Mediterranean Sea
hideThe Mediterranean Sea is a sea off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by the Levant. The name Mediterranean means "in the middle of the 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 (9 mi) wide. In oceanography, it is sometimes called the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea or the European Mediterranean Sea to distinguish it from mediterranean seas elsewhere.
The Mediterranean Sea has an average depth of 1,500 metres (4,920 ft) and the deepest recorded point is 5,267 meters (about 3.27 miles) in the Calypso Deep in the Ionian Sea.
It was an important route for merchants and travelers of ancient times that allowed for trade and cultural exchange between emergent peoples of the region — the Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Phoenician, Carthaginian, Greek, Illyrian, Levantine, Roman, Moorish and Turkish cultures. The history of the Mediterranean region is crucial to understanding the origins and development of many modern societies. "For the three quarters of the globe, the Mediterranean Sea is similarly the uniting element and the center of World History."
For more information about Mediterranean Sea, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with mediterranean sea
Isopod Replaces Fish's Tongue
Sep 14, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- An isopod that replaces a fish's tongue has been discovered for the first time in the Channel Islands in Europe. The marine isopod, described by its finder as hideous and vicious, is a rare ...
Coralline algae in the Mediterranean lost their tropical element between 5 and 7 million years ago
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Jul 07, 2009 |
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An international team of researchers has studied the coralline algae fossils that lived on the last coral reefs of the Mediterranean Sea between 7.24 and 5.3 million years ago. Mediterranean algae and coral ...
Fast and cheap forecasting system for Mediterranean cyclones
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
May 26, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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The Mediterranean region is a very active cyclone area, and is often affected by these atmospheric phenomena, which bring strong winds and heavy rain. Despite the efforts of the scientific community to improve numerical cyclone ...
Egypt to search 3 sites for Cleopatra's tomb
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Apr 15, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (4) |
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(AP) -- Archaeologists will begin excavating sites in Egypt next week in an attempt to solve a mystery that has stymied historians for hundreds of years: Where is the final resting place of doomed lovers Cleopatra and Mark ...
Mediterranean Sea dried up five million years ago
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Feb 16, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (9) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Upward movement of the Earth's crust transformed the Straits of Gibraltar into a dam. Approximately five million years ago, the Mediterranean Sea dried up after it was sealed off from the Atlantic Ocean. ...
