Islands that are washed by the Atlantic Ocean. Small and large islands of the Atlantic Ocean. Their description and characteristics

vast ocean separates the continents, meanwhile, hundreds and thousands of small islands can be scattered in it. We have selected ten of these islands located in the Atlantic Ocean that attract visitors for a variety of reasons, from sandy beaches to remoteness and untouched nature!

Tristan da Cunha

A remote group of islands of volcanic origin is mesmerizing amazing nature and the animal world. It is named after Tristao da Cunha, who was Portuguese navigator who discovered these islands in 1506. The population of the island is only 302 people.

Porto Santo Island, Portugal

Located 43 kilometers northeast of Madeira, the island of Porto Santo was discovered in the early 15th century. Porto Santo is a rocky island with sculptural waves of sand, beautiful rocky and sandy beaches. Christopher Columbus himself once stopped in the town of Vila Baleira. His museum is located in the city, which is also the best place for shopping on the island.

Fernando De Noronha, Brazil

The archipelago consists of 21 islands and is located 354 km from the Brazilian coast. Due to the South Equatorial Current, the water here is very warm and you can dive without a suit to a depth of 40 m. Seascape attracts tourists with tunnels, canyons and rocks.

Canary Islands, Spain

The archipelago consists of a group of islands scattered in the ocean. La Palma and Tenerife are the most popular among tourists who come here to enjoy the many beaches, untouched nature, impeccable resorts and gambling. Yes Yes! Tenerife is famous for its casinos, which are visited by tourists from almost all over Europe. Numerous roulettes, blackjacks, slot machines many are dizzy and make their hearts beat faster. If you do not like the noisy atmosphere of the casino, then you can play your favorite gambling games on the portal http://freeslots-777.com on your computer via the Internet.

Newfoundland

The large Canadian island in the Atlantic Ocean has stunning scenery. From mountains and picturesque coastline to dense forests, the island attracts those willing to explore and discover.

Azores, Portugal

The archipelago is one of the autonomous regions of Portugal, and is located at a distance of 1360 km from the mainland in the Atlantic Ocean. The island owes its stunning scenery, fertile soil and lush greenery to volcanic origin. Nine islands scattered over a 600 km stretch of ocean belong to the archipelago.

Barbados

Untouched islands boast warm weather all year round. The unique culture of Barbados comes from English, African and West Indian settlers. Therefore, distinctive architecture, cuisine, music and dance can be found in Barbados. Tourists will be able to see historical heritage, shops, nightclubs, and the beauty of nature.

Faroe islands

A huge ocean separates the continents, meanwhile, hundreds and thousands of small islands can be scattered in it. We have selected ten of these islands located in the Atlantic Ocean that attract visitors for a variety of reasons, from sandy beaches to remoteness and untouched nature!

Tristan da Cunha

A remote group of islands of volcanic origin fascinates with amazing nature and wildlife. It is named after Tristao da Cunha, who was a Portuguese navigator who discovered these islands in 1506. The population of the island is only 302 people.

Porto Santo Island, Portugal

Located 43 kilometers northeast of Madeira, the island of Porto Santo was discovered in the early 15th century. Porto Santo is a rocky island with sculpted sand waves and beautiful rocky and sandy beaches. Christopher Columbus himself once stopped in the town of Vila Baleira. His museum is located in the city, which is also the best place for shopping on the island.

Fernando De Noronha, Brazil

The archipelago consists of 21 islands and is located 354 km from the Brazilian coast. Due to the South Equatorial current, the water here is very warm and you can dive without a suit up to a depth of 40 m. The seascape attracts tourists with tunnels, canyons and rocks.

Canary Islands, Spain

The archipelago consists of a group of islands scattered in the ocean. La Palma and Tenerife are the most popular among tourists who come here to enjoy the many beaches, untouched nature, impeccable resorts and gambling. Yes Yes! Tenerife is famous for its casinos, which are visited by tourists from almost all over Europe. Numerous roulettes, blackjacks, slot machines make many people dizzy and make their hearts beat faster.

