Atlantic Ocean Facts for Kids

Atlantic ocean facts

  • Ocean Name: Atlantic Ocean
  • Location: Between the Americas and Europe, Africa
  • Average Depth: 11,961 feet
  • Total Surface Area: 32.8 million mi2
  • Total Coastline: 69,510 miles
  • Total Volume of Water: 74.4 million mi3

70 Atlantic Ocean Facts for Kids

A Map of the Atlantic Ocean

1. The Atlantic Ocean is one of the world’s five oceans.

2. The Atlantic Ocean is divided into two parts, the North Atlantic Ocean and the South Atlantic Ocean by the Equator.

3.Until the 19th century, the South Atlantic Ocean was called the Ethiopian Ocean. 

4.It’s said that the Atlantic Ocean was formed 201 to 145 million years ago during the Jurassic Park Period. 

5.The Atlantic Ocean is 6.5 times the size of the US. 

6.The unsinkable Titanic ship sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1912 when it collided with an iceberg on its voyage from Southampton to New York. 

7.The ocean currents in the Atlantic Ocean move in different directions based on their location on the map. 

8.The currents at the Equator move from East to West. They turn in a clockwise direction in the North and anticlockwise direction in the South. 

9.The Gulf of Stream is one of the most important ocean currents in the Atlantic Ocean. It is responsible for preventing ice formation in the North European harbors. 

10.The strong winds and ocean currents between the tip of South Africa and South America are called Roaring Forties.  

Atlantic ocean facts

Where is the Atlantic Ocean? 

  1. The Atlantic Ocean borders four continents, Africa, Europe, North America and South America.
  2. The Atlantic Ocean is located between the Americas, Europe and Africa.
  3. The Atlantic Ocean is also connected to the Arctic Ocean via the Norwegian Sea, Denmark Strait, Greenland Sea, and the Barents Sea. 
  4. The Atlantic Ocean is connected to the Southern Ocean in the South. 
  5. A 20° East Meridian line acts as a border between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. 
  6. The Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean are connected through the Panama Canal. The canal is man-made with an entrance at the Caribbean Sea. 
  7. The Atlantic Ocean is connected to the Mediterranean Sea via the Strait of Gibraltar, a well-known waterway used for trading. 
  8. The Atlantic Ocean is in the shape of the alphabet S. It is narrow and has a long drainage area.
  9. Both ends of the Atlantic Ocean slope towards the inside. The water from rivers that flow in the Atlantic Ocean goes to its center. 
  10. The Atlantic Ocean has the highest tide compared to other oceans and is considered the second most dangerous ocean next to Indian Ocean. 

Atlantic ocean facts

How Big Is the Atlantic Ocean? 

