body of water between Africa, Europe, the Southern Ocean,
and the Western Hemisphere

0 00 N, 25 00 W

World

total: 76.762 million sq km
note: includes Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait,
Denmark Strait, part of the Drake Passage, Gulf of Mexico,
Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, almost all of the Scotia
Sea, and other tributary water bodies

slightly less than 6.5 times the size of the US

111,866 km

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

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

lowest point: Milwaukee Deep in the Puerto Rico Trench -8,605 m
highest point: sea level 0 m

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

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; ships subject
to superstructure icing in extreme northern Atlantic from October to
May; persistent fog can be a maritime hazard from May to September;
hurricanes (May to December)

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

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