, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Gulf of Iskenderun, on
the southwestern coast of Turkey, is approximately 4,000 km (2,500 miles). The
sea's average north-south length, from Croatias southern shore to Libya, is
approximately 800 km (500 miles). The Mediterranean Sea, including the Sea of
Marmara (connected by the Dardanelles to the Aegean Sea), has a surface area of
approximately 2,510,000 square km (970,000 square miles).[5]

The sea was an important route for merchants and travellers of ancient times that
allowed for trade and cultural exchange between emergent peoples of the region. The
history of the Mediterranean region is crucial to understanding the origins and
development of many modern societies.

The countries with coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea are Albania, Algeria, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon,
Libya, Malta, Morocco, Monaco, Montenegro, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Tunisia and
Turkey. In addition, the Gaza Strip and the British Overseas Territories of
Gibraltar and Akrotiri and Dhekelia have coastlines on the sea.

Contents [hide]
1 Name
2 History
2.1 Ancient civilisations
2.2 Middle Ages and empires
2.3 21st century and migrations
3 Geography
3.1 Extent
3.2 Oceanography
3.3 Coastal countries
3.4 Coastal cities
3.5 Subdivisions
3.5.1 Other seas
3.5.2 Other features
3.6 10 largest islands by area
3.7 Climate
3.7.1 Sea temperature
4 Geology
4.1 Tectonics and paleoenvironmental analysis
4.1.1 Messinian salinity crisis
4.1.2 Desiccation and exchanges of flora and fauna
4.1.3 Shift to a Mediterranean climate
5 Paleoclimate
6 Ecology and biota
7 Environmental history
7.1 Natural hazards
7.2 Biodiversity
7.2.1 Invasive species
7.2.2 Arrival of new tropical Atlantic species
7.3 Sea-level rise
7.4 Pollution
7.5 Shipping
7.6 Tourism
7.7 Overfishing
7.8 Aquaculture
8 Gallery
9 See also
10 Notes
11 References
12 External links
Name[edit]

With its highly indented coastline and large number of islands, Greece has the
longest Mediterranean coastline.
The term Mediterranean derives from the Latin word mediterraneus, meaning amid the
earth (note earth in the sense soil, not Planet Earth) or between land (medi-; adj.
medius, -um -a middle, between + terra f., land, earth) as it is between the
continents of Africa, Asia and Europe. The Ancient Greek name Mesogeios (?es??
e???), is similarly from ?s?, between + ??, land, earth).[6] It can be compared
with the Ancient Greek name Mesopotamia (?es?p?ta?a), meaning between rivers.

The Mediterranean Sea has historically had several names. For example, the
Carthaginians called it the Syrian Sea and latter Romans commonly called it Mare
Nostrum (Our Sea), and occasionally Mare Internum[7] and in Greek as the Mare
Magnum, meaning Great Sea.[8]

In ancient Syrian texts, Phoenician epics and in the Hebrew Bible, it was primarily
known as the Great Sea (?????? ?????????, HaYam HaGadol, Numbers 346,7; Joshua 14,
91, 1547; Ezekiel 4710,15,20), or simply The Sea (1 Kings 59; comp. 1 Macc. 1434,
1511); however, it has also been called the Hinder Sea (?????? ??????????), due to
its location on the west coast of Greater Syria or the Holy Land, and therefore
behind a person facing the east, sometimes translated as Western Sea, (Deut. 1124;
Joel 220). Another name was the Sea of the Philistines (??? ?????????????, Exod.
2331), from the people inhabiting a large portion of its shores near the
Israelites.

In Modern Hebrew, it has been called HaYam HaTikhon (?????? ??????????), the Middle
Sea, reflecting the Sea's name in ancient Greek (Mesogeios), Latin Mare internum
(Inner Sea) or Mare Nostrum (Our Sea), and modern languages in both Europe and the
Middle East (Mediterranean, etc.).[8]

Similarly, in Modern Arabic, it is known as al-Ba?r [al-Abya?] al-Mutawassi? (?????

[??????] ???????), the [White] Middle Sea, while in Islamic and older Arabic
literature, it was referenced as Ba?r al-Rum (??? ?????), or the RomanByzantine
Sea.[8]

In Ottoman Turkish, it has also been called Bahr-i Sefid, meaning the Pure White
Sea.

In Turkish, it is known as Akdeniz,[9] meaning the White Sea, to distinguish it

from the Black Sea.