- The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest ocean on our planet after the Pacific Ocean.
- An interesting fact about the Atlantic Ocean is that its modern name comes from the name of a titan, Atlantus, the hero of Greek mythology who held the sky on his shoulders. Earlier this ocean was called the Western Ocean. The first navigator to cross the Atlantic Ocean was Columbus.
- Atlantis is a continent which according to legend existed in ancient times in the Atlantic Ocean. According to the legend, as a result of changes in the planet, it went underwater along with all its inhabitants. Officially, Atlantis is considered to have been invented by Plato as an image of the viciousness of people.
- One of the most beautiful “sights” of the Atlantic Ocean is a huge underwater hole, which is located in the center of the Belize Barrier Reef atoll and is an unforgettable sight for all who have seen it. It is named for the sharp boundary of dark and light water. It seems to be many kilometers deep in the center of the bowl, but it is actually about 120 m.
- The Atlantic Ocean has always attracted travelers and explorers. One such daredevil is Jonathan Trapp, who in the near future intends to cross 4020 km by himself, hanging from a bundle of 370 helium-filled balloons. Flying across the Atlantic has been a challenge for balloonists for decades. Five other aspiring balloonists have died attempting such an attempt, and no one has crossed the Atlantic by attaching themselves to a bundle of balloons.
- It is an interesting fact that researchers estimate that the amount of ocean water in the Atlantic is about equal to the amount of water in the ice of Antarctica.
- In the north of the Atlantic is the largest island on the planet, Greenland. The farthest island on Earth is also in the Atlantic Ocean. It is Bouvet Island.
- There is a sea in the Atlantic Ocean that has no coastal borders, the Sargasso Sea. Its borders are delineated only by ocean currents.
- The Bermuda Triangle, with which many mysteries and legends of disappearing ships and vessels are connected, is in the Atlantic Ocean.
- According to some scientists, the Atlantic Ocean is rapidly “aging” and may soon disappear from the face of the Earth. A group of researchers from Australia has discovered rapidly forming subduction zones at the bottom of the ocean. Usually they are a sign of “aging”. Scientists do not rule out that the long-deadening Mediterranean Sea is to blame for their formation. It seems quite surprising – in fact, according to the generally accepted point of view, this body of water is young enough.
Typically, new oceans are born when continents break apart and hot magma pours out of the rifts, solidifying and turning into oceanic crust. This is how the Atlantic Ocean was born, when, in the Mesozoic era, the supercontinent Pangaea split into the southern continent of Gondwana and the northern continent of Eurasia. Conversely, the old oceans die at a time when the continents collide, and the oceanic crust sinks back into the mantle under their pressure. Thus, the aforementioned Tethys disappeared – Africa and India approached Eurasia, leaving absolutely no room for the water basin that previously separated these continents.