Atlantic Ocean

                                  Geography


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

Geographic coordinates: 0 00 N, 25 00 W

Map references: World

Area:
total: 82.217 million sq km
note: includes Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait, Denmark
Strait, Drake Passage, Gulf of Mexico, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea,
Norwegian Sea, Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies

AreaÑcomparative: slightly less than nine times the size of the US;
second-largest of the world's four oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, but
larger than Indian Ocean or Arctic Ocean)

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 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: 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; icebergs from Antarctica occur
in the extreme southern Atlantic Ocean; ships subject to superstructure
icing in extreme northern Atlantic from October to May and extreme southern
Atlantic from May to October; persistent fog can be a maritime hazard from
May to September

EnvironmentÑcurrent 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

EnvironmentÑinternational agreements:
party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

GeographyÑnote: 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

                                 Government


Data code: none; the US Government has not approved a standard for
hydrographic codesÑsee the Cross-Reference List of Hydrographic Data Codes
appendix

                                   Economy


EconomyÑoverview: 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, the dredging of aragonite sands (The Bahamas), and
production of crude oil and natural gas (Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and
North Sea).

                               Communications


Telephone system:
international: numerous submarine cables with most between continental
Europe and the UK, between North America and the UK, and in the
Mediterranean; numerous direct links across Atlantic via satellite networks

                               Transportation


Ports and harbors: 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), Piraeus (Greece), Rio de Janeiro
(Brazil), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Saint Petersburg (Russia), Stockholm
(Sweden)

TransportationÑnote: Kiel Canal and Saint Lawrence Seaway are two important
waterways

                            Transnational Issues


DisputesÑinternational: some maritime disputes (see littoral states)