ATLANTIC OCEAN ATLANTIC OCEAN FACTS

AREA 82,442,000 sq km
(31,831,OOP sq miles)______
THE ATLANTIC IS THE WORLD'S second biggest AVERAGE DEPTH 3,660 m (12,000 ft)
ocean, covering about one-fifth of the Earth's GREATEST DEPTH 8,648 m (28,372 ft)
Puerto Rico Trench
surface. It separates the Americas in the west from LENGTH 16,000 km (9,900 miles)
Europe and Africa in the east. The Arctic Ocean GREATEST WIDTH 8,000 km
(4,900 miles)
lies to the north, and Antarctica to the south. There are several seas
around the edges of the Atlantic, including the Baltic and the
Mediterranean seas in the east, and the Caribbean Sea in the Physical features
west. The Atlantic contains some of the world's richest fishing The waters of the Atlantic are never still but
grounds, but is also the most polluted ocean because of the move in huge belts of water or currents, such
as the Gulf Stream, which affect the world's
industry around its shores. climate. The currents can be as warm as 30°C
(86°F) or as cold as -2°C (30°F). Many of the
islands in the Atlantic are volcanic and lie on
the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The largest islands
are Greenland and Iceland, bordered by the
Greenland Sea in the north Atlantic.
Greenland
^Denmark)
Gulf Stream
Although the Scilly Isles
lie just off the coast of
Britain, in the northern
Atlantic, winters there
are mild due to the
influence of the Gulf
Stream. This warm
current, which flows
NORTH at about 9 kmh
Gteat Lake: (5.6 mph), starts in
the Caribbean Sea,
circles the Gulf of
Mexico, and then heads
north and east. Winds
that blow over it pick
up heat and raise the
temperature of northern
Europe, keeping ports
free of ice in the winter.

Mid-Atlantic Ridge
An underwater mountain chain called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
runs down the middle of the Atlantic, where the ocean floor
is splitting. Lava oozes up from the seabed and hardens,
forming the mountain range. Many of the peaks surface
as mid-ocean islands, such as Ascension Island. The ocean
is growing wider at a rate of about 4 cm (1.5 in) a year.

Salmon
Fishing
Although Atlantic fish stocks have run low over the past
20 years because of overfishing, salmon fishing is a thriving
industry, and salmon hatcheries are increasingly common.

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 ATLANTIC OCEAN

Iceland Physical features ICELAND FACTS

Iceland is a land of fire
The island country of Iceland lies and ice, where steaming hot CAPITAL CITY Reykjavik
far north in the Atlantic, midway volcanic springs bubble up
through glaciers. The centre AREA 100,250 sq km (38,707 sq miles)
between Europe and North America, and
consists of uninhabitable POPULATION 281,000
is increasingly important for international plateaus and mountains. MAIN LANGUAGE Icelandic
communications. Its position on the In the south are farmlands. Volcanoes
MAJOR RELIGION Christian
Mid-Atlantic Ridge means it has many There are many rivers, lakes, The island of Little Surtsey is a volcano
and spectacular waterfalls. that rose from the sea close to Iceland CURRENCY Icelandic kr6na
volcanoes and is prone to earthquakes. in spring 1965, but disappeared again LIFE EXPECTANCY 79 years ____
Iceland has been a republic since 1944. the following winter. Mainland Iceland
has at least 20 active volcanoes that PEOPLE PER DOCTOR 307
Climate 30°C could erupt at any time. GOVERNMENT Multi-party republic
Owing to the Gulf (86°F)
ADULT LITERACY 99%
Stream, Iceland's Glaciers
southern lowlands Europe's largest ice-caps cover over
are mild and breezy, one-tenth of Iceland. The biggest is
and snow is rare. 860mm Vatnajokull, which covers an area
The north is colder, (34 in) of 8,133 sq km (3,149 sq miles)
but less windy. in the southeast of the country.

Built-up 1% Geothermal power

Every year, thousands of people
visit the Blue Lagoon, to swim
in this natural pool of healing,
geothermal, mineral-rich sea
water. Vast resources ensure that
Land use hydroelectric and geothermal
The Icelandic people live in the more fertile coastal power stations meet almost all
areas where 11 per cent are employed in farming, mainly of Iceland's electricity needs.
raising sheep. Only about one per cent of the land is used
for growing crops. No-one lives in the rocky centre. Fishing
Iceland relies on exporting fish
to pay for all the necessities of
modern living, which are imported
Reykjavik from abroad. Fishing and fish
Heated by processing are Iceland's leading
geothermal water industries and employ around
from boreholes, 20 per cent of the labour force.
Reykjavik is a clean,
modern city, and People
home to about The first settlers in Iceland arrived from
100,000 people. Norway in the 9th century. Today, Iceland
It is a bustling hub boasts a classless society, and around 80 per
of culture, industry, cent of Icelanders own their own home. Most
commerce, and people live in towns where the standard of
government. living is high, with extensive social security, 3 per sq km 9%
Brightly coloured houses in Reykjavik's old town health services, and free education. (8 per sq mile) Rural

Cape Verde CAPE VERDE Atlantic Islands

FACTS
B The volcanic Cape Verde islands
are divided into the Windward
and Leeward islands. They lie in the
CAPITAL CITY Praia
AREA 4,030 sq km
Atlantic, off Africa's west coast. Until (1,556 sq miles)
1975, they were a Portuguese colony. POPULATION 428,000
Poor soil and lack of fresh water MAIN LANGUAGES
mean that Cape Verde needs Portuguese,
to import 90 per cent of Creole
its food. MAJOR RELIGION
Christian
CURRENCY
Cape Verde
escudo
Sao Nicolau
The island of Sao Nicolau
in the Windward Islands has
many Portuguese colonial-style
buildings. Most of the people
here are Portuguese-African
Creole. Where they can, they
grow bananas and sugar-cane.
The Atlantic Ocean contains hundreds of
islands. Some, such as the British Isles,
are part of a continent. Others, like the
Azores and the Canaries, are volcanic.
Ascension, Bermuda, St Helena, and
other small islands are the summits of
undersea mountains and volcanic in origin.
Falkland Islands
The Falklands, with
an area of 11,960 sq
km (4,617 sq miles), are
a British dependent territory off the coast of
Argentina - which calls them Las Malvinas,
and claims ownership. Until oil was found in
their waters, most people were sheep farmers.
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands off northwest Africa are
governed as two provinces of Spain. Popular
with tourists, the seven islands and six islets
have a total area of 7,270 sq km (2,807 sq
miles), and a population of 1,630,000.

U N O OUT ARGENTINA, CHILE, CLIMATE CONTINENTS ENERGY FISHING GLACIATION ISLANDS OCEANS TUNDRA VOLCANOES
MORE AND URUGUAY INDUSTRY AND SEAS

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