 Definition  Field Listing  Rank
Order
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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 Saint Lawrence Seaway (Canada-US)
are important strategic access waterways. Learn geography the easy way by playing ZL's Geographycards (www.geographycards.com)
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Location: |
body of
water between Africa, Europe, the Southern Ocean, and the Western
Hemisphere |
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Geographic coordinates: |
0 00 N, 25
00 W |
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Map references: |
Political
Map of the World |
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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 |
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Area - comparative: |
slightly
less than 6.5 times the size of the US |
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Coastline: |
111,866 km
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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 |
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Elevation extremes: |
lowest
point: Milwaukee Deep in the Puerto Rico Trench -8,605 m
highest point: sea level 0 m |
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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
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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 Learn geography the easy way by playing ZL's Geographycards (www.geographycards.com)
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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). Learn geography the easy way by playing ZL's Geographycards (www.geographycards.com)
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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) |
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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
Learn geography the easy way by playing ZL's Geographycards (www.geographycards.com)
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Disputes - international: |
some
maritime disputes (see littoral states) |
Large portions of this information is from the US government open source publication "The World Factbook", other content copyright © Stratus-Pikpuk, Inc. You may use this information without permission for educational or other non-profit purposes if you refer to us as the source, contact us if you want to use this commercially.
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