The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea. Located between Europe, Africa and Asia. This sea is connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely surrounded by land: bordered on the north by Southern Europe and Greece, on the south by North Africa and on the east by Lebanon, it is the region of Syria, Palestine and Lebanon.
Sometimes the sea is attributed to the composition of the Atlantic Ocean, but is usually defined as a separate body of water. The name Mediterranean comes from Latin and means “in the middle of the earth.”
The sea approximately covers an area of more than 2.5 million square kilometers, and the strait connecting the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean is only 14 kilometers wide. The Strait of Gibraltar is called the Strait of Gibraltar, and it separates Europe from Africa from Morocco. Sometimes within the framework of oceanography, the Mediterranean is called the Euro-African Sea in order to distinguish it from other Mediterranean seas, such as the Black Sea, which is also surrounded by land.
The average depth of the sea is 1,500 meters, and its deepest point is located in the composite Ionian Sea at a depth of 5,267 meters. The total length of the coastline is about 46,000 kilometers.
Mediterranean countries
The Mediterranean Sea acts as a water territorial boundary for 24 countries: Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Monaco, Montenegro, Northern Cyprus, Palestine , Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Turkey, Tunisia and Mediterranean controlled territories.
Mediterranean Sea on the map
History of the Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea was an important route for merchants and travelers of ancient times, which had a beneficial effect on trade and cultural exchanges between the peoples living in that region. The history of the Mediterranean region plays an important role in the history of the entire Western ancient world.
The Mediterranean Sea historically has several names: the Carthaginians called it the Syrian Sea, the Romans - Our Sea, the Syrians - the Great Sea, the Israelis - the Sea of the Philistines, in Hebrew - the Near Sea, the Arabs - the Byzantine Sea, and the Turks - the White Sea.
Video about the sea
Historically, the most important water basin for Europeans was the Mediterranean Sea. (True, other peoples might have had other seas as their main ones.) It was on its shores that Greek and Hellenic civilization arose. Along its blue waves, the Phoenicians are the best sailors Ancient world- learned to sail to distant countries... What is it and how and when did it arise?
The emergence of the Mediterranean Sea
Scientists believe that Mediterranean Sea - relic, that is, a relic of that ancient era when the single continent of the Earth - Gondwana was washed by the single Tethys Ocean (by the way, the Aral, Caspian, Black and Marmara Seas are considered the same relics, which filled the deep depressions on the single Gondwana when it split and separated into continents).
But there is another opinion: as if Tethys was once surrounded by land. And between North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, where now, between Asia Minor and Europe, there were land bridges with river valleys. And only later they were flooded by ocean waters... There are different assumptions and hypotheses. That's why they exist, to study them, and then either accept them or reject them as untenable.
In the west, the Mediterranean Sea is connected to the Strait of Gibraltar. In the northeast, the Dardanelles Strait connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Marmara Sea, and the Bosporus Strait with the Black Sea. In the southeast, people dug the Suez Canal from Mediterranean Sea in, and from it there is a direct route to the Indian Ocean.
The shores of the Mediterranean Sea are indented with bays and lagoons, which greatly contributed to the development of navigation among ancient peoples. There are also large bays: Valencia, Lyon, Genoa, Taranto, Sidra (Great Sirte), Gabes (Little Sirte). Find them yourself on the map.
Mediterranean islands
There are many islands in the Mediterranean Sea, especially in its northern part. The most significant of them: Sicily, then Sardinia, Corsica, Crete, Cyprus and the Balearic Islands. Some historians believe that once upon a time in the Mediterranean Sea there was an island of the state of Atlantis, disappeared as a result of a terrible volcanic eruption. Only most authors indicated the location of Atlantis in different ways, starting from the shores South America to the North Sea and from Yucatan to Mongolia...
The version that the island of Atlantis was located in the Mediterranean Sea, said the Russian traveler and scientist, academician Abraham Norov, who lived in the 19th century. It is this assumption that has gained the most popularity.
