Mediterranean Sea
| Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R) |
Mediterranean Sea (भूमध्य सागर / रूम सागर) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region.
Variants
- Great Sea (Anabasis by Arrian, p. 119, 270, 273, 274, 275, 309, 315, 317, 318, 347-349, 377, 385, 387, 400, 410.)
- Mediterranean (Anabasis by Arrian, p. 275, 276, 318, 369, 417.)
- Inner Sea (Pliny.vi.8)
Location
It is almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the east, by the Levant. The sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a separate body of water.
Origin of name
The name Mediterranean is derived from the Latin mediterraneus, meaning "inland" or "in the middle of the land" .
History
It covers an approximate area of 2.5 million km², but its connection to the Atlantic (the Strait of Gibraltar) is only 14-KM wide. The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Gibraltar and Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa. In oceanography, it is sometimes called the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea or the European Mediterranean Sea to distinguish it from elsewhere.
It was an important route for merchants and travellers of ancient times that allowed for trade and cultural exchange between emergent peoples of the region. The history of the Mediterranean region is crucial to understanding the origins and development of many modern societies.
Countries with coastlines
The countries with coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea are Albania, Algeria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Monaco, Montenegro, Palestine, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Turkey, and Tunisia.
External Links
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Sea
- http://hi.wikipedia.org/wiki/ भूमध्यसागर
- http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Mediterranean_Sea.aspx