Modern map of the Mediterranean. Which countries are washed by the Mediterranean Sea? Favorite countries of the Mediterranean among tourists

This sea is called Mediterranean because it is surrounded on all sides by lands or continents: Europe, Asia and Africa. It has a huge basin and is connected to the Atlantic by the relatively small Strait of Gibraltar.

Scientists believe that more than 5 million years ago there was a downpour on Earth for two years in a row, a catastrophic flood occurred, as a result of which this wonderful sea was formed.

Map mediterranean sea testifies that it is divided into several more seas, and also connects with the Black, Red and Marmara seas through the straits.

Cards



Climate

In winter, storms and prolonged rains very often occur in the Mediterranean Sea. Cold winds blow from the north, the temperature of air and water drops noticeably. In summer - a warm and fairly dry maritime climate.

The high sea season begins in May, and the peak is in the middle of summer, when the sea warms up to + 27C - + 30C, like fresh milk, and tens of millions of tourists come from all over the world.

Countries and islands

Turkey has been loved by Russians for many years great resorts, quality service, Russian-speaking staff and inexpensive prices. Travel to Italy for pizza and sightseeing ancient rome, Naples, Venice.

Spain is famous for its classic English-style resorts. Yachting is rapidly developing in Croatia, Montenegro is known for its the cleanest beaches and Albania with magnificent seaside landscapes.

In Morocco and Tunisia, you can see unique ancient monuments and artifacts, oriental bazaars, the interweaving of traditions of the West and the East, but few tourists come here today due to political situation in countries.

One of the largest seas. The adjective "Mediterranean" is widely used in describing peoples, countries, climate, vegetation; for many, the concept of "Mediterranean" is associated with a particular way of life or with a whole period in the history of mankind.

Divides Europe, Africa and Asia, but it also closely connected Southern Europe, North Africa and Western Asia. The length of this sea from west to east is approx. 3700 km, and from north to south (at its widest point) - approx. 1600 km. On the northern coast are Spain, France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Albania and Greece. From the east to the sea there is a row Asian countries– Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Finally, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco are located on the south coast. The area of ​​the Mediterranean Sea is 2.5 million square meters. km, and, since only narrow straits connect it with other bodies of water, it can be considered an inland sea.

In the west, through the Strait of Gibraltar, 14 km wide and up to 400 m deep, it has access to the Atlantic Ocean. In the northeast, the Dardanelles, narrowing in places to 1.3 km, connects it with the Sea of ​​Marmara and through the Bosporus with the Black Sea. In the southeast, an artificial structure - the Suez Canal - connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Red. These three narrow water passages have always had a very great importance for trade, navigation and strategic purposes. IN different time they were controlled - or sought to be controlled - by the British, the French, the Turks and the Russians. The Romans of Roman times referred to the Mediterranean as mare nostrum ("our sea").

Coastline mediterranean sea it is strongly indented, and numerous protrusions of the land divide it into many semi-isolated water areas that have their own names. These seas include: the Ligurian, located south of the Riviera and north of Corsica; the Tyrrhenian Sea, enclosed between peninsular Italy, Sicily and Sardinia; the Adriatic Sea, washing the shores of Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Yugoslavia and Albania; Ionian Sea between Greece and southern Italy; the Cretan Sea between the island of Crete and peninsular Greece; Aegean Sea between Turkey and Greece. There is also a row large bays, for example, Alicante east coast Spain; Lyon - at south coast France; Taranto - between the two southern ledges of the Apennine Peninsula; Antalya and Iskenderun - off the southern coast of Turkey; Sidra - in the central part of the coast of Libya; Gabes and Tunisian - off the southeastern and northeastern coasts of Tunisia, respectively.

Contemporary is a relic of the ancient Tethys ocean, which was much wider and stretched far to the east. The relics of the Tethys Ocean are also the Aral, Caspian, Black and Sea of ​​Marmara, timed to his most deep depressions. Probably Tethys was once completely surrounded by land, and between North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, in the area Strait of Gibraltar, there was an isthmus. Same land bridge connected southeastern Europe with Asia Minor. It is possible that the Bosphorus, Dardanelles and Gibraltar straits were formed on the site of flooded river valleys, and many island chains, especially in the Aegean Sea, were connected to the mainland.

In the Mediterranean Sea, the western and eastern depressions are distinguished. The border between them is drawn through the Calabrian ledge of the Apennine Peninsula, Sicily and the underwater bank Adventure (up to 400 m deep), stretched almost 150 km from Sicily to Cape Bon in Tunisia. Within both depressions, even smaller ones are isolated, usually bearing the names of the corresponding seas, for example, the Aegean, Adriatic, etc. The water in the western depression is slightly colder and fresher than in the eastern one: in the west average temperature surface layer approx. 12° C in February and 24° C in August, and in the east - 17° C and 27° C, respectively. One of the coldest and most stormy areas mediterranean sea is the Gulf of Lyon. The salinity of the sea varies widely, since less salty water comes from the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar.

tides here they are low, but quite significant in very narrow straits and bays, especially during the full moon. However, rather strong currents are observed in the straits, directed both into the Mediterranean Sea and out of it. Evaporation is higher than Atlantic Ocean or in the Black Sea, therefore, surface currents arise in the straits, carrying more fresh water to the Mediterranean. At a depth below these surface currents, countercurrents occur, but they do not compensate for the influx of water near the surface.

