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
("in the middle of the land").
[1]
To the east it connects to 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 as a part of the Mediterranean Sea. The much bigger Black Sea is generally not considered a part of the Mediterranean Sea. The
Ancient Greeks
called the Mediterranean Sea simply ?
θ?λασσα
(h? thalassa; "the Sea") or sometimes
? μεγ?λη θ?λασσα
(h? megal? thalassa; "Great Sea"),
? ?μετ?ρα θ?λασσα
(h? h?meter? thalassa; "Our Sea"), or
? θ?λασσα ? καθ'?μ??
(h? thalassa h? kath’h?mas; "the sea around us").
[2]
The
Romans
called the Mediterranean Sea,
Mare Magnum
("Great Sea") or
Mare Internum
("Internal Sea") and, starting with the
Roman Empire
,
Mare Nostrum
("Our Sea").
The 163 km (101 mi) long man-made
Suez Canal
in the southeast connects the Mediterranean Sea to the
Red Sea
. The canal is between Egypt and the
Sinai Peninsula
, and was built by the
French
Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez
from 1859 to 1869.
Some of the most ancient human civilizations were made around the Mediterranean Sea, so it has had a large influence on the history and ways of life of these
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 similarly shared
climate
,
geology
and access to a common sea has led to lots of historical and cultural connections between the ancient and modern societies around the Mediterranean.
Above all, it was the super
highway
of
transport
in ancient times. It allowed for trade and cultural exchange between peoples of the region ?
Phoenicians
,
Egyptians
,
Greeks
,
Hebrews
,
Minoans
and
Hittites
on the eastern side of the mediterranean and the
Carthaginians
,
Romans
,
Etruscans
,
Celtiberians
,
Gauls
and
Berbers
on the western side.
The history of the Mediterranean is important in understanding the origin and development of
Western civilization
.
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. The
European migrant crisis
resulted in many refugees drowning in the Mediterranean Sea.
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.
[3]
: 202
Evaporation is especially high in its eastern half, causing the water level to decrease and
salinity
to increase eastward.
[3]
: 206
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.
[3]
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.
[3]
: 207
- ↑
P. Galesini,
Tesoro della lingua volgar, latina, raccolto da monsig. Pietro Galesini protonotaro Apostolico, con diligente osseruatione, & imitatione de i piu nobili scrittori antichi latini
(Venetiis, 1584).
- ↑
"The Mediterranean Sea and Ancient Greece"
.
- ↑
3.0
3.1
3.2
3.3
Pinet, Paul R. (1996),
Invitation to Oceanography
(3rd ed.), St Paul, MN: West,
ISBN
0314063390
35°N
18°E
/
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