The waters of this sea since ancient times have been a means of communication between the three parts of the world. It is no accident that the entire territory around was considered the center of the world, the Mediterranean.
Geology
According to most scholars, the Mediterranean Sea is all that remains of the vast prehistoric ocean of Tethys. The geomorphological process of the formation of this gigantic depression over millions of years is affected by the movements and faults of the earth's crust. Until now, the Mediterranean region is characterized by high seismic activity and partly the thickness of the seabed there is formed by volcanic rocks.
That is why the depth of the Mediterranean Sea is so radically different in its different parts.
To imagine the approximate nature of the bottom relief, it is enough to analyze its coast, especially the European part. In the underwater depths lurk mountain ranges and gorges comparable to the Alps or the Caucasus.
Sources of replenishment of water resources
The replenishment of water reserves and their evaporation also plays an important role in the fullness of the reservoir. The average depth of the Mediterranean Sea directly depends on these factors. Looking at the map, it is easy to name all the most significant water donors. In the west, it is the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar; in the east - the Black and Sea of Marmara through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles. It is replenished with the fresh waters of the rivers of both continents. The largest of them are the Nile and Poe in Africa, the Rhone, Tiber and Ebro in Europe. However, the mild Mediterranean climate and deep volcanic processes provoke active evaporation of its waters. Therefore, the prevailing depth of the Mediterranean Sea is relatively small - about 1541 m.
It has a negative balance of water level relative to the Atlantic.
Division of territories
Conventionally, the whole sea is divided into three pools:
- Western - consists of the basins of the Balearic, Ligurian, Tyrrhenian and the sea of Alboran;
- Central - includes the basins of the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, where the depth of the Mediterranean Sea is greatest, as well as the middle waters;
- East - combines the basins of the Aegean, Marmara and Levantine seas.
Historically, the different territories of this sea from antiquity have their own names, which are preserved to this day and have official status.
Far west
Sandy and rocky shallows stretch for many kilometers. Here, the average depth of the Mediterranean Sea offshore ranges from 2 to 15 meters. Luxury resorts are located on the coast.
The Alboran Sea begins with the Strait of Gibraltar. Average depths range from 1000 to 1500 meters. It is noteworthy that the shoreline is extremely narrow, it can be seen on the map. The deepest place (2407 m) is located on its eastern outskirts. The bottom relief is extremely heterogeneous and consists of long mountain ranges and depressions. The largest ridge and gave the name to the sea.
Seas off the coast of France and Italy
Next up is the Balearic Sea. Here the picture of the coastline is radically different. Sandy beaches and a relatively shallow depth of the Mediterranean Sea about 200 m have turned these places into an amazing tourist paradise. This is facilitated by the abundance of islands.
The most picturesque are Ibiza, Menorca, Mallorca, world famous tourist centers. This site is more shallow, on average 500-1000 m. In addition, the nature of the relief is quite calm, the bottom is silty and sandy. The maximum depth here is 2132 m.
The Ligurian Sea washes the coasts of France, Italy and Monaco. Its eastern borders are outlined by the island of Corsica. The waters are relatively shallow. Near the coast stretch many kilometers of shallow water, where resort areas are also located. The depth on the shelf barely reaches 200 m. This is clearly visible on the map. Further east, the middle and greatest depths of the Mediterranean Sea range from 1200 m to 2546 m. Such places are found off the coast of Corsica.
Central pool
Further east, bounded by the islands of Corsica, Sicily and Sardinia on the one hand, and the Apennine Peninsula on the other, the Tyrrhenian Sea stretched. The crust in this place has a fault that separates Europe and Africa. Therefore, the entire bottom is cut by a chain of underwater mountain ranges where active volcanoes are found. Although the depth of the Mediterranean Sea is relatively small here, approximately 500-1500 m, in deep places the depth reaches 3719 m. The sea is limited to five straits with depths: Corsican (500 m); Bonifacio (69 m); Sicilian (316 m); Messinsky (500 m). Just in the Strait of Messina are the famous Scylla and Charybdis from ancient Greek myths. In modern geography, they are identified with a lonely peaked rock and a whirlpool in the local waters.
On the other side of the peninsula is the Adriatic Sea. It represents a bay and as if sandwiched between neighboring coasts. Only the Otranto Strait communicates with the main sea, therefore, at present the sea is very shallow. The city of Adria, which gave it its name, was once a port. Now it is 25 km offshore. The entire north of the sea is relatively shallow (20-70 m).
The mild climate, shallow depths on the shelf, even bottom topography created all the conditions for the development of tourism. No wonder the entire coast, which belongs to Italy and the countries of Eastern Europe, has long been a favorite vacation spot. Almost everywhere, the depth does not exceed 150 m, only in the very south reaches 1230 m.
The Ionian Sea communicates with the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian through the straits. The map shows that it is formed by a giant cauldron-shaped hollow. Its fairly flat bottom is covered with sand, gravel and calcareous deposits. There is a very narrow strip of the coastal shelf, almost immediately the mainland plate goes deep up to 2000 m, and the maximum depth of the Mediterranean Sea in the bottom crevices reaches 5121 m.However, the coasts of Italy and Greece have long beaches with a shallow shallow water, which are occupied by resorts.
East pool
The water spaces enclosed between the Turkish coast of Eurasia and the Balkan Peninsula are called the Aegean Sea. Shipping on it is widely mentioned in ancient Greek chronicles since antiquity. In some countries, it is called the White Sea, which is confirmed by the color of the sea on a special depth map. The sea is rather shallow, the average depth of the Mediterranean Sea is 200-1000 m. A lot of islands are scattered throughout the sea, there are about 2000 of them. This is all that remains of the sunken ancient land - Aegeids. For this reason, it received a third name - the sea of the Archipelago. This circumstance explains the shallow water of the local waters. All areas of land, as elsewhere, are given to resort towns, which are distinguished by a special antique flavor.
It is interesting that the southern region also has its own name - this is the Cretan Sea. This closed reservoir is clearly visible on the map, separated by an archipelago on one side and the island of Crete on the other. There are quite large depths, up to a maximum of 2529 m.
The Sea of Marmara communicates with the Mediterranean only through the Dardanelles, but also refers to its basin. It was formed as a result of a break in the earth's crust on the prehistoric giant continent. It differs in small depths, up to 1355 m, since the water level is constantly leveled through the straits from two seas - the Mediterranean through the Dardanelles and the Black via the Bosphorus.
Asia-Africa
The Levantine Sea is a large stretch of water located in the east. It washes the territories of several states - Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt and Libya. The common name of these lands is the Levant, and it gave the name to the sea. Formed by one of the underwater hollows. Therefore, the bottom morphology is calm. It is here that one of the deepest points is located - 4384 m.
The western water border is outlined by the island of Cyprus. The map shows how deep the Mediterranean Sea prevails here - from 500 to 1,500 m.
The central, most extensive part of the Mediterranean Sea is called the Libyan Sea. On the one hand it is limited by the island of Crete, on the other - the north of the African coast. There are no extremely deep places in these waters, on average - 500-1500 m. A very wide coastal strip of the Libyan coast consists of shallow water up to 200 m.