Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean as the 1993 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 15 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

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Area82.217 million km2
Locationbody of water between the Western Hemisphere and Europe/Africa
1993

Every edition of Atlantic Ocean

Geography

Body of water between the Western Hemisphere and Europe/Africa

10 fields
Area
82.217million km2
comparative area: 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)
Note
note: includes Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, Drake Passage, Gulf of Mexico, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies
Coastline
111,866km

Location

body of water between the Western Hemisphere and Europe/Africa

Map references

Africa, Antarctic Region, Arctic Region, Central America and the Caribbean, Europe, North America, South America, Standard Time Zones of the World

International disputes

some maritime disputes (see littoral states)

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 north Atlantic, counterclockwise warm water gyre in the south Atlantic;
  • the ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged north-south centerline for the entire Atlantic basin;
  • maximum depth is 8,605 meters in the Puerto Rico Trench

Natural resources

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

Environment

  • endangered marine species include the manatee, seals, sea lions, turtles, and whales;
  • 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;
  • icebergs common in Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, and the northwestern Atlantic 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

Note

  • ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north Atlantic from October to May and extreme south Atlantic from May to October;
  • persistent fog can be a hazard to shipping from May to September;
  • major choke points include the Dardanelles, Strait of Gibraltar, access to the Panama and Suez Canals;
  • strategic straits include the Dover Strait, Straits of Florida, Mona Passage, The Sound (Oresund), and Windward Passage;
  • north Atlantic shipping lanes subject to icebergs from February to August;
  • the Equator divides the Atlantic Ocean into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean

Government

1 field

Economy

Economic activity is limited to exploitation of natural resources, | especially fish, dredging aragonite sands (The Bahamas), and crude oil and | natural gas production (Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and North Sea).

1 field

Overview

Economic activity is limited to exploitation of natural resources, especially fish, dredging aragonite sands (The Bahamas), and crude oil and natural gas production (Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and North Sea).

Communications

3 fields

Ports

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 (formerly Leningrad; Russia), Stockholm (Sweden)

Telecommunications

  • numerous submarine cables with most between continental Europe and the UK, North America and the UK, and in the Mediterranean;
  • numerous direct links across Atlantic via INTELSAT satellite network

Note

Kiel Canal and Saint Lawrence Seaway are two important waterways

Central Intelligence Agency. “Atlantic Ocean.” The World Factbook 1993. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/atlantic-ocean/1993.

How to cite ← 1992 edition 1994 edition →