Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea between Europe, Africa and Asia covering an approximate area of 2.5 million km².

The sea is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the Strait of Gibraltar on the west and to the Sea of Marmara and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and the Bosporus on the east. The Sea of Marmara -- but not the Black Sea -- is often considered a part of Mediterranean Sea. The Suez Canal in the southeast connects the Mediterranean with the Red Sea.

Tides are very limited because of the narrow connection with the ocean.

Its major islands are:

• Cyprus, Crete, and Rhodes in the east;
• Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily, and Malta in the center;
• Majorca and Minorca in the west.

Major countries bordering the sea are:

• Spain, France, Italy, Croatia, Albania, Greece and Turkey on the north shore,
• Lebanon, Syria and Israel on the east,
• Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco on the south shore.

The climate is generally one of wet winters and hot, dry summers. Special crops of the region are olives, grapes, oranges, tangerines, and cork. The region has a long history of civilisation.

Parts of the Mediterranean are given their own names, for example the Aegean Sea, the Ionian Sea,the Adriatic Sea, etc.

External links

• Mediterranean directory at Google:
  • http://directory.google.com/Top/Regional/Europe/Regions/Mediterranean/