Bottom The Mediterranean Sea in many places is composed of yellow carbonate silt, below which lies blue silt. Near the mouths of large rivers, blue oozes are overlain by deltaic deposits, which occupy large area. Depths mediterranean sea very different: the highest mark - 5121 m - is registered in the Hellenic deep sea trench at the southern tip of Greece. The average depth of the western basin is 1430 m, and its shallowest part - the Adriatic Sea - has average depth only 242 m.

Above the common bottom mediterranean sea in some places, significant sections of dissected relief rise, the peaks of which form islands. Many (though not all) of them have volcanic origin. Among the islands, we note, for example, Alboran, located east of the Strait of Gibraltar, and a group of Balearic Islands (Menorca, Mallorca, Ibiza and Formentera) east of the Iberian Peninsula; mountainous Corsica and Sardinia - west of the Apennine Peninsula, as well as a number small islands in the same area - Elba, Pontine, Ischia and Capri; and north of Sicily, Stromboli and Lipari. Within the Eastern Mediterranean Basin is the island of Malta (south of Sicily), and further to the east - Crete and Cyprus. Small islands are numerous in the Ionian, Cretan and Aegean seas; among them stand out Ionian - to the west of mainland Greece, Cyclades - east of the Peloponnese and Rhodes - off the southwestern coast of Turkey.

Major rivers flow into the Mediterranean Sea: Ebro (in Spain); Rhone (in France); Arno, Tiber and Volturno (in Italy). The rivers Po and Tagliamento (in Italy) and Isonzo (on the border of Italy and Slovenia) flow into the Adriatic Sea. To the pool Aegean Sea belong to the rivers Vardar (in Greece and Macedonia), Struma or Strymon, and Mesta or Nestos (in Bulgaria and Greece). The largest river in the Mediterranean basin, the Nile, is the only major river flowing into this sea from the south.

The Mediterranean Sea is famous for its calmness and beauty, but, like other seas, it can be stormy in certain seasons, and then big waves crashing on the coast. The Mediterranean has long attracted people with its favorable climate. The term "Mediterranean" itself is used to refer to a climate with long hot, clear and dry summers and short cool and wet winters. many coastal areas mediterranean sea, especially the southern and eastern ones, are characterized by semiarid and arid features of the climate. In particular, semiaridity with an abundance of clear sunny days considered typical of mediterranean climate. However, there are many cold days in winter when damp cold winds bring rain, drizzle and sometimes snow.

The Mediterranean is also famous for the attractiveness of its landscapes. Especially picturesque French and Italian Riviera, neighborhood of Naples, adriatic coast Croatia with numerous islands, the shores of Greece and Lebanon, where the steep slopes of the mountains rise to the very sea. Through the main islands Eastern Mediterranean important trade routes and culture spread - from the Middle East, Egypt and Crete to Greece, Rome, Spain and France; another route ran along the southern coast of the sea - from Egypt to Morocco.

Vegetation and animal world mediterranean sea is characterized by a relatively weak quantitative development of phyto- and zooplankton, which entails a correlation. the paucity of larger animals that feed on them, including fish. The amount of phytoplankton in the surface horizons is only 8-10 mg/m?, at a depth of 1000-2000 m it is 10-20 times less. Algae are very diverse (peridine and diatoms predominate).

Fauna mediterranean sea characterized by high species diversity, but the number of representatives of the sep. species are small. There are kaki, one species of seals (white-bellied seal); sea ​​turtle. 550 species of fish (sharks, mackerels, herrings, anchovies, mullets, dolphins, tunas, bonitos, horse mackerels, etc.). About 70 species of endemic fish, including stingrays, anchovy species, gobies, sea. blenny, wrasse and needlefish. Of the edible mollusks, the most important are the oyster, the Mediterranean-Black Sea mussel, and the sea date. Of the invertebrates, octopuses, squids, sepia, crabs, spiny lobsters are common; numerous species of jellyfish, siphonophore; sponges and red coral live in some areas, especially in the Aegean.

Coastal countries of the Mediterranean Sea:

  • Spain
  • France
  • Monaco
  • Italy
  • Malta
  • Montenegro
  • Croatia
  • Slovenia
  • Bosnia
  • Albania
  • Greece
  • Bulgaria
  • Romania
  • Ukraine
  • Russia
  • Georgia
  • Turkey
  • Syria
  • Lebanon
  • Israel
  • Egypt
  • Libya
  • Tunisia
  • Algeria
  • Morocco

The largest islands in the Mediterranean:

  • Balearic
  • Corsica
  • Sardinia
  • Sicily
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