Geography Atlantic Ocean
Location: body of water between Africa, Europe, the Southern Ocean, and the Western Hemisphere
Geographic coordinates: 0 00 N, 25 00 W
Map references: Political Map of the World
Area: 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
Area - comparative: slightly less than 6.5 times the size of the US
Coastline: 111,866 km
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 coastal portions of the 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
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Milwaukee Deep in the Puerto Rico
Trench -8,605 m highest point: sea level 0 m