Atlantic Ocean

1. Atlantic Ocean Introduction

Background:
  The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceans (after
  the Pacific Ocean, but larger than the Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and
  Arctic Ocean). The Kiel Canal (Germany), Oresund (Denmark-Sweden), Bosporus
  (Turkey), Strait of Gibraltar (Morocco-Spain), and the Saint Lawrence
  Seaway (Canada-US) are important strategic access waterways. The decision
  by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to
  delimit a fifth world ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the
  Atlantic Ocean south of 60 degrees south latitude.

2. Atlantic Ocean Geography

Location:
  body of water between Africa, Europe, the Southern Ocean, and the Western
  Hemisphere

Geographic coordinates:
  0 00 N, 25 00 W

Map references:
  Political_Map_of_the_World

Area:
  total: 76.762 million km
  note: includes Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait, Denmark
    Strait, part of the Drake Passage, Gulf of Mexico, Labrador Sea,
    Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, almost all of the Scotia
    Sea, and other tributary water bodies

Area - comparative:
  slightly less than 6.5 times the size of the US

Coastline:
  111,866 km

Climate:
  tropical cyclones (hurricanes) develop off the coast of Africa near Cape
  Verde and move westward into the Caribbean Sea; hurricanes can occur from
  May to December, but are most frequent from August to November

Terrain:
  surface usually covered with sea ice in Labrador Sea, Denmark Strait, and
  coastal portions of the Baltic Sea from October to June; clockwise
  warm-water gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the northern
  Atlantic, counterclockwise warm-water gyre in the southern Atlantic; the
  ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged north-south
  centerline for the entire Atlantic basin

Elevation extremes:
  lowest point: Milwaukee Deep in the Puerto Rico Trench -8,605 m
  highest point: sea level 0 m

Natural resources:
  oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales), sand and
  gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, precious stones

Natural hazards:
  icebergs common in Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, and the northwestern
  Atlantic Ocean from February to August and have been spotted as far south
  as Bermuda and the Madeira Islands; ships subject to superstructure icing
  in extreme northern Atlantic from October to May; persistent fog can be a
  maritime hazard from May to September; hurricanes (May to December)

Environment - current issues:
  endangered marine species include the manatee, seals, sea lions, turtles,
  and whales; drift net fishing is hastening the decline of fish stocks and
  contributing to international disputes; municipal sludge pollution off
  eastern US, southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina; oil pollution in
  Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, and North
  Sea; industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in Baltic Sea, North
  Sea, and Mediterranean Sea

Geography - note:
  major chokepoints include the Dardanelles, Strait of Gibraltar, access to
  the Panama and Suez Canals; strategic straits include the Strait of Dover,
  Straits of Florida, Mona Passage, The Sound (Oresund), and Windward
  Passage; the Equator divides the Atlantic Ocean into the North Atlantic
  Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean

3. Atlantic Ocean Economy

Economy - overview:
  The Atlantic Ocean provides some of the world's most heavily trafficked sea
  routes, between and within the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. Other
  economic activity includes the exploitation of natural resources, e.g.,
  fishing, dredging of aragonite sands (The Bahamas), and production of crude
  oil and natural gas (Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and North Sea).

4. Atlantic Ocean Transportation

Ports and terminals:
  Alexandria (Egypt), Algiers (Algeria), Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona
  (Spain), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Casablanca (Morocco), Colon (Panama),
  Copenhagen (Denmark), Dakar (Senegal), Gdansk (Poland), Hamburg (Germany),
  Helsinki (Finland), Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain), Le Havre (France),
  Lisbon (Portugal), London (UK), Marseille (France), Montevideo (Uruguay),
  Montreal (Canada), Naples (Italy), New Orleans (US), New York (US), Oran
  (Algeria), Oslo (Norway), Peiraiefs or Piraeus (Greece), Rio de Janeiro
  (Brazil), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Saint Petersburg (Russia), Stockholm
  (Sweden)

Transportation - note:
  Kiel Canal and Saint Lawrence Seaway are two important waterways;
  significant domestic commercial and recreational use of Intracoastal
  Waterway on central and south Atlantic seaboard and Gulf of Mexico coast of
  US

5. Atlantic Ocean Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  some maritime disputes (see littoral states)


<Factbook 2006>
