Friday, 20 June 2014
The Atlantic Ocean is the world's second largest ocean, behind the Pacific Ocean. With a total area of about 106,400,000 square kilometres, it covers approximately 20 percent of the Earth's surface and about 29 percent of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to Atlas of Greek mythology, making the Atlantic the "Sea of Atlas". The oldest known mention of "Atlantic" is in The Histories of Herodotus around 450 BC: Atlantis thalassa. The term Ethiopic Ocean, derived from Ethiopia, was applied to the southern Atlantic as late as the mid-19th century. Before Europeans discovered other oceans, their term "ocean" was synonymous with the waters beyond the Strait of Gibraltar that are now known as the Atlantic. The early Greeks believed this ocean to be a gigantic river encircling the world. Source