Atlantis is still being sought today. It is known, for example, that an entire civilization, the so-called Minoan culture, which existed one and a half thousand years BC somewhere in the region of the islands of Crete and Tyre, perished as a result of a major catastrophe. French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau discovered fragments of structures at the bottom of the underwater island of Thira, indicating that the city actually died there. It is only unknown whether it was Atlantis...
At the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea there are several deep basins with relatively steep continental slopes. The shelf strip is narrow, expanding only between the coast of Tunisia and Sicily and in the Adriatic Sea. The Mediterranean Sea basin includes many coastal seas. You should know them from history or mythology. Many different events took place there. Look at the map and find them yourself one by one.
Mediterranean weather and climate
The main wealth of the Mediterranean is its climate: mild wet winters and hot dry summers. In winter, atmospheric pressure decreases over the sea, and this determines unstable weather with frequent storms and rain. Local winds often blow. In summer, an anticyclone with clear weather, with little cloudiness and rare rain sets in over most of the Mediterranean basin. IN Mediterranean Sea From Africa, the southern wind sirocco sometimes brings dusty haze. And in the Strait of Messina you can often see mirages, the so-called Fata Morgana.
Since ancient times, the waters of this sea have been a means of communication between the three parts of the world. It is no coincidence that the entire area around was considered the center of the world, the Mediterranean.
Geology
According to most scientists, the Mediterranean Sea is all that remains of the vast prehistoric Tethys Ocean. The geomorphological process of the formation of this giant depression over millions of years is influenced by movements and faults of the earth's crust. Until now, the Mediterranean region is characterized by high seismic activity and partly the thickness seabed there it is formed by volcanic rocks.
This is why the depth of the Mediterranean Sea varies so dramatically in its different parts.
To imagine the approximate nature of the bottom relief, it is enough to analyze its coast, especially the European part. In the underwater depths lie mountain ranges and gorges comparable to the Alps or the Caucasus.
Sources of water replenishment
Replenishment of water reserves and their evaporation also plays an important role in the fullness of the reservoir. The average depth of the Mediterranean Sea directly depends on these factors. Looking at the map, it is not difficult to name all the most significant water donors. In the west is the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar; in the east - the Black and Marmara seas through the Bosphorus and Dardanelle straits. It is also replenished with fresh water from the rivers of both continents. The largest of them are the Nile and Po in Africa, the Rhone, Tiber and Ebro in Europe. However, the mild Mediterranean climate and deep volcanic processes provoke active evaporation of its waters. Therefore, the prevailing depth of the Mediterranean Sea is relatively small - about 1541 m.
It has a negative water level balance relative to the Atlantic.
Division of territories
Conventionally, the entire sea is divided into three basins:
- Western - consists of the basins of the Balearic, Ligurian, Tyrrhenian and Alboran Seas;
- Central - includes the depressions of the Adriatic and Ionian seas, where the depth of the Mediterranean Sea is greatest, as well as the middle waters;
- Eastern - unites the basins of the Aegean, Marmara and Levantine seas.
Historically, different territories of this sea have had their own names since ancient times, which have been preserved to this day and have official status.
Far West
Sandy and rocky shallows stretch for many kilometers. Here, the average depth of the Mediterranean Sea near the coast ranges from 2 to 15 meters. Luxury resorts are located along the coast.
The Alboran Sea begins at the Strait of Gibraltar. Average depths range from 1000 to 1500 meters. It is noteworthy that the strip of shallows near the coast is extremely narrow, this can be seen on the map. The deepest place (2407 m) is located at its eastern outskirts. The bottom topography is extremely heterogeneous and consists of extended mountain ranges and depressions. The largest ridge gave the name to the sea.
Seas off the coasts of France and Italy
Next is the Balearic Sea. Here the picture of the coastline is radically different. Sandy beaches and the relatively shallow depth of the Mediterranean Sea of about 200 m have turned these places into an amazing tourist paradise. The abundance of islands also contributes to this.
The most picturesque - Ibiza, Menorca, Mallorca, world famous tourist centers. This area is shallower, on average 500-1000 m. In addition, the nature of the relief is quite calm, the bottom is muddy and sandy. The maximum depth here is 2132 m.