Newfoundland

The large Canadian island in the Atlantic Ocean has stunning scenery. From mountains and picturesque coastline to dense forests, the island attracts those willing to explore and discover.

Azores, Portugal

The archipelago is one of the autonomous regions of Portugal, and is located at a distance of 1360 km from the mainland in the Atlantic Ocean. The island owes its stunning scenery, fertile soil and lush greenery to its volcanic origin. Nine islands scattered over a 600 km stretch of ocean belong to the archipelago.

Barbados

The pristine islands boast warm weather all year round. The unique culture of Barbados comes from English, African and West Indian settlers. Therefore, distinctive architecture, cuisine, music and dance can be found in Barbados. Tourists will be able to explore the historical heritage, shops, nightclubs, as well as the beauty of nature.

Faroe islands

A group of 18 islands, which are under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark, fascinate with amazing nature. Despite sovereignty, the 50,000 inhabitants retained their language and culture. Cities are clean and attractive with colorful houses.

Greenland

One of the most mysterious, remote and cold islands. This is a country that has preserved its incredible nature, animal world and Eskimo culture. An island of ice and snow where you can see breathtaking landscapes and traditions.

Iceland

The huge island is one of the favorite places for photographers, adventurers and travelers who come here to admire the ethereal landscape.

It is the second largest water reservoir in the world. But, despite its full flow, it is very scarce in the presence of small lands compared to the Indian or Pacific Oceans. The islands of the Atlantic Ocean are usually divided into northern and southern, the border between which passes, as you might guess, through the equator. Among them are huge, located near the continents, and miniature, which form archipelagos and entire arcs between themselves. We will consider their main archipelagos, starting from the largest and ending with the smallest.

Greenland

First, let's find out which islands in the Atlantic Ocean are the largest. Undoubtedly, the first largest is Greenland, where the state of the same name is located. This island is considered the largest in the world, and its area is 2,130,800 square kilometers. Despite the fact that all the lands of Greenland are covered with snow and glaciers, the climate here is changeable. In the southern part, the temperature is kept within 7-8 degrees below zero. In the north, the thermometer drops below 25 degrees. The most densely populated city is located in the west of Greenland and is called Nuuk or Gothob.

British

This major islands Atlantic Ocean, which are located in the North-West of Europe. On the one hand they are washed North Sea on the other hand, the Atlantic. On these lands there are two states - Great Britain and Ireland. The archipelago includes two islands of the same name, which are the largest. It also includes the little Shetland and Hebrides. All of them are in cold waters, because summer rest not popular here.

West Indies

In the West Atlantic there is one large archipelago, which the Europeans who conquered America called the West Indies. It includes three Bahamas, Greater Antilles and Lesser Antilles. The first includes over seven hundred islets, among which no more than thirty are inhabited. The Bahamas are considered the most expensive recreation area in the region, the main entertainment center for adults and children. Small Antilles The Atlantic Ocean is a kind of arc, consisting of small islands. They have a well-developed tourism sector, but some of them are uninhabited. They are followed by the Big Ones. This archipelago consists of the well-known Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and Puerto Rico.

Bermuda Triangle

The islands of the Atlantic Ocean, which are located nine hundred kilometers from the coast of the United States, have mysterious name- Bermuda. Not looking at existing legends (the archipelago is part of bermuda triangle, within which ships and planes sometimes disappear), these lands are a place of tourist pilgrimage for people from different corners our planet. beach season opens here in April winter period The air temperature drops to 15 degrees Celsius. The islands are not a densely populated region, however, it is a full-fledged province, which is under the rule of the British crown.

Off the coast of Antarctica

The South Sandwich Islands are the coldest islands in the Atlantic Ocean. The list of territorial units that make up the archipelago consists of 11 items. Among them, Montague, which is located in the central part of the archipelago, is considered the largest island. These lands are uninhabited, as the air temperature here is almost always very low. In winter, the thermometer drops to -30 and below, it constantly snows. Summer lasts for several days, and the absolute maximum temperature that was recorded here is +8 Celsius. The islands have been in the possession of Great Britain since their discovery by James Cook.

