Atlantic Ocean

Additional Info

via Wikipedia
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres, it covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface and about one-quarter of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to the Atlas of Greek mythology, making the Atlantic the "Sea of Atlas". The oldest known mention of this name is contained in The Histories of Herodotus around 450 BCE; see also: Atlas Mountains. Another name historically used was the ancient term Ethiopic Ocean, derived from Ethiopia, whose name was sometimes used as a synonym for all of Africa and thus for the ocean. Before Europeans discovered other oceans, the term "ocean" itself was to them synonymous with the waters beyond Western Europe that we now know as the Atlantic and which the Greeks had believed to be a gigantic river encircling the world; see Oceanus.

In the News

  • Air France A380 first to cross the Atlantic

    Self-catering-breaks.com 9 hours, 15 minutes ago

    The world's biggest commercial passenger aircraft, the A380, set off today under the Air France banner for its initial flight across the Atlantic Ocean ...

  • Shuttle Atlantis completes smooth station linkup

    CNET News 2 days, 6 hours ago

    ... Wednesday after a spectacular back-flip maneuver 220 miles above the Atlantic Ocean that allowed the lab crew to inspect the ship's fragile heat shield. ...

Videos

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Atlantic Ocean. Waterfall

Web Search Results

  • Atlantic Ocean - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres (41.1 million square ... en.wikipedia.org

  • Atlantic Ocean

    The S shape of the Atlantic ocean results in two distinct basins with their own circulation systems. In the Northern Atlantic currents flow in a clockwise ... www.mnsu.edu

  • CIA - The World Factbook -- Atlantic Ocean

    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, ... www.cia.gov

  • Geography and Map of the Atlantic Ocean

    Geography and maps of the Atlantic Ocean.: saint lawrence seaway fifth world ocean international hydrographic organization strait of gibraltar cia factbook. geography.about.com