The Ligurian Sea washes the coasts of France, Italy and Monaco. Its eastern borders are delineated by the island of Corsica. The waters are relatively shallow. Near the coast there are many kilometers of shallow waters, where resort areas are also located. The depth on the shelf barely reaches 200 m. This is clearly visible on the map. Further east, the average and greatest depth of the Mediterranean Sea ranges from 1200 m to 2546 m. Such places are found off the coast of Corsica.
Central pool
Further to the east, bounded by the islands of Corsica, Sicily and Sardinia on one side, and the Apennine Peninsula on the other, stretches the Tyrrhenian Sea. The earth's crust in this place has a fault that separates Europe and Africa. Therefore, the entire bottom is cut up by a chain of underwater mountain ranges, where they meet active volcanoes. Although the depth of the Mediterranean Sea here is relatively small, approximately 500-1500 m, in deep places the depth reaches 3719 m. The sea is limited by five straits with depths: Corsican (500 m); Bonifacio (69 m); Sicilian (316 m); Messinsky (500 m). It is in the Strait of Messina that the famous ancient Greek myths are located. In modern geography they are identified with a lonely pointed rock and a whirlpool in the local waters.
On the other side of the peninsula is the Adriatic Sea. It is a bay and seems to be sandwiched between neighboring coasts. The main sea is connected only by the Strait of Otranto, so the sea is now very shallow. The city of Adria, which gave it its name, was once a port. Now it is 25 km away from the coast. The entire north of the sea is relatively shallow (20-70 m).
The mild climate, shallow depths on the shelf, and uniform bottom topography have created all the conditions for the development of tourism. It is not for nothing that the entire coastline belonging to Italy and the countries of Eastern Europe has long become a favorite vacation spot. Almost everywhere the depth does not exceed 150 m, only in the very south it reaches 1230 m.
The Ionian Sea communicates with the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian through the straits. The map shows that it is formed by a giant cauldron-shaped depression. Its fairly flat bottom is covered with sand, gravel and lime deposits. There is a very narrow strip of the coastal shelf, almost immediately the continental plate goes deep to 2000 m, and maximum depth The Mediterranean Sea in bottom crevices reaches 5121 m. However, off the coast of Italy and Greece there are long beaches with narrow shallow waters, which are occupied by resorts.
Eastern Basin
The expanses of water between the Turkish coast of Eurasia and the Balkan Peninsula are called the Aegean Sea. Navigation along it has been widely mentioned in ancient Greek chronicles since antiquity. In some countries it is called the White Sea, which is confirmed by the color of the sea on a special depth map. The sea is quite shallow, the average depth of the Mediterranean Sea is 200-1000 m. There are many islands scattered throughout the sea, about 2000 of them. This is all that remains of the sunken ancient land - the Aegean. For this reason, it received a third name - the Sea of the Archipelago. It is this circumstance that explains the shallowness of the local waters. All areas of land, as elsewhere, are given over to resort towns, which are distinguished by a special antique flavor.
I wonder what southern edge also has its own name - the Cretan Sea. This closed body of water is clearly visible on the map, separated by an archipelago on one side and the island of Crete on the other. There are quite large depths here, up to a maximum of 2529 m.
The Sea of Marmara communicates with the Mediterranean only through but also belongs to its basin. It was formed as a result of a prehistoric giant continent. It is characterized by shallow depths, up to 1355 m, as the water level is constantly equalized through straits from two seas - the Mediterranean through the Dardanelles and the Black through the Bosphorus.
Asia-Africa region
The Levantine Sea is a large area of water that is located in the east. It washes the territories of several states - Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt and Libya. The general name of these lands is Levant, which gave the name to the sea. Formed by one of the underwater basins. Therefore, the bottom morphology is calm. It is here that one of the deepest water points is located - 4384 m.
The western water boundary is delineated by the island of Cyprus. The map shows what depth of the Mediterranean Sea prevails here - from 500 to 1500 m.
The central, most extensive part of the Mediterranean Sea is called the Libyan Sea. On one side it is bounded by the island of Crete, on the other by the northern African coast. There are no extremely deep places in these waters, on average - 500-1500 m. The very wide coastal strip of the Libyan coast consists of shallow waters up to 200 m.