Paradise tourist corner

But the Canary Islands are one of the few places where in the waters of the Atlantic you can relax like a paradise all year round. They are located a little West Africa and fall into the tropics climatic zone. The Canary Islands of the Atlantic Ocean are famous for their everlasting summer weather. At any time of the year, the air temperature here does not rise above 30 and does not fall below 25 degrees, therefore, in winter and in summer, you can comfortably sunbathe, swim and have fun.

burning lands

Summing up, it is worth talking about the origin of these lands. Almost all the islands that we have listed above are volcanic islands of the Atlantic Ocean. This category includes all archipelagos, consisting of small islands, which are located both near the equator and near the poles. TO volcanic lands can be attributed bermuda archipelago, Canaries, Bahamas, Southern lands Green Cape and many others. Some of them still have which are the main problem of all local residents.

Conclusion

Far from all the islands of the Atlantic Ocean were mentioned above. List of small lands that are in this great body of water, much more extensive. Archipelagos form near Great Britain, Alaska, between Greenland and Canada, around Africa, near Antarctica and South America. But counting them all, and even describing them, is a long and painstaking task. Therefore, we have listed only the most prominent representatives of this geographical group, indicating the main similarities and differences.

The largest islands and archipelagos of the Atlantic Ocean

British Isles, which includes: Great Britain, Ireland, Hebrides, Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands; Greater Antilles: Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Huventud; Lesser Antilles: Trinidad, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Curacao, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Vincent, Tobago; Falkland Islands: East Falkland, West Falkland, Bahamas: Andros, Greater Inagua, Bahama; Canary Islands: Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria; Balearic Islands: Mallorca; as well as individual islands such as Newfoundland, Iceland, Tierra del Fuego, Marajo, Sicily, Sardinia, Cape Breton, Cyprus, Corsica, Crete, Anticosti, South Georgia, Zealand, Prince Edward and Long Island.

Geological structure and topography of the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean

Significant areas of the shelf are adjacent to the coast North America and Europe. At the end of the Cenozoic period most of shelf was subjected to continental glaciation, which formed glacial landforms. Another element of the shelf relief is flooded river valleys, which are found in almost all shelf regions of the Atlantic Ocean. Continental deposits are widespread. Off the coast of Africa and South America, the shelf occupies smaller areas, but in the southern part of South America it expands significantly. Tidal currents sand ridges are formed. They are very characteristic of the shelf North Sea, they are found in large numbers in the English Channel, as well as on the shelves of North and South America. In equatorial-tropical waters, especially in the Caribbean Sea, on the Bahama banks, off the coast of South America, coral reefs are diverse and widely represented.

Continental slopes in most areas of the Atlantic Ocean are expressed as steep slopes, sometimes having a stepped profile and deeply dissected by submarine canyons. In some areas, the continental slopes are supplemented by several marginal plateaus: Blake, São Paulo, Falkland, Podkupain and Goban.

The continental foot for most of its length is an accumulation plain, that is, a plain of sedimentary rocks lying at a depth of 3-4 km and composed of a thick layer bottom sediments. Three rivers of the Atlantic Ocean are among the ten largest in the world - the Mississippi, whose solid runoff is 500 million tons per year, the Amazon - 499 million tons per year and the Orange - 153 million tons per year. The total volume of sedimentary material carried annually into the Atlantic Ocean basin by only 22 of its main rivers is more than 1.8 billion tons. Along the North American continental margin due to the bottom runoff of cold Arctic waters and along the continental foot in southbound giant accumulation landforms are formed, for example, such "sedimentary ridges" as Newfoundland, Blake-Baham and others.

Part of the World Ocean bounded by Europe and Africa from the east and north and South America from the west. The name comes from the name of the titan Atlas (Atlanta) in Greek mythology.

