he Atlantic Ocean was formed when the supercontinent Pangaea broke up about 200 million years ago. Europe and Africa started to drift away from today’s Americas.The Atlantic Ocean is the world’s second largest body of water. It makes up about a quarter of the Earth’s water surface. It has been a major route for exploration and trade over the past centuries.
The Atlantic Ocean lies between the Americas in the west and the continents of Europe and Africa in the east..Most of the Atlantic Ocean has a mild and moderate climate because ocean water has a balancing effect on temperatures. When cold air mixes with warm water it causes fog, which sometimes poses a big problem for ships. In the Northern Atlantic icebergs break away from ice sheets and drift southwards.
The North Atlantic has many smaller seas that are a part of it: the Gulf of Mexico between North and Central America and the North Sea between the British Isles and the European mainland are the largest. The Atlantic Ocean is connected with the Mediterranean Sea through the 14 km wide Strait of Gibraltar.