Atlantic Ocean

Several terms redirect here. For other uses, see Atlantic (disambiguation), North Atlantic (disambiguation), South Atlantic (disambiguation), and Atlantic Basin (disambiguation).

Atlantic Ocean
Map of the Arctic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean excluding its Arctic and Antarctic regions
Coordinates0°N 25°W / 0°N 25°W / 0; -25[1]
Basin countriesList of bordering countries (not drainage basin), ports
Surface area85,133,000 km2 (32,870,000 sq mi)[2]
North Atlantic: 41,490,000 km2 (16,020,000 sq mi),
South Atlantic 40,270,000 km2 (15,550,000 sq mi)[3]
Average depth3,646 m (11,962 ft)[3]
Max. depthPuerto Rico Trench
8,376 m (27,480 ft)[4]
Water volume310,410,900 km3 (74,471,500 cu mi)[3]
Shore length1111,866 km (69,510 mi) including marginal seas[1]
IslandsList of islands
TrenchesPuerto Rico; South Sandwich; Romanche
SettlementsList
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.
This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 29 on board the ISS. The pass starts from just northeast of the island of Newfoundland over the North Atlantic Ocean to central Africa, over South Sudan.

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about 85,133,000 km2 (32,870,000 sq mi).[5] It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for separating the New World of the Americas (North America and South America) from the Old World of Afro-Eurasia (Africa, Asia, and Europe).

Through its separation of Afro-Eurasia from the Americas, the Atlantic Ocean has played a central role in the development of human society, globalization, and the histories of many nations. While the Norse were the first known humans to cross the Atlantic, it was the expedition of Christopher Columbus in 1492 that proved to be the most consequential. Columbus' expedition ushered in an age of exploration and colonization of the Americas by European powers, most notably Portugal, Spain, France, and the United Kingdom. From the 16th to 19th centuries, the Atlantic Ocean was the center of both an eponymous slave trade and the Columbian exchange while occasionally hosting naval battles. Such naval battles, as well as growing trade from regional American powers like the United States and Brazil, both increased in degree during the early 20th century, and while no major military conflicts have taken place in the Atlantic recently,[when?] the ocean remains a core component of trade around the world.

The Atlantic Ocean occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin extending longitudinally between Europe and Africa to the east, and the Americas to the west. As one component of the interconnected World Ocean, it is connected in the north to the Arctic Ocean, to the Pacific Ocean in the southwest, the Indian Ocean in the southeast, and the Southern Ocean in the south. Other definitions describe the Atlantic as extending southward to Antarctica. The Atlantic Ocean is divided in two parts, the northern and southern Atlantic, by the Equator.[6]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference CIA-World was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference sage Ocean – Britannica was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference ETOPO1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Dean, Josh (21 December 2018). "An inside look at the first solo trip to the deepest point of the Atlantic". Popular Science. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  5. ^ "Atlantic Ocean". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 15 February 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  6. ^ International Hydrographic Organization, Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd ed. (1953), pages 4 and 13.