The Mediterranean Sea is a sea virtually entirely encircled by land and also connected come the Atlantic Ocean.
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It has an area of about 2.5 million square kilometers (970 thousands sq mi), but its link to the Atlantic Sea v the Strait the Gibraltar is just 14 kilometers (9 miles) wide.
The Mediterranean Sea has actually an typical depth the 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles), and the deepest registered allude is 5,3 kilometer (3,3 miles) in the Calypso Deep positioned in the Hellenic Trench (Ionian Sea).
The Mediterranean Sea was the main superhighway of transportation for traders and also explorers of old times, facilitating organization and cultural interchange connecting peoples incorporating 3 continents: southerly Europe, west Asia, and North Africa.
An old Semitic speaking civilization, the Phoenicians would come to build the first instances of thalassocracy, colonization and city-states. Originating from the area us today call Lebanon in the Levant, the Phoenicians relied greatly on naval trade. Made feasible by the famous Lebanese cedar tree timber. As a crossroad in between the Egyptians, Hittites and Mesopotamians they used their mastery that sail to introduce numerous diverse products into the old Mediterranean. Wares such together wine, glass and chased metalwork.
Their perhaps biggest legacy would be their influence on Rome. Because of their impact on the Greeks and also Etruscans i beg your pardon the Roman culture was deep based upon.
The roman Empire managed the sea for many centuries.
The background of the Mediterranean an ar is necessary for explaining the roots and evolution that many modern societies.
Today 21 nations surrounding the Mediterranean sea, 285 urban of an ext than 100,000 citizens located in the Mediterranean region, 18 the which have a populace of more than one million. Every Mediterranean cities represent much more than 126 million residents.
Geological data shows that about 5.9 million years ago, the Mediterranean to be separated off from the Atlantic ocean and also was drained over part 0.6 million years prior to being refilled by the Zanclean flood about 5.3 million years ago.
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One hundred years ago, there to be a plan for dams building and construction (‘The Atlantropa project’), i m sorry would have led come the lowering the the sea-level of the Mediterranean Sea through 200 meters (660 ft), opening up vast new areas because that settlements.