Mediterranean Sea Size report

The Mediterranean Sea (French: Méditerranée, Spanish: Mediterráneo, Italian: Mediterraneo) is a sea area between the European, African, and Asian continents, surrounded by the European continent to the north, the African continent to the south, and the Asian continent to the east. The west is connected to the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar. It is located between latitudes 30° and 46° N and longitudes 5°50′ W and 36° E.

The Mediterranean Sea is the largest continental sea in the world. The coastal countries include France, Monaco, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Spain, Malta, Turkey, Syria, Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria, etc. There are many world famous travel destination cities along the coast.

The Mediterranean Sea is bounded by the Apennine Peninsula, the Tunis Strait between Sicily and Tunisia, and is divided into two parts: east and west. The salinity of the Mediterranean Sea is relatively high, up to 39.5‰. You will learn more about the Mediterranean Sea in this post.

Mediterranean Sea Introduction

The Mediterranean Sea is one of the oldest seas in the world, while its subordinate Atlantic Ocean is a young sea. Its name in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and other languages are spelled from the Latin "Mare Mediterraneum." In the 7th century, the Spanish writer Isil first used the Mediterranean as a geographical name. The Mediterranean coast is also one of the birthplaces of ancient human civilizations, including the splendid culture of ancient Egypt, the Kingdom of Babylon, the Persian Empire's history, and the birthplace of European civilization (Aegean civilization, ancient Greek civilization, and ancient Roman Empire).

The Mediterranean Sea is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the Strait of Gibraltar and to the Black Sea in the east by the Strait of Turkey. The western end communicates with the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar. The narrowest point is only 13 kilometers, and the channel is relatively shallow. The southeast is connected to the Red Sea by the Suez Canal, which was opened in the 19th century.

Mediterranean Sea Size

• The Mediterranean Sea extends about 4,000 km from the west to the east, and the widest point from north to south is about 1800 km.
  
• The Mediterranean Sea, including the Sea of Marmara, occupies an area of approximately 970,000 square miles (2,510,000 square km).
• The sea has an average depth of about 1,500 m and a maximum depth of 5,267 m at its deepest point, the Calypso Deep in the Ionian Sea.

Geography

A 316 meters deep submarine ridge between Sicily and the African coast divides the Mediterranean Sea into eastern and western portions. The coastline of the Mediterranean is tortuous, and each peninsula divides the entire Mediterranean into different sea areas. Major islands include Mallorca, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, etc. The Caribbean Sea between South and North America also belongs to the Mediterranean Sea. The Mediterranean Sea is located at the junction of the Eurasian and African plates and is one of the strongest seismic belts in the world. The Mediterranean region has Mount Vesuvius and Mount Etna.

• Alboran Sea
• Balearic Sea: The sea between the Balearic Islands and continental Europe.
• Ligurian Sea: The sea between the Gulf of Genoa and the island of Corsica.
• Tyrrhenian Sea: The sea between the Apennine Peninsula, Corsica, and Sardinia. The main port along the coast is Palermo.
• Adriatic Sea: The sea between the Balkans and the Apennine, with Venice as the main port.
• Aegean Sea: The sea between the Balkans, Anatolia, and Crete.
• Marmara Sea: The smallest sea in the world, it is the inland sea of Turkey and the dividing line between Asia and Europe of Turkey.

Climate

The coast of the Mediterranean Sea has hot and dry summers and warm and humid winters, which is called a Mediterranean climate. This climate makes surrounding rivers flooded with rain in winter and dry in summer. Controlled by the westerly wind in winter, the climate is mild. The average temperature of the coldest month is between 4 and 10°C, and the rainfall is abundant. Under the control of the subtropical high pressure in summer, it is hot, dry, and sunny. The annual precipitation is 300~1000 mm, about 60%~70% in the winter half-year and only 30%~40% in the summer half-year.

Natural Resources

The vegetation along the Mediterranean coast is dominated by evergreen shrubs, with hard leaves, waxy leaves, and deep roots, which are drought tolerant to adapting to the hot and dry climate in summer. The main subtropical fruit-producing area in Europe is rich in citrus, figs, olives, grapes, and cork. Because the phosphate and nitrate necessary for marine organisms contained in seawater are relatively poor, the Mediterranean fish resources are not very rich, and there are only small-scale fisheries.

Petroleum has been discovered off the coasts of Spain, Sicily, Libya, and Tunisia, and natural gas has been discovered in the Adriatic Sea. Tourism is an important source of income for many countries on the Mediterranean coast.

Final Words

When we open the world map, we can see a sea between Europe, Asia, and Africa, which is the Mediterranean Sea. There are many countries or regions along the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, 11 countries in Europe, 6 countries in Asia, and 5 countries in Africa. It should be noted that the Mediterranean Sea is connected to the Black Sea, but the Black Sea area is not included in the area of the Mediterranean Sea. The Mediterranean basin has always been the cradle of world civilization. Traveling through cities along the Mediterranean coast, you'll get to know different cultures and architectural styles.