Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea between Europe, Africa and Asia covering an approximate area of 2.5 million square kilometers. The sea is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the Straits of Gibraltar on the west and to the Sea of Marmaraand Black Sea by the Dardanelles and the Bosporus on the east. The Sea of Marmara -- but not the Black Sea -- is often considered as a part of Mediterranean Sea. The Suez Canal in the south east connects the Mediterranean with the Red Sea.

Its major islands are Cyprus, Crete, Rhodes in the east, Sardinia?, Corsica, Sicily and Malta in the center, and Majorca? in the west. Major countries bordering the sea are Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Turkey on the north shore, Lebanon, Syria and Israel on the east, and Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco on the south shore. The climate is generally one of wet winters and hot, dry summers. Special crops of the region are olives, grapes, oranges, and tangerine?s.