<hdr>The World Factbook 1994: Atlantic Ocean<nl>Geography</hdr><body>
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<item><hi format=bold>Location:</hi> body of water between the Western Hemisphere and Europe/Africa
<item><hi format=bold>Area:</hi>
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<item>• <hi format=ital>total area:</hi> 82.217 million sq km
<item>• <hi format=ital>comparative area:</hi> slightly less than nine times the size of the US; second-largest of the world's four oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, but larger than Indian Ocean or Arctic Ocean)
<item>• <hi format=ital>note:</hi> includes Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, Drake Passage, Gulf of Mexico, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies
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<item><hi format=bold>Coastline:</hi> 111,866 km
<item><hi format=bold>International disputes:</hi> some maritime disputes (see littoral states)
<item><hi format=bold>Climate:</hi> 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
<item><hi format=bold>Terrain:</hi> surface usually covered with sea ice in Labrador Sea, Denmark Strait, and Baltic Sea from October to June; clockwise warm water gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the north Atlantic, counterclockwise warm water gyre in the south Atlantic; the ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged north-south centerline for the entire Atlantic basin; maximum depth is 8,605 meters in the Puerto Rico Trench
<item><hi format=bold>Natural resources:</hi> oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales), sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, precious stones
<item><hi format=bold>Environment:</hi>
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<item>• <hi format=ital>current issues:</hi> endangered marine species include the manatee, seals, sea lions, turtles, and whales; municipal sludge pollution off eastern US, southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina; oil pollution in Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, and North Sea; industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in Baltic Sea, North Sea, and Mediterranean Sea
<item>• <hi format=ital>natural hazards:</hi> icebergs common in Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, and the northwestern Atlantic Ocean from February to August and have been spotted as far south as Bermuda and the Madeira Islands; icebergs from Antarctica occur in the extreme southern Atlantic Ocean
<item>• <hi format=ital>international agreements:</hi> NA
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<item><hi format=bold>Note:</hi> ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north Atlantic from October to May and extreme south Atlantic from May to October; persistent fog can be a hazard to shipping from May to September; major choke points include the Dardanelles, Strait of Gibraltar, access to the Panama and Suez Canals; strategic straits include the Strait of Dover, Straits of Florida, Mona Passage, The Sound (Oresund), and Windward Passage; north Atlantic shipping lanes subject to icebergs from February to August; the Equator divides the Atlantic Ocean into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean
