About
Atlantic Ocean
The
Atlantic Ocean is the world's second largest
ocean, following the Pacific Ocean. With
a total area of about 106,400,000 square
kilometres (41,100,000 sq mi), it covers
approximately 20 percent of the Earth's
surface and about 29 percent of its water
surface area. The first part of its name
refers to Atlas of Greek mythology, making
the Atlantic the "Sea of Atlas".
The
oldest known mention of "Atlantic"
is in The Histories of Herodotus around
450 BC (Hdt. 1.202.4): Atlantis thalassa
(English: Sea of Atlas). The term Ethiopic
Ocean, derived from Ethiopia, was applied
to the southern Atlantic as late as the
mid-19th century. Before Europeans discovered
other oceans, their term "ocean"
was synonymous with the waters beyond the
Strait of Gibraltar that are now known as
the Atlantic. The early Greeks believed
this ocean to be a gigantic river encircling
the world.
The
Atlantic Ocean occupies an elongated, S-shaped
basin extending longitudinally between Eurasia
and Africa to the east, and the Americas
to the west. As one component of the interconnected
global ocean, it is connected in the north
to the Arctic Ocean, to the Pacific Ocean
in the southwest, the Indian Ocean in the
southeast, and the Southern Ocean in the
south (other definitions describe the Atlantic
as extending southward to Antarctica). The
equator subdivides it into the North Atlantic
Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean. The term
"Central Atlantic" refers to the
area between South America and Africa north
of the Equator; while geographically part
of the North Atlantic, its character is
very different to the waters to the north
between North America and Europe.
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