It is inferior in size only to the Quiet; its area is approximately 91.56 million km2. It is distinguished from other oceans by the strong indentation of the coastline, which forms numerous seas and bays, especially in the northern part. In addition, the total area of river basins flowing into this ocean or its marginal seas is much larger than that of rivers flowing into any other ocean. Another difference Atlantic Ocean is a relatively small number of islands and a complex bottom topography, which, thanks to underwater ridges and uplifts, forms many separate basins.

States of the coast of the Atlantic Ocean-49 countries:

Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Benin, Brazil, United Kingdom, Venezuela, Gabon, Haiti, Guyana, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Grenada, Democratic Republic Congo, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ireland, Iceland, Spain, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Canada, Ivory Coast, Cuba, Liberia, Mauritania, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Norway, Portugal, Republic of the Congo, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Suriname, USA, Sierra Leone, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, France, Equatorial Guinea, South Africa.

NORTHERN ATLANTIC OCEAN

It is divided into northern and southern parts, the border between which is conditionally drawn along the equator. From an oceanographic point of view, however, the equatorial countercurrent, located at 5–8° N latitude, should be attributed to the southern part of the ocean. northern border usually carried out in the Arctic Circle. In some places this boundary is marked by underwater ridges.

Borders and coastline

in the northern hemisphere has a heavily indented coastline. Its narrow Northern part connected to the Arctic Ocean by three narrow straits. In the northeast, the Davis Strait, 360 km wide, connects it with the Baffin Sea, belonging to the Arctic Ocean. In the central part, between Greenland and Iceland, there is the Danish Strait, with a width of only 287 km at its narrowest point. Finally, in the northeast, between Iceland and Norway, is the Norwegian Sea, approx. 1220 km. East of Atlantic Ocean two water areas deeply protruding into the land are separated. The more northern of them begins with the North Sea, which to the east passes into the Baltic Sea with the Bothnian and Gulf of Finland. To the south there is a system of inland seas - the Mediterranean and the Black - with a total length of approx. 4000 km.

In the tropical zone in the southwest North Atlantic the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico connected to the ocean by the Strait of Florida. The coast of North America is indented by small bays (Pamlico, Barnegat, Chesapeake, Delaware and Long Island Sound); to the northwest are the Bays of Fundy and St. Lawrence, Belle Isle, Hudson Strait, and Hudson Bay.

CURRENTS

Surface currents in the northern part Atlantic Ocean moving clockwise. The main elements of this large system are the warm current of the Gulf Stream directed to the north, as well as the North Atlantic, Canary and Northern Equatorial (Equatorial) currents. The Gulf Stream follows from the Strait of Florida and the island of Cuba in a northerly direction along the coast of the United States and at about 40 ° N. latitude. deviates to the northeast, changing its name to the North Atlantic Current. This current divides into two branches, one of which follows the northeast along the coast of Norway and further into the Northern Arctic Ocean. The second branch turns south and further southwest along the coast of Africa, forming the cold Canary Current. This current moves to the southwest and joins the North Equatorial Current, which heads west towards the West Indies, where it merges with the Gulf Stream. To the north of the North Equatorial Current is an area of stagnant water, abundant in algae and known as Sargasso Sea. Along the North Atlantic coast of North America, the cold Labrador Current passes from north to south, following from the Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea and cooling the coast of New England.

ISLANDS of the Atlantic Ocean

The largest islands are concentrated in the northern part of the ocean; these are the British Isles, Iceland, Newfoundland, Cuba, Haiti (Hispaniola) and Puerto Rico. On the eastern edge Atlantic Ocean there are several groups of small islands - Azores, Canaries, Cape Verde. There are similar groups in the western part of the ocean. Examples include the Bahamas, Florida Keys and Lesser Antilles. The archipelagos of the Greater and Lesser Antilles form an island arc surrounding eastern part caribbean. IN pacific ocean such island arcs are characteristic of regions of deformations of the earth's crust. Deep-water trenches are located along the convex side of the arc.