  1. The total volume of the Atlantic Ocean is 74.4 million mi3 of water.
  2. The Atlantic Ocean contains 23.3% of all the world’s ocean water.
  3. The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of all five oceans. It covers approximately 1/5th of the earth’s surface. 
  4. The Atlantic Ocean is the second youngest ocean. 
  5. The Atlantic Ocean is the second shallowest ocean in the world. 
  6. The total surface area of the Atlantic Ocean is 32.8 million mi2.
  7. The Atlantic Ocean covers about 25% of our planet’s surface.
  8. The Atlantic Ocean covers a total area of 41.1 million square miles. 
  9. The average depth of the Atlantic Ocean is 11,961 feet.
  10. The deepest part (Milwaukee Deep) of the Atlantic Ocean is 24,470 feet in the Puerto Rico Trench. 
  11. The total coastline of the Atlantic Ocean is 69,510 miles.
  12. The Atlantic Ocean has the 2nd longest coastline of all the five major oceans.
  13. The shift in the tectonic plates in the Earth’s crust is widening the Atlantic Ocean (and shrinking the Pacific Ocean). This is gradually increasing the distance between the Americas on one side and Europe & Africa on the other. 
  14. The largest sea of the Atlantic Ocean is the Sargasso Sea. The sea lies completely inside the Atlantic Ocean and doesn’t have a shore. 
  15. The largest island in the Atlantic Ocean is Greenland, which is also the largest island in the world.
  16. The Cancun Reef in the Atlantic Ocean along the coast of Mexico is the second largest barrier reef in the world.
  17. Florida has the longest coastline on the Atlantic Ocean in the US. 
  18. Florida also has the longest coral reefs stretching across 160 miles in the Atlantic Ocean. 
  19. Other famous cities that border the Atlantic Ocean are Cape Town (South Africa), Casablanca (Morocco), London (UK), Sao Paolo (Brazil), Reykjavik (Iceland), etc. 
  20. The Atlantic Ocean is the breeding ground for tropical storms and strong hurricanes that affect North America during May to December. 
  21. The northwestern part of the Atlantic Ocean has icebergs. Thick fog and mists swirl in the northern regions. 
  22. The Atlantic Ocean has colder temperatures closer to the poles and is hotter near the equator. The surface temperatures range from 28°F to 86°F. 
  23. The Salinity value of the Atlantic Ocean also changes from one region to another. North Atlantic has 35.5 parts per thousand while the South Atlantic has 34.5 parts per thousand. 
  24. One-third of the Atlantic Ocean floor, from the center, is covered with The Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It extends to around 35,000 miles. 
  25. Underwater volcanoes in the Atlantic Ocean resulted in islands such as Iceland, Bermuda, and Cabo Verde Islands. 
  26. The Lesser Antilles and the South Sandwich Islands created vast unstable island arcs with narrow gashes as deep as 7600 meters below sea level. 
  27. The Atlantic Ocean, from the North to the South, is home to numerous algae and seaweed with a high commercial value. 
  28. The Atlantic Ocean is home to numerous fish and is a high source of fishing income. It also has unusual aquatic animals like sea lions, humpback whales, tiger sharks, giant octopuses, etc. 
  29. Overfishing has affected the ecological balance and resulted in a decrease in fish like tuna and cod. 
  30. The Atlantic Ocean also produces coal, natural gas, and oil. Oil spills and extractions have caused harm to the ocean. 
  31. Diamonds can be found and are picked on the Atlantic Ocean’s bed on the coast of South Africa. 
  32. A type of fish that was said to be extinct for sixty million years was once caught in the Atlantic Ocean in 1938. The coelacanth was found off the coast of southern Africa. 

Atlantic ocean facts

What does the Name Atlantic Mean? 

  1. As the name suggests, the Atlantic Ocean was named from the Greek word Atlantikos. The name implies it is the Sea of Atlas. Atlas was a titan. He stood on the edge of the Earth and carried heaven on his shoulders. 
  2. The Atlantic Ocean is referred to as the body of water that separates the Old World from the New World.
  3. The Old World consists of Asia, Africa, and Europe. The New World is the Western Hemisphere of the globe (North America, South America, etc.)
  4. The Atlantic Ocean was first mentioned in 450 BC in the book, The Histories of Herodotus. It was referred to as Atlantis thalassa. 
  5. The French Emperor Napoleon was exiled to St. Helena in the Atlantic Ocean after he lost the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. 

Atlantic ocean facts

Travel and Transportation on the Atlantic Ocean 

  1. The Atlantic Ocean was the first of the world’s ocean to be cross by ship and aircraft.
  2. The first ship that crossed the Atlantic Ocean dates back to the 1850s. It was called The Cunard Line. 
  3. American aviator Charles Lindbergh was the first person to fly non-stop across the Atlantic in 1927.
  4. Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly (solo) over the Atlantic Ocean. She achieved this feat in 1928. 
  5. Leif Erikson is the first European to use the Atlantic Ocean to reach North America. He took the voyage 500+ years before Christopher Columbus. 
  6. Italian explorer and navigator Christopher Columbus is famous for his voyage across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain to the Caribbean between 1492 and 1493.
  7. The Vikings traveled on the North Atlantic Ocean sometime in 1000 AD to reach the Newfoundland islands. 
  8. The first trading through the Atlantic Ocean dates back to 1500 AD, involving civilizations like the Egyptians, Romans, Greek, and Phoenicians. 
  9. Ferdinand Magellan sailed around South America in 1502 AD and discovered a strait between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The strait (passage) was named after him. 
  10. The Great Eastern laid the first ever successful telegraph cable under the Atlantic Ocean in 1866. 
  11. The longest campaign in military history was the Battle of the Atlantic. The Allied and Axis navies fought furiously fought each other in the Atlantic Ocean.
  12. The Bermuda Triangle is a part of the North Atlantic where many claim ships and planes have mysteriously disappeared. Many modern day surveys and investigations have found anything notable about the Bermuda Triangle.
  13. Icebergs are a common hazard in the Atlantic Ocean’s shipping lanes between February and July.

Additional Resources on the Atlantic Ocean