The Mediterranean Sea is an inland sea of the Atlantic Ocean located between Eurasia and Africa. This water area has an average depth of 1.5 km and washes the shores of many countries, including Italy, Greece, France, Spain, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, etc. Narrow expanses of water - the Strait of Gibraltar, the Dardanelles, the Bosphorus, the Suez Canal - connect the Mediterranean basin with The Atlantic Ocean, the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara, and the Red Sea, respectively.
The Mediterranean region is considered the cradle of ancient civilizations; powerful ancient states competed for dominance over its coast. The warm, dry and favorable Mediterranean climate and bright blue sea attract people from all over the world. Even the name of the Mediterranean Sea is rich in its history.
Interesting Facts: The Mediterranean Sea includes the Tyrrhenian Sea adjacent to the western Italian coast; the Adriatic Sea, stretching along the eastern coast of Italy; Ionian Sea, located between Sicily and Crete; The Aegean Sea, separating Greece and Turkey, etc.
Ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea on the world map The historical region in the Mediterranean basin was inhabited by many ancient peoples - Phoenicians, Egyptians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans and Middle Eastern cultures (Arab, Persian, etc.). The sea in the center of the region was a transport route, a route for traders and travelers, which contributed to the development of trade and the establishment of cultural ties between the peoples of the Mediterranean.
Interesting Facts: The largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea are about. Sicily, o. Sardinia, belonging to the territory of Italy; O. Cyprus, the French island of Corsica and the Greek island of Crete.
The most famous Mediterranean civilizations are the Greek city-states and the Phoenicians. The ancient Greeks called the sea by the names of individual parts of the reservoir (“Cretan Sea”, “Sea of Io” (Ionian), etc.), since they did not have a common name for the entire water basin. Among the Carthaginians the name “Syrian Sea” was common; in Egypt the body of water was called “Great Green Water”.
"Our Sea" (Mare Nostrum)
Territory of the Roman Empire in the 2nd century Greece, Carthage, Egypt and Rome vied for control of the Mediterranean coast. The Romans, who conquered the Mediterranean region before the 2nd century, called the sea Mare Nostrum, which translated means “Our Sea”. The term Mare Nostrum was originally used by the Romans to refer to the Tyrrhenian Sea after their conquest of Corsica, Sicily, Sardinia during the Punic Wars with Carthage. By the first half of the 1st century BC. e. Roman rule extended from the Iberian Peninsula to Egypt, and the term "Our Sea" came to be used to refer to the entire Mediterranean Sea. Other Roman names for the Mediterranean Sea are also known, including “Inland Sea” (Mare Internum), since the coastal lands belonged to the Roman Empire at its height.
"Mediterranean Sea" (Mare Mediterraneum)
strait of Gibraltar In the 7th century, the name “Mediterranean Sea” (Mare Mediterraneum) spread. The term Mediterraneum comes from the Latin mediterraneus (Latin medius - middle, terra - earth), which translated means “in the middle of the earth”, “surrounded by the earth”. This name is justified in relation to the location of the sea, since it is surrounded by land, the coastline breaks are narrow: the width of the Strait of Gibraltar, connecting the sea in the western part with the Atlantic Ocean, is only 14 km; Dardanelles Strait – 1.3 km. The ancient Romans also discovered that the Mediterranean Sea is located at the center of the Earth.
The hydronym “Mediterranean Sea” was first used in the 3rd century by the Roman antiquarian writer Gaius Julius Solinus in the geographical work “On the Worthy of Memory.”
Other names
In the Old Testament, the Mediterranean Sea is called the “Western Sea” due to its proximity to the western coast of the Holy Land. In biblical texts the name “Sea of the Philistines” is also found, which arose on behalf of the people who inhabited the Mediterranean coast near Israel. However, the name “Great Sea” or simply “Sea” prevails.
In Hebrew, Mediterranean means “Middle Sea”; in Arabic and Turkish - “White Sea”, since in eastern countries the color white denoted the west. The term may also have arisen in opposition to the "Black Sea".
