The intercontinental sea, also known as the intercontinental Mediterranean, refers to those oceans surrounded by several continents. The area of ??intercontinental seas on Earth accounts for approximately 8.2% of the total ocean area.
The intercontinental sea discussed here is the most famous of the intercontinental seas. It is the Mediterranean Sea located between the three continents of Europe, Asia and Africa. The Hebrews and ancient Greeks called it the Great Sea. The ancient Romans regarded it as the central sea of ??the Roman Empire. It means "the sea in the middle of the land" in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. The ancient Chinese book "Lingwai Daida" calls the Mediterranean Sea the Great Food Sea of ??the West.
The Mediterranean Sea is 4,000 kilometers long from east to west and 1,800 kilometers at its widest point from north to south, covering an area of ??approximately 2.52 million square kilometers. The average water depth is 1,494 meters and the maximum water depth is 5,530 meters. The northern coastline is winding and has many bays, while the southern coastline is relatively straight.
The submarine topography of the Mediterranean Sea is characterized by a narrow continental shelf, steep continental slopes, and deep sea basins divided by ocean ridges. The Iberian Peninsula, the Apennine Peninsula and the Balkan Peninsula protrude southward in Europe, dividing the northern Mediterranean into the Ligurian Sea, the Adriatic Sea and the Aegean Sea. An underwater ridge between Sicily and the northern tip of Tunisia, dividing the Mediterranean Sea into east and west parts. There are Alboran Sea Basin, Algerian Sea Basin and Tyrrhenian Sea Basin in the west; Ionian Sea Basin and Levantine Sea Basin in the east. The depth of the Adriatic Sea is only tens to hundreds of meters, the depth of the Ionian Sea Basin is between 3000 and 4000 meters, and the Aegean Sea is dotted with islands.
As for the origin of the Mediterranean Sea, seafloor spreading and plate theory believe that it is the remaining waters of the Tethys Sea (ancient Mediterranean). During the Middle Ages, the scope of the Tethys Sea gradually shrank. The current Mediterranean Sea was caused by the very complex relative motion of the African plate and the Eurasian plate from the Mesozoic to the Cenozoic Era.
In meteorology, the "Mediterranean climate" is well-known. It is characterized by hot and dry summers, warm and humid winters, changeable weather in spring, and short autumn. Because this climate feature is the most widespread and typical in the Mediterranean region, all climates of this type around the world are named "Mediterranean climate". In addition, strong winds are another major climate characteristic of the Mediterranean.
Because evaporation is greater than precipitation and runoff in the Mediterranean, the water level is lower than that of the Atlantic Ocean and the salinity is greater. The average surface salinity is about 38‰.
Since ancient times, the Mediterranean Sea has been a channel for exchanges and trade between countries in Europe, Asia and Africa. The Mediterranean route from the Suez Canal to the Strait of Gibraltar is one of the busiest waterways in the world. Along the coast there are ports such as Beirut, Port Said, Alexandria, Algiers, Marseille, Barcelona, ??Genoa, and Naples. The Mediterranean Sea is rich in algae, as well as economic organisms such as dolphins, lobsters, oysters and crabs, cuttlefish, jellyfish, and corals. The coast is also a good place to dry salt.