Russia’s Defence Ministry recently said that a Russian warship and cargo ship rescued 68 people overnight from a boat in the Mediterranean Sea.
About Mediterranean Sea:
- Location:
- It is an intercontinental sea that is bordered by the continent of Europe in the north, by Asia in the east, and by Africa in the south.
- In the west, the Mediterranean Sea is connected to the Atlantic Oceanvia the narrow Strait of Gibraltar.
- In the extreme northeast, it is connected to the Black Sea via the Dardanelles Strait, the Sea of Marmara, and the Bosporus Strait.
- The Mediterranean Sea is also connected to the Red Sea via the Suez Canal in the southeast.
- History:
- It has been regarded as the birthplace of Western civilization.
- Many ancient civilizations, such as the Phoenicians, Ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire, were located along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
- Bordering Countries:
- 22 countries and one territory (Gibraltar – a British Overseas Territory) have coasts on the Mediterranean Sea.
- The European Countries are Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Monaco, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, and Greece.
- The West Asian (Middle Eastern) countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea are Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, the Palestine Gaza Stripand the divided island of Cyprus.
- Five North African nations have coasts on the Mediterranean Sea: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt.
- The Mediterranean Sea offers a staggering 46,000 km (28,600 mi) long coastline and includes 15 marginal seas, such as the Balearic Sea, the Adriatic Sea, the Levantine Sea and the Ionian Sea.
- Depth: The sea has an average depth of about 1,500 m and a maximum depth of 5,267 m at its deepest point, the Calypso Deep in the Ionian Sea.
- Rivers: A large number of rivers drain into the Mediterranean Sea, including the Ebro, Rhone, Po, Nile, Tiber, etc.
- Islands: Some of the large Mediterranean Islands include Corsica, Crete, Cyprus, Chios, Euboea, Lesbos, Mallorca, Rhodes, Sicily, and Sardinia. The island of Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.
- Climate: The region is characterized by the prevailing subtropical climate known as the Mediterranean climate, with usually mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers.
- Mediterranean Sea waters are more saline compared to the waters of the Atlantic. There is a continuous movement of water from the Atlantic into the Mediterranean and vice versa through the Strait of Gibraltar.