Interesting fact: The Mediterranean Sea is one of the saltiest and warm seas World ocean. Winter water temperature is on average 10 °C, in summer – 22 °C. The average salinity of the Mediterranean Sea (38‰) exceeds the average salt concentration in the Atlantic Ocean (35‰).
Thus, the ancient peoples who inhabited the Mediterranean region gave different names to the sea around which they were located: “Western Sea”, “Great Sea”, “Inland Sea”, etc. The Romans, having conquered the entire Mediterranean region, called the body of water “Our Sea” (Mare Nostrum). In the 7th century, the hydronym Mare Mediterraneum (“Mediterranean Sea”), which comes from the Latin word mediterraneus and is translated as “sea among the earth,” “sea surrounded by earth,” spread.
This is due to the fact that the sea is located among the lands that made up the civilization of the Ancient World, it is surrounded on all sides by land, with the exception of narrow straits. In addition, the ancient Romans considered the Mediterranean Sea to be the center of the Earth. The meaning of the Mediterranean Sea, like its name, remains to this day - it is a transport and trade route that connects three parts of the world - Europe, Asia and Africa.
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Countries and resorts of the Mediterranean Sea: maps, photos and videos. Holidays in the Mediterranean, hotels, beaches, water temperature off the coast of resorts.
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The cradle of civilizations, the bone of discord and the oldest trade routes - all this is a “sea in the middle of the earth”, whose waves wash the shores of 22 states, most of which have managed to derive direct tourist benefits from this remarkable neighborhood. It is on the numerous coasts of the Mediterranean Sea that the world's most famous resorts are located, to which millions of vacationers from all over the world flock every year. The countries of two continents - Africa and Eurasia, as well as numerous islands and archipelagos provide all the conditions for a full-fledged beach holiday: although not always warm, but enough clear waters, a sandy or pebble coast with a remarkably wide coastline, lush fruit-bearing nature and a lot of historical ruins in the surrounding area. What is especially pleasant is that a holiday in the Mediterranean bush can be classified as budget: a little more expensive than domestic “souths” and at the same time a whole range of entertainment and, for now, alas, a level of service that is mainly unattainable in the homeland.
Mediterranean countries
Let us not bend our hearts when we say that the Mediterranean is one of those successful tourism destinations in all respects, capable of offering almost everything to a demanding tourist, immediately and quickly. reasonable prices. What is there on the hospitable shores of the “middle sea”: plant-based relaxation in flip-flops and a swimsuit, and interesting excursions to the sights of almost any period known to historical science, and authentic items of souvenir interest, and rich opportunities for learning foreign languages “with immersion,” and terribly tasty, and most importantly healthy Mediterranean cuisine, on whose dishes more than one generation of centenarians has been raised.
Another characteristic feature of the Mediterranean, a balm for the heart of an attentive tourist, is the exceptional diversity of nationalities, languages, and cultures.
Everyone will find something to their liking: praying at the Western Wall in Jerusalem or burning through what they have acquired through “backbreaking labor” at golden parties in Monaco, inhaling the smell of eternity in the Giza Valley or listening to the chirping of cicadas in emerald Corfu, following in the footsteps of the Grand Duchesses on the streets of Istanbul or looking at Fez drowning in the red midday haze.
Other pleasant bonuses of the destination include a short flight (most resorts can be reached in no more than 4 hours), a unified visa regime (we’re talking about Schengen), which allows you to go to your neighbors along the coastline for the evening without any hassle, or in some cases, even lack of visa formalities - like in Tunisia or Turkey. Among other things, the Mediterranean is the most financially accessible of the foreign resort seas - you can find a holiday here starting from 200 EUR “from the nose”. Finally, the climate here is closest to the “universal” climate - swimming season from May to October, absence of sweltering heat in summer and mild, moderately sunny winters. The only downside is the extraordinary popularity of Mediterranean beaches, which in terms of the number of bodies per square meter of area easily surpasses the Klondike of the Gold Rush. However, for fans of secluded relaxation, the Mediterranean Sea has in store several secret corners, such as small Greek islands, where nothing prevents you from consigning everyday life to oblivion.
